IFA Advice

charlie11

I am looking at getting some independant financial advice on my pensions, anybody have any idea how much they cost?

Aegis

It depends on the adviser. Some will charge a commission, some will charge an hourly fee, others will charge a flat fee. It really depends what you're looking to do and what you're willing to pay for it...

Squibbles_2

I recently phoned some up, and their charges range from £1,500 to £5,000 in some cases, that said, that is only for consultancy fees

Another point that I managed to gleen out of them, some would like to have a certain amount of capital to be invested, before it makes their rates 'effective', that can range from anywhere from £100K to a staggering £1million, though I think the IFA who quoted £1million, was kind of pulling my leg a bit

Aegis

Squibbles wrote: »

I recently phoned some up, and their charges range from £1,500 to £5,000 in some cases, that said, that is only for consultancy fees

Another point that I managed to gleen out of them, some would like to have a certain amount of capital to be invested, before it makes their rates 'effective', that can range from anywhere from £100K to a staggering £1million, though I think the IFA who quoted £1million, was kind of pulling my leg a bit

Not at all. Some IFAs genuinely do have such high limits for minimum investments because of how much work they typically put into each client's portfolio at quite a high billing rate. If they're trying to discourage you from using their services, they're doing it to you as a favour rather than wasting your time inviting you to a meeting that would lead to the same outcome.

Ideally the vast majority of IFAs would be available to people from all walks of life, however the difference between the most and least expensive businesses is staggering, to say the least.

If you're not dealing with a large sum of cash, you might want to look into the smaller local advisers rather than the large city-based ones. They typically have much lower billing rates, and for non-complex advice on a small (comparatively) pot, reducing the charges as much as possible is key.

dunstonh

I recently phoned some up, and their charges range from £1,500 to £5,000 in some cases, that said, that is only for consultancy fees

Thats high. Although perhaps thats because they are a larger firm or you have gone straight to a higher qualified company that only has specialists? City locations tend to more expensive than country. Smaller transactions are often cheaper on commission or agreed remuneration but paid by commission (with surplus rebated to enhance product terms. i.e. if fee is £500, then commission to the value of £500 is taken but not more than that)

though I think the IFA who quoted £1million, was kind of pulling my leg a bit

Not at all. Many IFAs only focus on high net worth clients.
.

. If they're trying to discourage you from using their services, they're doing it to you as a favour rather than wasting your time inviting you to a meeting that would lead to the same outcome.

That is not uncommon. If you don't fit their business model or typical client then they will price themselves out of the equation. That is normal across many professions.

div_ad

I have been posting my trials and tribulations in other posts but I'm trying to find this out too.

They will either charge a fee or commission.

From my experience they will mainly want to do it on commission.

One attached to HSBC bank but an independent qoutes £190 per hour with a minimum of £1,500 plus vat or commission.

Another one I am dealing with has been asked 3 times for the cost (twice in writing) and has yet to answer. He has however now started talking about doing deals on the commission. He keeps saying it would mean being charged for each letter and phone call as well as for the hours, he says 90% especially ordinary people choose commission - he clearly wants the commission.

It's not a lifestyle choice its a strict financial one. I have, say £100 to invest. 1- if 5% commisssion means £95 is invested 2.- They rebate all commission and charge me £7 so I only have £93 to invest. It's a simple choice then. No adviser seems able to do this!

dunstonh

They will either charge a fee or commission.

From my experience they will mainly want to do it on commission.

Thats mostly consumer driven though. Most consumers prefer commission. So, when an IFA starts talking fees, if they are not given the chance to explain them in context to commission, the consumer will often look elsewhere. Phone calls make that very hard as you often need to give examples. The banks are known to frequently tell customers that IFAs charge money and that makes them more expensive. Yet bank products are typically more expensive.

One attached to HSBC bank but an independent qoutes £190 per hour with a minimum of £1,500 plus vat or commission.

You wouldnt want to use an IFA attached to HSBC though. They use their own products too much and you find the employer has too many restrictions put on the adviser. Indeed, some of the building societies were more like panels then independent.

It's not a lifestyle choice its a strict financial one. I have, say £100 to invest. 1- if 5% commisssion means £95 is invested 2.- They rebate all commission and charge me £7 so I only have £93 to invest. It's a simple choice then. No adviser seems able to do this!

Most investments now are explicitly charged. So commission equals fee. So, it's easy to compare on that basis. Indeed, the guide to services document should state examples of the different remuneration levels.

Try to avoid the larger companies or the firms that employ advisers (irrespective of whether they are tied, multi-tied, whole of market or independent). They often have targets which are based on commission earned or only get paid a percentage of what is earned i.e. the owners keep 70%, the adviser gets 30% is a common spread. So, these advisers have to usually charge a lot more to get paid the same amount as an owner, partner or director IFA.

grumpycrab

Pm'd you dunstonh if you are free. Thanks.

feesarefare

Why worry if you pay for every telephone call if it works out at £1,000 s less than commission.

If you want info on the alternatives to the commission/commission dressed up as a fee based model pm me.

jem16

feesarefare wrote: »

Why worry if you pay for every telephone call if it works out at £1,000 s less than commission.

If it's an agreed fee and it's cheaper than commission then that's great.

However if it's the kind of fee, as with most solicitors, where you have an hourly charge plus a charge for all the add-ons such as telephone calls, letters etc and you have no idea what it will all amount to then not good at all.

If you want info on the alternatives to the commission/commission dressed up as a fee based model pm me.

alom wrote: »

hi, if anybody wants details on charges etc, then pm me. i work for an IFA and can give you a breakdown.

thanks.

Why not tell us here on the thread?

feesarefare

jem16 wrote: »

If it's an agreed fee and it's cheaper than commission then that's great.

However if it's the kind of fee, as with most solicitors, where you have an hourly charge plus a charge for all the add-ons such as telephone calls, letters etc and you have no idea what it will all amount to then not good at all.

All good genuine fee based advisers would always give an estimate with the proviso that the client would be informed if for some unforeseen circumstances that the figure might be breached.

All advisers (fee based or not) know how long on average a piece of work will take so to estimate isnt difficult. I always build in a margin then the clients get a pleasant surprise when the bill is less than expected.

Why not tell us here on the thread

Hope this helps?