investments and IFA's

redmalc

Al
Thanks for that,Wollaton Hall is a great place to visit we live a couple of miles away.
I have done my own fund selections for the last 20/30 years and have some very aggressive funds which have done very well over the years but I am coming to retirement in the next three/four years and looking for consolidation of what I have achieved.

gadgetmind

I ditched HL because they push high fee funds and then increased their own platform charge many fold without consultation or apology. However, I never tried their advised service as their non-advised was already too expensive for me!

If you have specific questions, you could air them here, perhaps in another thread. Best case, the responses help you DIY, worst case, you're better informed when interviewing IFAs.

xylophone

I almost feel like not bothering.

Well if you don't and wish to access your pensions you'll either be accepting what the providers offer or trying to do it yourself.

How about booking an appointment through Pension wise for some basic guidance?

https://www.pensionwise.gov.uk/

Just remember that the EPP may be a special case regarding the lump sum.

One of the advantages of seeing a professional adviser is that he will look at your situation as a whole including the income from your property portfolio, your state pension and other savings and investments.

You have said that you want to retire which I take it means to give up paid work completely so you need to work out how you will finance the retirement you want from your pensions, savings and investments.

Do you have a solicitor that you know and trust? He may be able to recommend an IFA or three that you could contact.

dunstonh

HL are not cheap and they have dropped their IFA status and gone restricted.

if you need a little handholding, some newer robo services - such as Nutmeg, Money on Toast etc.

I would be concerned about nutmeg. Not much under management. Lost 3.6 million last year. Lost 5.3 million this year and only had a turnover of £635,381. That turnover is comparable to a firm with 4-5 advisers. Could you imagine a local IFA firm suffering those sorts of losses? Plus, they charge the same as most IFAs.

Al.

redmalc wrote: »

Al
Thanks for that,Wollaton Hall is a great place to visit we live a couple of miles away.
I have done my own fund selections for the last 20/30 years and have some very aggressive funds which have done very well over the years but I am coming to retirement in the next three/four years and looking for consolidation of what I have achieved.

I lived a mile or so from there in the 60s; my dad would take me there often. When I visited with my youngest, ten years or so ago, it was so eerie. Nothing had changed - George the gorilla was smaller that's all. We lived on Mapledene Crescent and I went to a school called Mountford House. Lots of good memories.

You want to decumulate efficiently then, which rules out robo advice (IMHO). I liken it to walking out the door backwards, taking into account capital, costs, income, tax, estate planning etc. The market's outlook is going to be choppy for a while, that's for sure - if you have achieved what you want, the overarching objective, as you say, is not to lose out on the final bend.

Al.

dunstonh wrote: »

HL are not cheap and they have dropped their IFA status and gone restricted.



I would be concerned about nutmeg. Not much under management. Lost 3.6 million last year. Lost 5.3 million this year and only had a turnover of £635,381. That turnover is comparable to a firm with 4-5 advisers. Could you imagine a local IFA firm suffering those sorts of losses? Plus, they charge the same as most IFAs.

I'm conflicted about Nutmeg, I agree with you. Money on Toast too, is even pricier. I have kept mine as competetively priced as possible. I was interviewed for the latest Langcat report.. the thought I had but didn't expand on, was that soon, a lot of plugs are going to be pulled. Have you read The Economist view on Wealthfront? Revenues (est) of c.$7 million. That's madness. Anyone can be a busy fool.

Added;

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21677245-growth-firms-selling-computer-generated-financial-advice-slowing-does-not

JohnJonestheformer

Al, you are showing off now - I'm sure not too many read the economist!

Whilst doing some research I have noticed something called appointed representative. Can't quite work out what that is.

JohnJonestheformer

Just noticed Chartered too. Is this good, or just another badge you can buy?

BLB53

Is there any easier ways?

You can always consider diy.

First step..get hold of Tim Hale's 'Smarter Investing'.

Also check out some of the free websites - https://www.monevator.com and https://www.diyinvestoruk.blogspot.co.uk are well worth a look.

If your investing requirements are fairly straight forward these could save you quite a lot in IFA fees.

dunstonh

Whilst doing some research I have noticed something called appointed representative. Can't quite work out what that is.

An adviser can be directly authorised by the FCA or they can belong to an employer or be a member of a network. The latter would be appointed reps of that employer or network.

Years ago, I would have said there was little difference between directly authorised and network advisers. However, the FCA has been hitting networks hard and making them tighten up and bring consistency across all member firms. With the higher level of business risk a network has, this usually means catering for the lowest common denominator member firm and this restricts what some of the more advanced member firms want to do. The UK's largest network (and oldest) closed its investment advice network in July.

Just noticed Chartered too. Is this good, or just another badge you can buy?

It means that the adviser has achieved a higher level of qualifications. If you have advanced advice requirements then you may prefer to pay more for an adviser that has put in the time to build extra qualifications. For most consumers, they have no need for such an adviser. However, the chartered level is a set of exams and many non-chartered will sit a few of the modules in the areas they deal mostly in rather than go the full distance.