How much is too much?

wotsthat

jem16 wrote: »

The OP hasn't been back since shortly after I posted and asked the question as to why they didn't DIY. Until we get further information we can only speculate but there is a fair chance that their current provider couldn't do what they wished.

A number of posters said straight off the bat it looked liked good value despite not knowing why he didn't DIY.

Indicative of a slight bias?

dunstonh

Is it difficult to tell someone how to access the lump sum whilst leaving the rest untouched?

Depends if you are employing them commercially to do so or not.

A number of posters said straight off the bat it looked liked good value despite not knowing why he didn't DIY.

That was the question asked and it was answered. £400 for employing someone to do that is good value. it doesnt matter whey he didnt DIY as that was not the question asked.

Indicative of a slight bias?

No. it is answering the question asked.

jem16

wotsthat wrote: »

A number of posters said straight off the bat it looked liked good value despite not knowing why he didn't DIY.

For advice from an IFA it is a good fee.

Whether or not advice was needed is an entirely different question altogether but one has to assume that as an IFA was approached then advice was needed.

Indicative of a slight bias?

I don't have any reason to be biased.

TH1878

TheTracker wrote: »

Oh there is nothing ulterior about my motive, it is quite public and plain.

Firstly, I think the IFA brigade here is well above average in terms of intelligence and certainly politeness. I do believe they are sincere and just trying to help, much like a financial chiropractor. I don't for a second think they are scouting for business, I suspect that would be frowned upon by the forum owners. But it would be useful if each of them were to disclaim they've never received any business through a contact made on this forum. How about it?

Already done it.

My beef lies lies in the sharp intake of breath that responds to almost any request wellllll you could do it yourself, but DIY is risky, you should really let a professional handle it.

Example...? Do you not see how this is contradictory to your first statement? So the IFAs are just here to help (people DIY) but we are then saying DIY is risky? I don't recall any post saying that anyway.

The OP is minded to know that most of the people responding to a request for professional service costs are in the business of selling such services to the public. Ask a bunch of plumbers how much to fix a faucet? Now ask your mates.

The OP didn't ask if he should DIY, he asked if £400 was too much. If he thinks it's too much then it's too much and he should invest the time into learning to DIY. However, for an advised service, the rate he's been quoted is cheap.

But my general beef with the IFA industry is two fold: generally opaque pricing; poor basic understanding of the lack of relative merits of active management (the clue is in my handle).

I could talk with you all day about the benefits of active over passive investing, particularly in the UK, but the sensible approach is to use a blended model and alter depending on where you are in the economic cycle.

Most of the studies that favour passives over actives assume a buy and hold strategy which is disingenuous. If you're recommending active funds, you need to be aware that they won't be suitable for every part of the economic cycle and you need to review the funds you're holding (i.e, be proACTIVE). So an IFA who favours actives funds should be reviewing the asset allocation and fund selection on a regular basis.

I've been running client portfolios since 2008 (quarterly reviews) and I recently back tested them against a weighted indices (so no charges) benchmark. The mainly active portfolios have far outperformed the benchmark. It's not even close.

But passives are always better..... Obviously

TH1878

wotsthat wrote: »

A number of posters said straight off the bat it looked liked good value despite not knowing why he didn't DIY.

Indicative of a slight bias?

That's not the question that was asked. He said was it too much for advice.

If he'd asked 'can I DIY?', my answer would have been 'Yes, if you're prepared to put time and effort into it'.

I can plumb and I'm not a bad tiler. However, I still get a pro in to do these jobs because I don't have the time to do it myself.