A tale of 4 IFA's... (subtitle - why is it so hard?)

waccamole

I Jan 2012 I started looking for an IFA to assist with sorting out mine and partner's pensions. This is my experience:

Looked for a local IFA using unbiased.co.uk not many listed in my area, some had links to non-existent websites - slim pickings. Chose one that seemed might be suitable:

IFA no. 1 - spoke to him on the phone, he asked me to write to all our pension providers to get up to date info and said he would call me back. Thought this was a bit odd as other IFA's I've had did this for me. Anyway, I went along with it but when he called I hadn't had all the replies so he said he'd call me back in a week or so - he never did.

Tried Google...

IFA no.2 - sent message via the website, called me the next day - so far so good. Saw this guy at his plush offices in town. He took all the details. At our second meeting all he did was tell me what I already knew, I was keen to pay a fee rather than commission but he said 'we have that option but nobody chooses it'. Didn't feel comfortable with that.

IFA no. 3 - having been unable to find anyone nearer went to this chap's even plusher offices in a town some miles away. Nice enough fellow but he was clearly used to handling much larger amounts. Checked on this forum what was thought of his fees - consensus was they were high.

(by now it's summer 2012)

IFA no. 4 - tried searching for an IFA in a nearby town on the internet. Phoned up the one I liked the website for most and spoke to the IFA. Had a long chat, he seemed reasonable so arranged an appointment at my home (he lives quite nearby). We got on OK, what he said made sense. Signed the necessary forms and off we went. Finally moved the pensions and S&S ISA to Aviva wrap in October. Recently discovered (subject of another thread) that everything has been in cash since then. Explanation being that he thought the market was high. I didn't agree to that strategy and would not have disagreed with it. I didn't get a written report.

I've had a couple of decent IFA's in the past (90's and early 00's) and one excellent one (he left the country!). How come it is so hard to find one now?

All I want is some decent advice and value for money.

jem16

waccamole wrote: »

I Jan 2012 I started looking for an IFA to assist with sorting out mine and partner's pensions. This is my experience:

Looked for a local IFA using unbiased.co.uk not many listed in my area, some had links to non-existent websites - slim pickings. Chose one that seemed might be suitable:

Did you untick the box which says show sponsored ads only?

Most small IFA firms don't have websites and these are often the best ones to use rather than the large national ones.

sandsy

You need to get the suitability report from IFA No. 4. This should contain his justification for moving you onto the Aviva platform and into cash. He HAS to provide you with this if he recommends you purchase a specific product. Without this, you can't assess if he took your views into consideration.

From the start of this year, investment advisers can't be paid by commission - fees are the only option. So in theory it should be easier to get a quote for getting advice although as the new system is just bedding down, everything's still a bit wishy-washy.

waccamole

jem16 wrote: »

Did you untick the box which says show sponsored ads only?

Most small IFA firms don't have websites and these are often the best ones to use rather than the large national ones.

Yes I did. All I spoke to were local IFA's. Our last IFA was swallowed up by a national one which was why I wanted to move.

Btw - just remembered there was a 5th. She was reccommended by a friend but turned out to be an FA with St James Partnership so no go there!

dunstonh

2012 was a strange year for many IFAs. Figures are looking like 20-30% have given up over the last couple of years. Many are going restricted and many were spending a lot of time getting ready for RDR and were not that interested in obtaining new business during that period. That may explain the ones that wanted you to do the work or not get back to you.

High net worth ones always price themselves out for smaller cases. Their view is typically that they dont really want you but if you want them then you pay their rates.

Having the fee taken via the commission system on pensions is a good thing most of the time as you effectively get tax relief on the fee. If an IFA doesnt have a fee option then they could not have been an IFA. Maybe they were whole of market rather than IFA.

Number 4 is a mess as no adviser should try and time the market (even though many consumers think they should).

bigfreddiel

i'm glad to see your experience is what one expects these days - let me just expand on that

no one EVER calls back
no one EVER arrives on time
no one ever takes responsibility thee days - its never their fault
financial people are amongst the worst at accepting responsibility
no one can be trusted - they all lie from the top down
(there are plenty examples of liars in top positions in government, religion, sport, who vehemently defended their positions only to step down and confess when they had no option)
lying is human nature - just dont be surprised when it happens to you

the answer learn a little bit and do it yourslf -its easy with the right tools

information is on tap now - thats why HMV, Jessop, Blockbusters have gone

who's next?

see ya

fj

fairleads

Number 4 is a mess as no adviser should try and time the market (even though many consumers think they should).

I would have thought they are duty bound to

GhIFA

fairleads wrote: »

I would have thought they are duty bound to

Why would you think that?? It's not possible to do.

bigfreddiel

dunstonh wrote: »

2012 was a strange year for many IFAs.

yet another strange reason from an ifa for bad advice - bit like british rail and the wrong type of snow - hehehehehe

like i keep saying the ifa is never at fault - its the client not asking the right question, the client being too ignorant to understand, the client witheld information, the market was overbought/underbought, its not the right time - basically more excuses than a schoolboy without his homework

who else thinks ifas should come with a wealth warning - this advice can cause your wealth to decrease as well as increase.

see ya

fj

Velcro_Hotdog

Sounds like the IFAs were not keen on working with you OP. To find one or two you don't like is bad luck.. to find four suggests you either walk under a lot of ladders or they didn't want to work wth you.

atush

Bigfreddie, shouldn't you be in school today?