IFA - pay fees or commission?

jem16

K_P83 wrote: »

It can be installed on my sisters machine (as she used MS Office a lot for her college work).
I'll also use it on my machine.

You can't do that unless your sister's machine is a laptop.

The licenence is for one desktop and one mobile computer.

Nine_Lives

Really? Thanks for pointing that out. I was going to give that option to my sister, but looks like that's already been decided for her then. Luckily we have 2 laptops & mine is a desktop.


There's a flaw in this system though (tying a product key to a machine). What if that machine blows? I know what the suspicions will be when i say this, but let's say both computers blow/die/whatever you wish to call it, what then? You have to buy ANOTHER license? Seems a bit wrong to me. Why should you be penalised for your machine breaking?

I remember when this happened with XP. If you upgraded too many components, it wouldn't recognize your PC. So you're not allowed to upgrade now?

All seems a bit wrong.

jem16

K_P83 wrote: »

Really? Thanks for pointing that out. I was going to give that option to my sister, but looks like that's already been decided for her then. Luckily we have 2 laptops & mine is a desktop.

As the licence is legally your sister's then it is up to her how it is installed as it's for her use.

There's a flaw in this system though (tying a product key to a machine). What if that machine blows? I know what the suspicions will be when i say this, but let's say both computers blow/die/whatever you wish to call it, what then? You have to buy ANOTHER license? Seems a bit wrong to me. Why should you be penalised for your machine breaking?

You wouldn't have to buy another licence but if there is a problem then contact Microsoft.

I remember when this happened with XP. If you upgraded too many components, it wouldn't recognize your PC. So you're not allowed to upgrade now?

You phoned Microsoft if that was the case.

Nine_Lives

jem16 wrote: »

As the licence is legally your sister's then it is up to her how it is installed as it's for her use.

Yes and no.

In a correct and nicey-nice sense, you're right.

However i've paid for the CD & when i tell her it'll be on my desktop & her laptop as a result of me paying for it, that's how it'll be installed Unless of course she'd like to refund me in full, which she wont.

dunstonh wrote: »

You need to ask them what the cost for any implementation would be if you follow the advice.

Received reply on that matter:

No extra charge, unless the investment is lump sum & then the charge is 3% up to £50k


EDIT: Was told the meeting will be approx 30 mins. The one with the first IFA was a tad over 2 hours.

What's the average as such?

Meeper

To do a full fact-finding and explanation of how the service works tailored into language that the client is comfortable with and can understand, I would be surprised if any of my first meetings lasted any less than 90 minutes, with 2 hours sounding reasonable.

Many advisers will say "30 minutes of your time" because it's easier for people to agree to 30 minutes whereas people will be reticent to agree to spending 2 hours on it if they are uncertain of the value. The guy who says that he can do it in 30 minutes is banking on you not throwing him out after that time or looking at your watch, as it should take a lot longer than that. Of course, if he is in and out in 30 minutes as promised, I'd wonder what he was doing as he can't possibly have been as thorough as the guy who took 2 hours, right?

Nine_Lives

Agreed. I guess there's only 1 way to find out, but if i take the first meeting (with the first IFA) and think about how that could be condensed into 30 minutes, my answer would be simply ... it couldn't. Nowhere near 30 minutes.
I waffled on a bit, as did he, so it could be probably trimmed to the 60-90 minute marker if we were being economical with time, but 30 minutes? Forget it.

If your first suggestion is correct (that he's not wanting to put me off with a 2 hour slot) then i'd rather he was just honest. I wouldn't mind 2 hours at all. It's a bit long, but thorough.

Still, i feel the first chap wasted the 2 hours, as whenever i'd ask him something, he'd be wishy-washy with his replies.

So far this 30 minute slot is my only concern.




A thought on lump sum investing....

This chap says there's a 3% fee on investing as a lump sum. Let's paint the picture that i'm paying £xyz-per month, and all of a sudden i have a large lump sum to invest (£10k-£20k). If i invest in one go, i lose 3% instantly.
Now the instant way around this that i can think of, is to increase my monthly payments considerably, until this lump sum is fully paid in and then reduce the monthly payments back to what they were.

I am assuming IFAs are crafty & have dealt with this approach before & there's methods in place to stop this happening...??

gadgetmind

Meeper wrote: »

Many advisers will say "30 minutes of your time" because it's easier for people to agree to 30 minutes whereas people will be reticent to agree to spending 2 hours on it

If someone books a 30 minute slot with me, they won't be given a chance to ramble on beyond the 32 minute mark never mind 120 minutes!

My PA knows to add some cold water to the tea/coffee of any visitor who's only got a 30 minute slot.

dunstonh

I think the 30 minutes comes from the IFA promotions voucher that says it is worth 30 minutes of free advice. In reality, most will give the first meeting free and it will take more than 30 minutes.

Nine_Lives

K_P83 wrote: »

A thought on lump sum investing....

This chap says there's a 3% fee on investing as a lump sum. Let's paint the picture that i'm paying £xyz-per month, and all of a sudden i have a large lump sum to invest (£10k-£20k). If i invest in one go, i lose 3% instantly.
Now the instant way around this that i can think of, is to increase my monthly payments considerably, until this lump sum is fully paid in and then reduce the monthly payments back to what they were.

I am assuming IFAs are crafty & have dealt with this approach before & there's methods in place to stop this happening...??

Any response on the above?

2 queries here:


1) Although i currently have no lump sum i'm willing to invest, i'm curious on the above scenario.

2) As said, i have £30k in savings & my partner has £10k making a combined £40k. We have already decided to use the vast majority of this on a deposit for a house, with an amount put to one side for bills/decorating/emergencies etc, so the decision has already been made irrespective of what anyone else says (that's your cue to not being scared to commit your opinion )
So my question is, would you advise this yourselves? Or would you advise lumping some of it into a retirement fund, or other alternative?

I know i said the decision has already been made, but i'd like to know what others, more experienced in life, think on the topic.

Zelazny

K_P83 wrote: »

Any response on the above?

2 queries here:


1) Although i currently have no lump sum i'm willing to invest, i'm curious on the above scenario.

2) As said, i have £30k in savings & my partner has £10k making a combined £40k. We have already decided to use the vast majority of this on a deposit for a house, with an amount put to one side for bills/decorating/emergencies etc, so the decision has already been made irrespective of what anyone else says (that's your cue to not being scared to commit your opinion )
So my question is, would you advise this yourselves? Or would you advise lumping some of it into a retirement fund, or other alternative?

I know i said the decision has already been made, but i'd like to know what others, more experienced in life, think on the topic.

Looking at the figures provided by the OP, that is £100 pm going into the pension, lump sum of £10k and simply increasing monthly payments to get the lump sum into the pension, assuming investment returns at 7%, bank interest at 1% (for lump sum prior to investment), you'd need to increase the monthly amount to nearly £1,000 per month before you were better off that way than simply paying the 3% fee.

In fact, bank interest should probably be considered negative as it is below inflation at present.

Is there a charge to change your monthly payment amount?