Do I really need this Financial Advisor?

Blue_Parrot

Situation: One main pension to which employer contributes; another pension long-ago ceased contributing to their two policies - they still have ~£15,000 transferrable value.

Situation: Have used a Financial Advisor for years. Was advised to transfer smaller (ceased contributing) pot into larger pot last summer. In September signed authorisation forms to permit him to communicate with that company.

Five months have elapsed. Have had no forms from smaller company. Phoned larger (company-contributing) firm who say I should have had forms by now from either Financial Advisor, or the other form directly.

Emailed Financial Advisor. Also emailed smaller company.

Smaller company have replied saying they sent information to FA on 10th February. Therefore the FA only got on the case after my prompting email, despite FIVE MONTHS having elapsed.

Do I really need this Financial Advisor to conduct this transaction? If he no longer wants to do business with me it seems a strange way to terminate the years-long relationship: with silence until prodded.

Additionally, on the smaller company's website I have found downloadable forms whereby individuals can conduct the entire transfer operation by themselves! What would any problem be, if I fired the dozy FA firm and did it myself?

Names of firms not included in case the FA, having "nothing better to do" is poking around these forums and identifies me.

EdInvestor

It is easy to do a pension transfer yourself as long as you don't mind a bit of chasing.There's no need to pay for 'advice'

It rather sounds as though your case got overlooked somehow and nobody (you,the IFA) picked it up.

Blue_Parrot

Hallo Ed

Then why did another FA back in 2008 tell me that I couldn't transfer the funds myself and would need a finanical advisor to act as middleman?

Is that information out of date now? Or was he just wrong, since forms are downloadable so to do?

Why do people use Financial Advisors if they give conflicting information or ignore you?

:question:

Aegis

Blue_Parrot wrote: »

Hallo Ed

Then why did another FA back in 2008 tell me that I couldn't transfer the funds myself and would need a finanical advisor to act as middleman?

Is that information out of date now? Or was he just wrong, since forms are downloadable so to do?

Why do people use Financial Advisors if they give conflicting information or ignore you?

:question:

You would need an IFA to sign off a final salary pension transfer. Was that what you did?

dunstonh

Then why did another FA back in 2008 tell me that I couldn't transfer the funds myself and would need a finanical advisor to act as middleman?

If its a defined benefit scheme then these need an IFA to sign off on them.

Why do people use Financial Advisors if they give conflicting information or ignore you?

They may have genuinely forgotten. How often did you chase it in that time?

Some advisers will also have in house compliance that prevents them from transacting certain areas under execution only. Pension transfers are a very common one due to the high odds of it being best left where it is. So, maybe the other adviser needed to do it on advice basis and couldnt do it on execution only. It doesnt mean all will be like that though.

Blue_Parrot

Aegis wrote: »

You would need an IFA to sign off a final salary pension transfer. Was that what you did?

It is not a final salary pension........

Blue_Parrot

dunstonh wrote: »

If its a defined benefit scheme then these need an IFA to sign off on them.]

It is not a defined benefit scheme......

They may have genuinely forgotten. How often did you chase it in that time?

Lengthy correspondence was exchanged in November......

Some advisers will also have in house compliance that prevents them from transacting certain areas under execution only. Pension transfers are a very common one due to the high odds of it being best left where it is. So, maybe the other adviser needed to do it on advice basis and couldnt do it on execution only. It doesnt mean all will be like that though.

What is "on execution only"?

Meanwhile, I have now heard back from Fund2 directly. They say that they were approached by the FA on February 2nd. FEBRUARY. That's a whopping five months since authorisation forms were returned to them.

[weary-sarcasm] I can only presume that it's taken them five months to crawl into action because not (that) much money is involved. If I were a Euro Lottery winner no doubt they'd be in the driveway right now. [/weary-sarcasm]

Blue_Parrot

The Financial Advisor said in an email this week that they were "still chasing it" and that the company concerned take forever to reply.

I contacted the company directly via their website. They were courteous and very efficient. The forms have now arrived from them in the post. That took less than a week.

I thought other people would like to know that it is not necessary to have a 3rd party FA firm conduct administration on one's behalf, and that it can be months faster to do it oneself.