Is this good advice?

Newly_retired

dunstonh wrote: »

No no no. Dont use those types of advisers. That explains everything. Go to a local indpendent.

What do you mean?
The IFA "promoted" through my school, via a colleague ( when I was working) WAS a local independent firm.

dunstonh

Newly_retired wrote: »

dunstonh wrote: »

No no no. Dont use those types of advisers. That explains everything. Go to a local indpendent.

What do you mean?
The IFA "promoted" through my school, via a colleague ( when I was working) WAS a local independent firm.

It depends on the introduction basis. Some unions get paid a share. Some IFAs just buy the leads from the Union. Some use a specific IFA firm with multiple advisers attached to it (often with their own trading names). The latter seems like a probabilty in this case.

A sweeping statement and big generalisation I know but if an adviser has to buy leads then that suggests a level of desperation. Or if an adviser is having to share the remuneration with another firm or union then there is the potential for commission bias. i have just always found that advice from firms linked to some affinity group or union is basic and transactional. There will always be exceptions to that but that is just my opinion. This thread does appear to support that with two recommendation exactly the same, both a little suspect in the advice, both favouring Scot Wid when it pays more than the better alternative (no issues with pru but i bet they didnt offer to do it on fee basis with the amount in question when fee basis would be cheaper).

whiteflag_3

Pam17 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. As I have stated above I really don't understand this at all.

This evening DH was talking to one of his colleagues who is also taking advantage of the opportunity to retire early and he went to one of the IFA's that we went to and got exactly the same advice, by the sound of it. That sounds to me as if there is something of a "one size fits all" approach being given out.

The 2 IFA's we have gone to are completely separate entities but they have both been promoted by DH's union and employer at seminars aimed at helping retirees settle into retirement. Given what we are learning both here and from DH's colleagues I think we should visit someone else.

Yes , all makes sense now.

In my experience these "retirement counselling advisers" work like a conveyor belt and adopt a one size fits all approach.

Back in the early 90's I was referred to some people who had been through the process with British Gas and every one had been recommended a Sun Life Distribution bond. It would appear nothing has changed!