Need advise, saw Barclays financial planner

SpinnerB

dunstonh wrote: »

However, people can make a right pigs ear of it and for many the they dont have the time to spare.

How true, been there, done that

nrsql

hhh316 wrote: »

Hey guys

Today I got 3 missed calls from the Barclays Financial Adviser and a message reminding me about our appointment on Monday. Wow he is desperate!

Thanks guys I will see a IFA instead.

If you have time why not go to see him?
Find out what he offers and what his charges are.
Ask him details about the products and why he has selected them for you (possibly because the questions he has asked put you in this box and these are the products recommended for people in this box).
Ask him about the expected max and min return.
Ask what the return would have been if you had done this 10/15 years ago.
Ask about it all in relation to inflation and deposit accounts.
(He should only be definite for historic data but his answers would be interesting)

Then go away and think about it.
Think about what you would do on your own - have look at hargreaves lansdown, fideity, citywire etc.

Now when you talk to the IFAs (more than one) you can ask similar questions talk about the Barclays suggestion and your attempt and get him to tell you why he would be better for you.

With your IFA you are probably looking for someone who will help with all your financial affairs not just this one investment so you want someone who you can talk to and can explain things to you.

asdv

My IFA got 6000 for arranging my critical illness policy which took him a few hours (over several days) to shop around for on the phone. When I told him it was an outrageous level of charge for so little work he offered to pay some of it back to me. I accepted and then fired him of course.

Imagine if estate agents took trails on house transactions !
I think IFAs should be called Agents not Advisers. Seriously.

Aegis

asdv wrote: »

My IFA got 6000 for arranging my critical illness policy which took him a few hours (over several days) to shop around for on the phone. When I told him it was an outrageous level of charge for so little work he offered to pay some of it back to me. I accepted and then fired him of course.

Imagine if estate agents took trails on house transactions !
I think IFAs should be called Agents not Advisers. Seriously.

Why does it matter to you if the insurance company pay your adviser money? It's not like you get a reduction in your premiums by going to the insurer direct, and in fact the IFA often has access to cheaper policies than the norm. If he also offered to share some of the commission with you, what's your complaint?

Myrmidon_J

dunstonh wrote:

Paying for advice is always going to involve a cost that doesnt exist if you DIY but an awful lot of people need advice. DIY if you know what you are doing can save you money. However, people can make a right pigs ear of it and for many the they dont have the time to spare.

I think my major issue with DIY is that there is no recourse to investors who have perhaps misunderstood the nature of risk or who do not understand the mechanics of certain funds.

Without wishing to state the obvious, or demean any individual, investing can be a very complex process. Taking professional advice mitigates the risk of misunderstanding.

For example, a client of ours (I work for an IFA) had selected the MIDAS Balanced Growth / Balanced Income funds in a 'DIY' investment portfolio... These are (or: were) UK Equity funds, on the surface, but firecrackers 'internally' - hence the catastrophic performance in the last 18 months.

We were able to advise that the funds were probably above the risk profile of the investor, and therefore encash a percentage of the investment before the worst of the market turmoil.

asdv

As with any DIY project you should obviously find out about what you are doing before doing it. Goes without saying.

As to why I should mind that my IFA gets 6000 from the company for a few hours work selling me insurance - it obviously makes him want to sell me that insurance more than anything else he does ! I think it is wise to read a book or two about the financial services industry in this country before ever talking to any IFA.

Aegis

asdv wrote: »

As with any DIY project you should obviously find out about what you are doing before doing it. Goes without saying.

As to why I should mind that my IFA gets 6000 from the company for a few hours work selling me insurance - it obviously makes him want to sell me that insurance more than anything else he does ! I think it is wise to read a book or two about the financial services industry in this country before ever talking to any IFA.

If you need the product, you'll take it. If you don't need it, then you won't. The job of the IFA is to establish your needs and find a product from a decent provider that fits your profile. Effectively they'll do this for you with no cost to yourself, instead they get their money from the insurance company who are willing (stupid?) enough to pay such large commissions for selling a product which should sell just fine on its own.

Again, why do you object so much if you need the product and if it doesn't make any difference to what you pay in the end?

Gwhiz

hhh316 wrote: »

Hey guys

Today I got 3 missed calls from the Barclays Financial Adviser and a message reminding me about our appointment on Monday. Wow he is desperate!

Thanks guys I will see a IFA instead.

Do you not think that the decent thing would be to cancel if you are not intending on going?

nicko33

Aegis wrote: »

Again, why do you object so much if you need the product and if it doesn't make any difference to what you pay in the end?

Do we know it doesn't make any difference to what we pay?

That 6000 has to come from somewhere.
It would be logical to expect that it comes from our premiums, one way or another.

hhh316

Gwhiz wrote: »

Do you not think that the decent thing would be to cancel if you are not intending on going?

True, I did actually reply and cancel. Just because you don't want a service there is no need to be rude to banks and sales people. Unless I suppose they constantly hassle you.