How do I find a good IFA

WTY433

Hi,
Following some good direction on this forum I am now looking to move my FS pension to a money purchase pension to give me more flexibility and potential IHT benefits.

Having made this decision I now need to find a quality IFA but 'd like to know how to go about this as I appreciate the "nice" ones may not always be the best ones.I also understand they may be knowledgeable on the subject of pensions but the products they recommend may not be the best for me.

This happened recently with an adviser from St James Place accepting though he wasn't an IFA

So far my understanding is that I need to consider
1. Adviser charges
2. Platform charges
3. Investment charges
(thanks Aegis) and that may give me a key to who charges a fair amount.
Hopefully they will present it in the same way.
I also believe these can be flat fee's or %'s
The fund value is £625,000

I have also been told that an IFA can chose from over 30,000 funds etc which must be very hard for them to sift through.
A friend of mine who has done the same recently said he'd gone, after advice, with Royal London Pension as charges were only 0.45% but as a mutual they rebate 0.25% back so cheaper and they look after all the management.

His adviser also pointed him towards Platform with Skandia for drawdown. I'm not sure how this works.

My instincts are that the better ones would be those who specialise in pension transfers
Thanks all in advance

Any further advise on choosing a decent IFA and where/how to find them and what to ask them etc would be good.



WTY

dunstonh

Hopefully they will present it in the same way.

An IFA has no choice. it is a regulatory requirement. Its only the tied agents selling own product that can hide it.

I have also been told that an IFA can chose from over 30,000 funds etc which must be very hard for them to sift through.

Not really. A lot of it is software driven with filters and data, research and analysis obtained from third parties.

A friend of mine who has done the same recently said he'd gone, after advice, with Royal London Pension as charges were only 0.45% but as a mutual they rebate 0.25% back so cheaper and they look after all the management.

RL is a good old style pension. Use it sometimes with basic investors. Particularly those that don't expect much or want much and dont really understand investing. The mutual bonus is expected to average around 0.15% although some years it may be more. RL do not manage it. You still select the funds and strategy.

His adviser also pointed him towards Platform with Skandia for drawdown. I'm not sure how this works.

Skandia havent existed for about 5 years now. They are now Old Mutual. My pension is with them. Although they are not what they used to be. I will get round to moving from them soon. The mention of Skandia suggests info may be getting on a bit. Things change quickly.

My instincts are that the better ones would be those who specialise in pension transfers

You do need a pension transfer specialist. Only around 1 in 10 hold that permission.

Any further advise on choosing a decent IFA and where/how to find them and what to ask them etc would be good.

Its not that difficult. Most are fine. And if you have a bit of common sense, you should be able to spot quality. i.e. doesn't shy away from charges. Happy to consider multiple options and not automatically have one solution they use for all. Some of the most knowledgeable and technical advisers I have known have been less comfortable in the presentation. So, don't mark them down if they seem awkward and dont mark them high if they have a great personality but no substance. Those can be the best to avoid.

tacpot12

You do need a pension transfer specialist to advise on transferring out of your FS pension scheme, but I wouldn't say that the better ones would be those who specialise in pension transfers. You need to find the right IFA for you.

This will include finding one who can explain things to you in a language you understand and has charges that you think are reasonable for the service they are providing.

The best way to find one is via a personal recommendation from someone who is an experienced investor but for whatever reason has chosen to pay the IFA to manage their investments. Failing that, you need to find personal recommendations from less able judges, e.g. someone who is not experienced but has a long history of using the IFA and who is happy with the service.

Failing that, you need to start interviewing IFAs and asking if there are existing customers you could talk to. Clearly you have to be on guard that the customers are representative, ideally of yourself, and have a long relationship with the IFA.

WTY433

Thanks for the helpful replies.
Is drawdown as straightforward as you would hope? i.e. If there is a pot af tax free cash or unclaimed pension in the fund can you log on as you could in a bank account and just withdraw the money or is it contact the IFA, get a form sent, sign said form, return, wait for post, wait for processing etc ?

dunstonh

WTY433 wrote: »

Thanks for the helpful replies.
Is drawdown as straightforward as you would hope? i.e. If there is a pot af tax free cash or unclaimed pension in the fund can you log on as you could in a bank account and just withdraw the money or is it contact the IFA, get a form sent, sign said form, return, wait for post, wait for processing etc ?

