How do I find a good IFA

dunstonh

The last one lead me to an "Appointed Representative" who works for Openwork.

They are not IFAs. Openwork is owned by Zurich. They retail from a panel and try to promote their own range and use the Zurich platform.

Adviser book check the status of advisers. The listing will say "confirmed independent" if they are an IFA. A firm may still be independent without that. It depends on whether they have supplied adviserbook with the evidence or not.

FIRSTTIMER

You don!!!8217;t. One usually wants fees which are mamouth taken out of funds or one is linked to a company and again only recommends their products only. Catch 22. It!!!8217;s like a mortgage advisor - do you really need one with all the tools out there if you!!!8217;re a standard main stream customer.

xylophone

Have you used the filter (left hand side) on adviserbook?

I tried it for my area ticking pensions and retirement, independent, chartered

Look at the bottom of each listing for specialist areas.

WTY433

I did for pensions but didnt scroll down and see the IFA bit - THanks
Turns out there is 1 within a 10 mile radius of where i live.
Its a starting point.

WTY433

I have now managed to find a number of IFAs and "recommended" advisers -
Thanks for all the help so far.
I have also noted First-timers comments above.
One of the links suggested takes me via filtering to a company that recommends various qualified advisers. -

In trying to phone an advisor the number takes you to the company who then comtact said adviser to request a call back. No doubt they get a cut.

When I got through to them and told them i was in effect shopping around / speaking to a few they steered me in the direction of a company called True Potential who are based in Newcastle. They charge 0.75% initially and 0% ongoing with no upfront charges . They are tied to a panel so not IFA but noting First-timers comments this sounds good... A little to good for a skeptic like me.

Is it worth pursuing?

dunstonh

When I got through to them and told them i was in effect shopping around / speaking to a few they steered me in the direction of a company called True Potential who are based in Newcastle. They charge 0.75% initially and 0% ongoing with no upfront charges . They are tied to a panel so not IFA but noting First-timers comments this sounds good... A little to good for a skeptic like me.

TP are expensive and restricted. You are not getting the full costs there.

The general rule of thumb is to use an IFA or DIY. Not to use restricted FAs.

If, for some reason, you fall out with the IFA or they move on and you want to change, a new IFA can be appointed to your existing investments/provider at no cost and no need to change anything. If you use a restricted service, you are stuck on their own branded things and would need to move away from them if you use someone else.

xylophone

https://www.wearejust.co.uk/products/pensions/pension-transfers/

Of course, if you would rather speak directly to the pension transfers specialist, you are completely within your rights to request this. And you can ask your adviser if they are a pension transfer specialist. You can search for an adviser at the 'your money' section of The Personal Finance Society (PFS)

You say that you have found "several" - have you asked the specific question and checked the qualifications as in post 8 above?

WTY433

I have asked the questions and the results are very interesting.
So far as follows

SJP = 1.81% per year with 6 Year tie in and not an IFA (original discussion ) 4.5 on key facts but written documentation reducing this to 3%

IFA 1 = 2.4% initial with ongoing 0.25% per year (Report included in 2.4%) - Farsight
IFA 2 = 2.2% initial then 0.75% ongoing -plus £1500 for report. - Prosper
IFA 3 = Awaiting e-mail. - Beauford

dunstonh

With £625,000 you should be looking to get that initial charge down to around £2000 ish. The adviser ongoing charge that dominates is 0.5%. They should be your targets and should be easily achievable.

Boutique firms tend to charge more. City firms tend to cost more (more expensive locations).

WTY433

Thanks dunstonh

Over a 5 year period I have summised that on quotes obtained so far..

SJP want £56562 and the 2 IFAs so far want £27,500 + £32,500 so not small sums.
These were from searching adviser book for IFAs fairly local to me (15 miles) who can handle pension transfers.
The options were limited as there weren't that many.
Living in the North West I wouldn't say they were "City firms"
I have had someone approach me offing rates you state but currently I do not know them from Adam. The offer came from someone seeing my posts. It could well be genuine and I would do what checks I could before taking it further.

How do I get to qualified advisers who will charge these sorts of rates?