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

fairleads

GhIFA wrote: »

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

All things are possible, especially trying.

xylophone

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.

He is now a client of IFA 4 but IFA 4 appears to be operating rather oddly?

GhIFA

fairleads wrote: »

All things are possible, especially trying.

So no answer to the question I actually asked then? Why do you think that an IFA should be "duty bound" to try and time the markets, when it's widely accepted that it is not a sensible course of action?

gadgetmind

Any IFA who tried to time the market with my money would find themselves testing the depth of their insurance pretty quickly!

fairleads

GhIFA wrote: »

So no answer to the question I actually asked then? Why do you think that an IFA should be "duty bound" to try and time the markets, when it's widely accepted that it is not a sensible course of action?

Because, in my experience, trying to time the market (and only even partially succeeding) has proved to be a better option than being long only.
I'm not talking trading, just allocating more to cash as I see fit.
As per IFA 4.
To say that its widely accepted that market timing is not a sensible course of action, is to my mind, a cop out.

fairleads

gadgetmind wrote: »

Any IFA who tried to time the market with my money would find themselves testing the depth of their insurance pretty quickly!

So you just wang money at the wall and hope some sticks?

Or invest in companies that you've evaluated as being on to something big before the market catches on?

waccamole

dunstonh wrote: »

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).

He did have a fee option, just brushed over it saying 'but no one ever chooses that'.

So, we should definitely have received a 'suitability' report then? We've had 'reasons why' reports from past IFA's - presume that this is the current equivalent?

He explained verbally why he recommended the transfer to the Aviva platform, I came on here for a sanity check and then we signed the transfer forms. We didn't get anything in writing. He didn't tell us what funds he was planning to use but he definitely didn't say he was planning to put everything in cash.

gadgetmind

fairleads wrote: »

So you just wang money at the wall and hope some sticks?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur_(logic)

fairleads

gadgetmind wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur_(logic)

I started investing in 1963 ................

However, although i have no truck with Hl..............

http://www.hl.co.uk/news/articles/features/six-simple-methods-to-choosing-shares

bigadaj

waccamole wrote: »

He did have a fee option, just brushed over it saying 'but no one ever chooses that'.

So, we should definitely have received a 'suitability' report then? We've had 'reasons why' reports from past IFA's - presume that this is the current equivalent?

He explained verbally why he recommended the transfer to the Aviva platform, I came on here for a sanity check and then we signed the transfer forms. We didn't get anything in writing. He didn't tell us what funds he was planning to use but he definitely didn't say he was planning to put everything in cash.

Odd to see nothing in writing, if only to allow the ifa to cover himself in future. Most things should go in writing, particularly as you aren't really familiar with each other, ask him for the information you require and don't be afraid to complain.