Some providers are paper-based. Not many nowadays. Usually its electronic with no signature. One oft he providers you mentioned uses signatures.

However, an IFA will likely question you if you make unexpected and unplanned withdrawals. Depends on the size and frequency of these.

One of the most common areas where drawdown fails and people run out of money is that they make repeated unplanned withdrawals and erode the capital to the point where the income is unsustainable. An adviser is there to give you warnings and advice. The button pressing is not the important bit.

There are multiple drawdown methods. The IFA will advise on what method they feel is right for you. There are also multiple investment strategies for drawdown (another area where opinion can come into play)

WTY433

Thanks again dunstonh. You obviously know your stuff.
I have always kept a close watch on my finances and as a result of this and a relatively simple, non extravagant lifestyle I would be confident of not eroding the funds.

It will more likely be the other way with me and the withdrawals would come from the Tax free lump sum. Unless the fund was building up pointlessly and withdrawing didnt mean a 40% tax bill.
So for example if i wanted to treat my family to a holiday or something.
For dad to day stuff I have enough other income from rental property to live on.

My ideal would be to pay a 'fair charge' from a quality IFA to get me set up in a fund/s that is manged professionally and sensibly with a consistent performing top quarterly growth that I can access online to see growth, performance etc.

From there I would like the facility to draw from it as necessary. (Likely to be rare after TFLS and if so not huge amounts)

If this could be done i wouldn't need an annual meeting etc to discuss performance. I'm not sure if this is too idealistic though but from what you say most things sound possible to tailor to each individuals needs

Finally does anyone know where to start in looking for decent pension qualified IFA's? - Yellow pages ?

Brynsam

Try https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/pensions-basics/top-tips-for-your-pension/choosing-an-ifa

xylophone

My ideal would be to pay a 'fair charge' from a quality IFA to get me set up in a fund/s that is manged professionally

Rather patchy?:)


Re looking for a Financial Adviser ( and remember you need a Pension Transfer Specialist).

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/advising-pension-transfers-our-expectations

https://www.pruadviser.co.uk/knowledge-literature/knowledge-library/pension-transfers-conversions/

Pension transfer specialists
Currently a pension transfer specialist must have CF30 (customer function) and hold a qualification from:

G60 or AF3 (CII)
Pensions paper of Professional Investment Certificate (IFS)
Fellow/Associate of Pensions Management Institute
Fellow/Associate of Faculty of Actuaries


https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/choosing-a-financial-adviser



https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/what-ask-adviser

https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/types-investment-adviser

https://adviserbook.co.uk/

cfw1994

Good question! I still haven't dug deeper to find one here....
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/finding-adviser may help you?

Dunston, did Old Mutual just get taken over by "Quilter" ? I have a small fund that told me that!

OP, you mention drawdowns mostly coming from the tax free lump sum (the 'up to 25%' piece) - I've often wondered how people deal with that - I imagine some may be used to pay off any bills (mine might clear the bit of mortgage I will have left), some will be for a rash extravagance - holiday, car, etc - but can the rest go into the same holding as a drawdown pension fund? I've not really looked into that side of the retirement funds...

dunstonh

Dunston, did Old Mutual just get taken over by "Quilter" ? I have a small fund that told me that!

Old Mutual are breaking up the UK operations and demerging. Quilter is the brand they selected (a brand they owned through earlier acquisitions).

I think that platform must have the record for branding changes. In 15 years, four brand names. Selestia became Skandia. Then Old Mutual Wealth and now Quilter. All running currently on the old Selestia software but moving to FNZ software Q4 or Q1 2019 (which probably means later than that after they have seen the debacle of Aegon and Aviva's move to FNZ).

WTY433

Some great links xylophone.
The last one lead me to an "Appointed Representative" who works for Openwork.
Are these like St James Place i.e. tied to certain products / providers or are they like an IFA?... or somewhere in between?
Thanks