How to find a good IFA?

InsideInsurance

I want the services of a good IFA, initially for protection products but in the near to medium term also financial planning.

Moving around a fair amount I dont know many "locals" to recommend someone and having looked periodically at those who are on Unbiased.co.uk I have always been concerned that the majority really look like one man bands or not particularly reputable.

Of cause a one person company can be great but how to judge that from a basic website is something I've been struggling with. The press today saying that 33% of IFAs gave bad investment advice didn't help me (though the 86% of banks that gave bad investment advice is evidently more worrying but less surprising)

I currently living in the Guildford/ Farnham area working in the central London

dunstonh

I have always been concerned that the majority really look like one man bands or not particularly reputable.

How can an entry on unbiased.co.uk make a firm look unreputable?

IFAs are still considered to be a cottage industry. Indeed, you generally find the most compliant are the small one man bands or low adviser numbers rather than the national salesforces (with sales targets/commission and sales pressure).

The press today saying that 33% of IFAs gave bad investment advice didn't help me

Read the article again. 6 IFAs checked by Which and 4 passed Which standards but 2 didnt but Which didnt say how they failed. 2 of the things in Which?'s list of requirements for a pass are not regulatory requirements and given the the types of investments an IFA is more likely to use (unit linked) compared to banks (structured products) the thing they were looking for to be mentioned would be largely irrelevant (compared to structured products where it is very important). it wasnt a measure of bad advice either. It was a measure against a criteria that the mystery shoppers wanted to meet their standard.

If the press say 33% of IFAs gave bad advice then that is a gross misrepresentation of the facts of the mystery shopping report from Which?

IFAs have under 2% of complaints at the FOS despite handling the majority of advice transactions.

InsideInsurance

I didnt mean to imply that unbiased made them look unreputable but that it was the tool used to find them and upon looking into them (off the site) they didn't feel reputable.

Agree that the papers article was the usual sensational nonsense and that it did point out banks came out massively worse. Naturally if you are struggling to trust something/someone sensationalist headlines don't help.

I am not looking for a national type company, if I were I would reply to the daily voicemails from the Welbeck Group!

It would be good if you could help in saying how you do find a good IFA as well as pulling my post apart.

ACG

I cant really comment on the Investment side as its not something i deal with, but with regards to larger and smaller companies. I spent time working with a Mortgage Advice firm, 2 of the 4 advisors came from a huge company - they charged huge fees, cut corners and were very good at earning money but very bad at doing the right thing - i left within a couple of months.

Ive joined a company that has recently formed and its basically a bloke that has brought in a few self employed people he trusts and has worked with in the past to work together help each other and form a bit of a brand. As all of the individuals have worked for themselves they know their clients inside out, they want the refferals, they want the customers coming back and they go the extra mile.

A slightly bad example would be a local electrical store compared to say a chain. The people that run their own companies care, spotty 18 year olds still hungover from the night before dont.

Anyway, with regards to finding a good IFA, maybe look on google, freeindex.co.uk anywhere that offers reviews, no doubt there will be people who add their own review but there will be IFAs who get their clients to write reviews and if their clients are happy to do that then they must be half decent.

You can always go and see a couple of advisors, go with the one you feel most comfortabe with not the one thats full of sales talk.