friends provident international mirror funds

coxwell

After being shafted by our financial adviser I need to rejig our investments with Friends Provident International mirror funds. I am loathe to pay out any more money to an adviser so I would appreciate any help/advice in choosing the right funds.
Can anybody help????

dunstonh

Can anybody help????

a financial adviser

Effectively, no. No-one else can help as investments should be suitable to your risk profile, knowledge and understanding, timescale and capacity for loss. Along with what is available on that contract. None of which anyone here knows.

coxwell

That was what the last adviser was supposed to do! The Financial Ombudsman upheld our complaint and the adviser shut his company down. Why would I trust another one when there are plenty of people who use this forum who are certainly knowledgable enough!!!

dunstonh

Why would I trust another one when there are plenty of people who use this forum who are certainly knowledgable enough!!!

Better not get any food poisoning in future. Not eating food again will not be good.

There is not a sole on this forum who can be any help to you based on what you have written so far. Picking an option at random will be as useful as what we can tell you. If you want to DIY then you need to start reading up on the subject.

coxwell

What is your problem!
Most of my friends have been duped by either financial advisers, bankers or politicians. Perhaps you are an exception but surely you have to accept that your peer group are without doubt somewhat dubious. I am more than happy to deal with an IFA who is prepared to take a percentage of any profit OR LOSS, but they are as rare as rocking horse poo or are you different??

dunstonh

Most of my friends have been duped by either financial advisers, bankers or politicians.

And I am sure your favourite tin foil manufacturer is very happy to do business with you.

but surely you have to accept that your peer group are without doubt somewhat dubious.

Yet the figures do not reflect that. Just 0.5% of complaints at the FOS with the majority rejected.

I am more than happy to deal with an IFA who is prepared to take a percentage of any profit OR LOSS, but they are as rare as rocking horse poo or are you different??

That charging method would be unethical and not reflect the role of an IFA. It would cost you far more as well. A really poor idea.

What is your problem!

I have no problem. I am not asking strangers on the internet to tell you what you should invest in using a product and tax wrapper they are not aware of with fund availability they are not aware of for a risk profile they are not aware of and with no way to tell your knowledge and understanding (although perhaps we are getting that now) or what your capacity for loss is or the time-scales involved.

Why dont you look into forestry or carbon credits. Plenty out there who would love to take your money without care about those things.

coxwell

I am looking for help from my fellow investors to avoid paying more money to incompetent, dishonest sharks who infest the financial world. Perhaps you are different but you have to accept that your peergroup are held with the same esteem as estate agents and the taxman. How do you see your role as an IFA.??

Annisele

I'm not an IFA, but I agree completely with Dunstonh here. To put what he said slightly differently, for all I know you could have:

£5 million that you want to invest for an income for the rest of your life.

£200,000 that you'd like to invest now, but might want to buy a house with in six months.

£100,000 that you want to invest for growth, but you're cautious to risk averse and you don't want to touch anything with equities in it.

£100,000 that you want to invest for growth, and you're happy to take a punt on the riskiest thing we can find.

It might also be that the bond wrapper itself is unsuitable. You could also be a higher rate/basic rate/non taxpayer - and that might be likely to change in the foreseeable future. You might have a capital need coming up. You might be in one of a huge number of different situations. Suitable advice would depend on your capacity for loss, your attitude to risk, your current circumstances, etc etc.

On the very little I know about you, I think you should try to look at some diversification - but that's all I think I can sensibly say.

dunstonh

Perhaps you are different but you have to accept that your peergroup are held with the same esteem as estate agents and the taxman. How do you see your role as an IFA.??

I dont accept that because it is not reality. Sure, there are some who have a chip on their shoulder that gives them an incorrect biased few but you usually find that those people are referring to other distribution types and dont realise the difference. i.e. insurance agents of 10-20 years ago, tied reps etc.

However, when one of the major distribution channels has under 0.5% of complaints at the FOS, then you know that there is not much of a problem with them. You can never claim perfection but that goes for any industry. However, the reality is that your view is not matched by the majority.

coxwell

Life is all about experience.
My friends all share tales of woe based on their dealings with IFAS. My experience with 3 of them have been appalling.
All I was looking for was some help from people using the same provider and its methods from the investors on this forum. Does anybody use Mirror funds?

mollycat

coxwell wrote: »

Life is all about experience.

Yep, and how we percieve, process and reflect upon those experiences to form opinions and core beliefs.

Our "window on the world" if you like

My only advice is to re-read the thread, try and understand some of the decent advice you've had, (in the face of some unwarranted hostility it must be said), and move on.

Good luck OP.