recommend an IFA?

SonOf

Of the IFAs I know locally, the ones I consider the best do not market their services. They don't need to. i.e. they dont appear on vouchedfor, trustpilot or other similar sites. They tend to have the default entry on unbiased and often no website or very basic website.

They dont need marketing to gain new clients as it walks through the door to them through family members and friends of of existing clients.

I cant remember which of the directory sites it was (one of the main ones) but a few years back they contacted me to ask us to put our company on their site. I was staggered at the charges they made. Any person that used their site to find an IFA would result in almost half the initial fee being paid to that site. Its no wonder advisers using that site had such high fees.

As mentioned higher up, if you avoid the firms with wealth management in their name (its a generalisation but most of these use one investment platform and a DFM investment strategy for absolutely everyone or arent even IFAs) and go with smaller localised firms (who are much more reliant on word of mouth locally) then you should be fine. Don't use the flash rating style listing sites as they cost a lot for firms to be on there and that will be recovered in fee levels.

Speedbird676

Malthusian wrote: »

The only reliable way to find a good IFA, other than meeting a few and filtering out the duffers, is a personal recommendation from someone you trust who has known their IFA for at least a decade.

I agree... but in my case, nobody I knew had used one.

And the early responses in the thread were that asking for an IFA recommendation were like asking for a recommendation for a dentist or a butcher, so all roads led back to directories being the starting point.

Speedbird676

Albermarle wrote: »

Normally the first 'get to know you' meeting is free, so no problem to arrange three or four, before deciding.

In my case, the first meeting did not provide enough information to make an informed decision. It was only after going into the detail in the second meeting that I felt uneasy.

Whether that is their fault for not being transparent enough in the first meeting or mine for not asking enough/the right questions is open to debate.

Speedbird676

eskbanker wrote: »

They'd need a Tardis then, as they haven't been able to earn commissions on investment advice since 2013!

Commission no, but "ongoing management fees" yes. Mine wanted to charge 3% up front and 0.5% per year thereafter.

The IFA who reviewed the advice pointed out that their recommendation was to invest via a Discretionary Fund Manager so the IFA would be doing very little for their money and the DFM added in another layer of fees.

Likewise, the underlying products were not cost effective and similar could be achieved with other funds at a much lower cost.

Speedbird676

I have no doubt there are many IFAs out there who give good advice and do their best for the client without overcharging. And yes, I appreciate they're also doing it to earn a living so don't expect them to work for free.

Finding them is the hard part!

bowlhead99

decanter2020 wrote: »

The cost of the advice by an IFA refers to doing a comparison between what you are giving up (i.e. guarantees), and the projections for what you are transferring to.

Given that there is no benefits from the scheme (due to the under 2 years rule) there is no comparison to calculate, so there's no liability on the IFA in future for complaints etc. I reckon we could do it via email/post for a nominal fee.

PM me if interested.

This new user is simply copying and pasting posts from other people in other threads and forums to give an illusion of genuine engagement, presumably to build a post count until they can post spam links. This thread mentions IFAs but is nothing to do with guaranteed benefits pension transfers so the post does not make sense in the context of this thread.

Recommend you do not reply to the offer of 'help' via PM!

wallofbeans

Malthusian wrote: »

The only reliable way to find a good IFA, other than meeting a few and filtering out the duffers, is a personal recommendation from someone you trust who has known their IFA for at least a decade.

Thanks. I'm going to start asking around friends to see if anyone knows anyone who knows anyone. Personal recommendation seems the best way to go here...

wallofbeans

fred246 wrote: »

Can you not just do it yourself anyway. Normally a little bit of research yourself means you don't need one. The only thing they actually do is fill in forms and charge large fees.

Perhaps, but I don't think I'm that smart! I want to move money out of an investment bond but am worried about tax implications etc. I've read about 'top slicing' and other things I don't quite understand, and wanted some expert guidance...

wallofbeans

bowlhead99 wrote: »

This new user is simply copying and pasting posts from other people in other threads and forums to give an illusion of genuine engagement, presumably to build a post count until they can post spam links. This thread mentions IFAs but is nothing to do with guaranteed benefits pension transfers so the post does not make sense in the context of this thread.

Recommend you do not reply to the offer of 'help' via PM!

Thank you! The post seems to have gone now as well...

segovia

Speedbird676 wrote: »

Commission no, but "ongoing management fees" yes. Mine wanted to charge 3% up front and 0.5% per year thereafter.

The IFA who reviewed the advice pointed out that their recommendation was to invest via a Discretionary Fund Manager so the IFA would be doing very little for their money and the DFM added in another layer of fees.

Likewise, the underlying products were not cost effective and similar could be achieved with other funds at a much lower cost.

Was it Apex Financial Management and a Rathbone fund ?