It's not you, it's me: taking a break from an IFA?

Linton

beamyup wrote: »

I am genuinely interested - my questions for you IFAs.

Did you take > 9 months of effort on the level 4? how much effort is it?
Were you already degree level qualified?
Is the level 4 enough? did you also take the level 6?
Are there other exams other than the annual "renewal"? What?
Did you train in statistics? to what level?
Did you train in finance? to what level?
Do you or your firm recommend high fee active funds that can beat the market?
Did you have any training in sales?
What do you think is your main "value add" to your clients?
What questions am I missing?

What use is training in statistics to an IFA? I dont see it has any role in investing beyond a very basic understanding of probablility. It seems to me a bit like insisting that a doctor is trained in molecular biology - possibly of interest but of little practical use to ones everyday work.


Any IFA who even mentions "beating the market" should be avoided. That is not what an IFA is for, it is not what serious investing is about.



As to what is missing - tax is an obvious omission. Knowing the law as it affects pensions, trusts etc could be important. Perhaps psychology and social sciences could be useful.

SonOf

Did you take > 9 months of effort on the level 4? how much effort is it?

To go straight to basic level 4 from nothing else would take about 800 hours. More if you wanted to include mortgages.

I cant really state mine as I had chartered institute of banking qualifications plus sat exams in the 90s as well a number of others over the years. Most of which didn't increase my level but were further qualifications.

Is the level 4 enough? did you also take the level 6?

level 4 is plenty for the vast majority of consumers. However, context is needed. For example, exam J04 is a heavy exam on pension income options. Its not required to be an IFA. Its a level 4 exam but it goes into far more detail than the standard level 4 pensions exam. I personally think every IFA should have J04 if they want to transact drawdown. However, its not a higher qualification but a further qualification.

So, it's not necessarily the level that matters but the content. Level 4 in a focused area can be better than level 6 in a wide area.

Are there other exams other than the annual "renewal"? What?

Yes. Just as I mentioned above. When there are specific larger changes, there are often level 4 exams issued for those areas. Such as pension simplification in 2006 and the changes in 2015 or when platforms started to expand into mainstream.

Did you train in statistics? to what level?

The modules will delve into stats in various places but not in great detail is it is not relevant.

Did you train in finance? to what level?

Chartered Institute of banking (it had accountancy and economic modules amongst others but isnt really of any benefit in the real world).
Level 2 accountancy before I changed my mind.
Level 2 economics as I was bored.

Do you or your firm recommend high fee active funds that can beat the market?

Yes, where we deem them to be appropriate. No if we do not. I prefer not carry any bias one way or the other. However, the primary objective is suitability.

Did you have any training in sales?

Doesn't everybody?

What do you think is your main "value add" to your clients?

Knowledge, experience and preventing them from doing the wrong thing or not doing the best thing. The vast majority of transactions we have carried over the years have saved people money and/or improved their financial position.

beamyup

SonOf that is interesting. Thanks for sharing.