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IFA Fees

Hi All,

Firstly I'm not sure this is the correct board for this post, please let me know if it isn't.

Recently we got move on with regard to planning for our retirement.
An IFA came strongly recommend to us. Having engaged with them we have now got to the point of organizing our finance's as per the recommendations. Our initial reading for the fee structure was paying 1% of initial investment + 1% of any further investments.
Now that we are at crunch time, we took closer look at the fees.They are structured in the following way:
IFA - 1% of total investment, each year (inc previous years)
Pension wrapper - 0.29% + £160 yearly fees

This is all new to us, so the question we have are:
Is this fee structure normal?
If it is, then is this reasonable?

Thanks
Satpal
«13456

Comments

  • What size of investment are you looking at? Fees vary depending on the size of the investment and the amount of work required.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 121,464 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Is this fee structure normal?

    All precentage based fees need to be shown in monetary terms. So, what is amount of the investment here?

    1% initial is good (as long as there is a tiering down or cap for very large investments)
    1% ongoing is common for smaller investments but 0.5% is dominant for larger investments.
    Pension wrapper - 0.29% + £160 yearly fees

    That is a strange pricing method. Most platforms on the intermediary side are percentage only. Who is the platform?
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • tacpot12
    tacpot12 Posts: 9,536 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    What is the IFA going to do for these fees?
    The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.
  • JoeEngland
    JoeEngland Posts: 445 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts
    [STRIKE][/STRIKE]
    tacpot12 wrote: »
    What is the IFA going to do for these fees?

    Since the IFA gets a % of the fund after his initial payment that's a very good question. I must be in the wrong profession!
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 121,464 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    JoeEngland wrote: »
    [STRIKE][/STRIKE]

    Since the IFA gets a % of the fund after his initial payment that's a very good question. I must be in the wrong profession!

    You are welcome to put the study in, pass the qualifications and put in the work hours that a new adviser would have to do. However, be prepared for failure. Over half the advisers that attempt to join the profession leave within 2 years as they cannot make a success of it.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • TBC15
    TBC15 Posts: 1,528 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    tacpot12 wrote: »
    What is the IFA going to do for these fees?

    At a mad guess, give independent financial advice.
  • Audaxer
    Audaxer Posts: 3,552 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    schander wrote: »
    IFA - 1% of total investment, each year (inc previous years)
    I don't understand that. How can he charge for previous years?
  • JoeEngland
    JoeEngland Posts: 445 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts
    dunstonh wrote: »
    You are welcome to put the study in, pass the qualifications and put in the work hours that a new adviser would have to do. However, be prepared for failure. Over half the advisers that attempt to join the profession leave within 2 years as they cannot make a success of it.

    Thanks, I didn't know that. It still sounds like a bit of a racket for the lucky few.
  • HappyHarry
    HappyHarry Posts: 1,899 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    JoeEngland wrote: »
    Thanks, I didn't know that. It still sounds like a bit of a racket for the lucky few.

    Not a racket, just a professional job.

    Lucky few? I don't know any adviser that does very well due to luck. However, I know lots that have done very well due to working very hard.

    :)
    I am was an Independent Financial Adviser. Any comments I make here are intended for information / discussion only. Nothing I post here should be construed as advice. If you are looking for individual financial advice, please contact a local Independent Financial Adviser.
  • JoeEngland
    JoeEngland Posts: 445 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts
    HappyHarry wrote: »
    Not a racket, just a professional job.

    Lucky few? I don't know any adviser that does very well due to luck. However, I know lots that have done very well due to working very hard.

    :)

    I meant lucky in a general sense as it was said that half of FAs don't make it work. Compared to other professions it is somewhat of a racket if they take a % of future money. I've yet to come across a builder who demands a share of the increased selling price of a home when he builds an extension on it :-D
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