IFA's etc. Has anybody ever been to one that has MADE them money rather than charged

atush

Aegis said it very well.

I am staggered some of you believe IFAs are paid to post here. If anything, they appear to have more scrutiny. As opposed to the BF's of the community who slam with impunity and w/o explanation, or proof.

MarcoM

I have a slightly different question.

If someone has 2 million quid to invest would it be wiser to have two or three different ifa's looking after the portfolio for the first five years and then maybe just have one or would this be a waste of money. It may be that one of the IFAs produces a better package than the other and also isn't it always best to spread risk and or diversify?

dunstonh

MarcoM wrote: »

I have a slightly different question.

If someone has 2 million quid to invest would it be wiser to have two or three different ifa's looking after the portfolio for the first five years and then maybe just have one or would this be a waste of money. It may be that one of the IFAs produces a better package than the other and also isn't it always best to spread risk and or diversify?

One IFA. Otherwise you would need to notify the other IFAs of every allowance used each and every time and the actions of one could throw off the planning of the other. In IFA terms, £2 million is not uncommon. In FA terms it certainly would be.

If you feel one IFA produces a better package then use that IFA.

Also, you are not investing in that IFA. You are investing in the products and services recommended by that IFA. So, spreading IFAs will not spread risk or diversify. Especially in the unlikely event all three recommend the same thing.

doughnutmachine

atush wrote: »

I am staggered some of you believe IFAs are paid to post here. If anything, they appear to have more scrutiny. As opposed to the BF's of the community who slam with impunity and w/o explanation, or proof.

ehhh? you really think someone spends most of their working week on this forum for no monetary recompense?

most people with jobs actually want paid for doing them....

doughnutmachine

atush wrote: »

Then there are the qualifications which has been covered here even today(and as most here now know even if you are simple) has actually been increased recently post RDR.

yeah, the minimum qualification to call yourself an IFA went from A level equivalent to the equivalent of the first year of university....

Am I meant to be impressed?

dunstonh

ehhh? you really think someone spends most of their working week on this forum for no monetary recompense?

Who exactly would be paying this money then and for what benefit?

Am I meant to be impressed?

You dont want to be impressed. So, there is no point trying.

Aegis

MarcoM wrote: »

I have a slightly different question.

If someone has 2 million quid to invest would it be wiser to have two or three different ifa's looking after the portfolio for the first five years and then maybe just have one or would this be a waste of money. It may be that one of the IFAs produces a better package than the other and also isn't it always best to spread risk and or diversify?

There are a few different issues here. The first is benchmarking, i.e. comparing the performance of one IFA or investment manager against another. This is the main reason why you might consider appointing several advisers to look after your portfolio for you, and in theory it's not a bad idea if you don't have a personal referral to go by. On the other hand, you could instead ask for a composite benchmark of some sort against which your performance is measured. The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS) have a series of benchmark portfolios for different risk profiles (though these are made up of indices and therefore don't account for charges), or you could use one of the sector averages such as the ABI Mixed Investment averages. If you are using a discretionary manager, there's also the option to benchmark against the Asset Risk Consulting (ARC) peer group analysis to see how you are doing against the majority of similar investors.

The second issue is cost. In my view, decent IFAs should either cap their fee at a certain level depending on the complexity of your portfolio or should operate a sliding scale of charges. In other words, investing £2 million with one IFA shouldn't be exactly four times the cost of investing £500,000 with the same IFA. Economies of scale start to come into play here, which means that splitting up the portfolios can cause some significant unnecessary costs to come into play.

Finally, as mentioned by dunstonh above, it would be fairly tricky to divide your assets and allowances between several IFAs. One of the core aspects of an IFA's service is implementing a strategy by which you can reduce tax, which requires the use of pensions, ISAs, insurance-based investments and other tax-efficient investments to maximise your overall return. This becomes very tricky when assets are shared between advisers unless it is clearly agreed at outset who will manage which allowances. Even then, you would certainly not achieve even close to the optimum strategy if each adviser is in the dark about precisely what the others are doing and when.

In short, there are pros and cons, but it's likely far better to use one good IFA than to pit several against each other.

What you might want to do is get in touch with a few different IFAs and ask them to pitch for your business, preferably in person rather than just in written format. You then have the opportunity to ask loads of questions and decide which firm/adviser you want to look after your portfolio for you.

Take loads of notes and report back if you want any feedback!

doughnutmachine

dunstonh wrote: »

Who exactly would be paying this money then and for what benefit?



You dont want to be impressed. So, there is no point trying.

well, I can't make my mind up if it's a national IFA organisation or even MSE? Well the benefit could be thousands of people logging onto a forum wondering how to invest money and seeing "Go and see an IFA"..... After all where would be the best place to get the IFA message out.... apart from a forum where people look for advice on investing money.

I have to admit I would struggle to pay someone educated to first year degree level thousands of pounds each year to look after my financial assets.

dunstonh

well, I can't make my mind up if it's a national IFA organisation or even MSE?

What national IFA organisation?
Why would MSE promote IFAs?

Well the benefit could be thousands of people logging onto a forum wondering how to invest money and seeing "Go and see an IFA"

This site is busy but its not as busy as solicitors and accountants who refer to IFAs. Media outlets usually caveat their comments by saying see an IFA.

After all where would be the best place to get the IFA message out.... apart from a forum where people look for advice on investing money.

Message out for whom though?

I have to admit I would struggle to pay someone educated to first year degree level thousands of pounds each year to look after my financial assets.

So, you would use someone that has no qualifications to do it then?

doughnutmachine

dunstonh wrote: »

What national IFA organisation?
Why would MSE promote IFAs?



This site is busy but its not as busy as solicitors and accountants who refer to IFAs. Media outlets usually caveat their comments by saying see an IFA.



Message out for whom though?



So, you would use someone that has no qualifications to do it then?

In post 47 Aegis makes clear he receives no money for posting here. Perhaps you could make a similar statement?