Can I move away from my IFA

RootyTooty_2

Hello

I am not particularly happy with my IFA, I would like to end my relationship with him.

Can I do this? If so, how?

I have a Scottish widows pension with an extrnally managed portfolio (is that the right term?). this is managed by the IFA.

I'm sorry, if I am being obtuse.

Thanks for any guidance.

jem16

You should just be able to find a new IFA and then ask him/her to take over the management of your pension. The new IFA will contact the pension provider for you.

Cautious_Investor_3

Hi

Yes, in principle you can move away from your IFA. Usually there is no cost to move from an IFA, although I would just double check any agreements that you have signed with him or her. I have never seen a client / IFA agreement that would stop the client moving away from the IFA without penalty as it would be against TCF principles, however I would just check.

The next question is which IFA you should pick next. I'd ask for recommendations, use www.unbiased.co.uk interview a few and select from there.

Out of interest why do you want to move away from your current IFA?

The Cautious Investor

RootyTooty_2

Hi,

thanks for your replies.

The reason I want to move away, is because I am not comfortable with him. In a nutshell:

Before he sold me the SW plan, he did a review of all of my pensions. I said, that where is is benficial to do so, I would be interested in pulling them all under the one plan. I do have one small Final salary scheme.

After gving permission for him to obtai details from other cos, I transferred a couple of the MP schemes into SW. all well and good. But then he started chasing me to transfer the FSS as well. He wanted to meet up with me to complete the paperwork. As I am really busy at work, I could not find the time to do this. He left a message on my voicemailsaying "please let me know if you want to go ahead with this, as if you don't, I can stop pestering you"

So, I emailed him and said "Lets just leave it for now". Well, he did not stop pestering me! He immediately replied and said "I would rather not leave it as Nigel has done a lot of work on this, and I probably wont be able to get him to do this again" - my first thought was "who is Nigel?" . He also said that the analysis showed that it would be advantageous to transfer.

So, asked him to send me a copy of the report, as I could not remeber seeing anything about the FSS scheme.

He sent me a pdf, which came from a pension transfer specialist called Nigel! In this report, it talks about stuff as if we have met! How I have agreed his comission etc. It refers to an analysis which was not attached.

To my untrained eye, there is nothing in thatreport which suggests that it is financially beneficial to transfer, but mentions multiple times that I have expressed a wish to have more control over how and when I take my benefits. Hardly a compelling argument.

From the paperwork I have read, the FSS is gold plated, and guaranteed.

Cautious_Investor_3

Hi

Interesting the way "Nigel" has become involved.

I my experience this would be because your IFA does not have the qualifications to advise on a final salary transfer, generally an exam called G60 or the equivalent, however he must have these as he has already advised on a money purchase occupational pension scheme transfer. So the question remains, why is Nigel involved?

There are times when moving a final salary scheme can be beneficial, however it is fair to say that these are few are far between. However, to say that you are doing it because you "want more control over your investments" is, as you say, weak to say the least.

I hate to judge without knowing all the facts but it does unfortunately seem that your IFA and "Nigel" are trying to push you into a transfer and may not be motivated by what is best for you.

However in the spirit of giving him the benefit of the doubt why don't you drop him an email (less confrontational than a meeting or telephone conversation).

Just a few thoughts, I hope you manage to sort it out.

The Cautious Investor

dunstonh

From the paperwork I have read, the FSS is gold plated, and guaranteed.

You cant just transfer final salary schemes willy nilly. Indeed, the FSA treat final salary scheme transfers as mis-sales as default unless proven otherwise. (i.e. guilty until proven innocent). So, there has to be something in there that stands out for being a good reason. However, you are right to be on guard as around only 1 in 10 final salary schemes are worth transferring. It would have to be a damned good reason too to make it worthwhile.

yelf

I find it strange that an ifa would want to move a FS scheme bearing in mind the risks.

RootyTooty_2

Hi

Again, thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

Yes, I will email him, and I was thinking of saying:

"The report you sent me did not contain the Transfer Analysis to which it refers. I cannot possibly ascertain whether the tranfer is advantageous without seeing this. However, there is nothing in the report to suggest that it is financially a good idea;

The report is written by someone who I have not met, and yet it refers to meetings and discussions with me. How can this be so?

Please send the Trnasfer Analysis, since in your previous email you stated that Nigels conclusion is that it is advantageous to go ahead with the transfer".

To be honest, I am not at all happy with this IFA, and I do feel like I am being railroaded. I'm just not sure how I can sever the ties with him, if he is managing the funds to which my pension is linked.

LongTermLurker

RootyTooty wrote: »

To be honest, I am not at all happy with this IFA, and I do feel like I am being railroaded. I'm just not sure how I can sever the ties with him, if he is managing the funds to which my pension is linked.

As Jem16 and CI say, it should be just a case of contacting a new IFA and giving them the pension details, in the same way that you did when you went to this guy. I only found out a couple of years ago that my pension provider still had an old employer's advisor listed against my plan, so they must have been getting paid commission for years after I left the company! I soon put that right...

Just check through your initial contract to make sure there are no time-based restrictions on leaving.

Sapphire

yelf wrote: »

I find it strange that an ifa would want to move a FS scheme bearing in mind the risks.

I definitely wouldn't allow anyone to transfer a FSS pension. I did this with one of my pensions at a time when I was financially ignorant on the advice of an IFA (connected to a company I was working for!) and lost tens of thousands of pounds, despite getting compensation of a few thousand. :mad:

TH1878

yelf wrote: »

I find it strange that an ifa would want to move a FS scheme bearing in mind the risks.

There are possibly plenty of risks to staying in the scheme also. I am AF3 (new version of G60) qualified and look at these types of pensions all the time.

It's impossible without knowing the OP's individual circumstances to know whether a transfer would be suitable, and certainly not something that 'Nigel' would be able to ascertain without meeting the OP.

I do sometimes look at Defined Benefit transfers for other IFAs but I always insist on meeting the client before giving advice one way or the other. Usually the advice is to leave it where it is.