Costs of financial help

SonOf

Initial fees are expensive and ongoing is also expensive. My view is that it would take an "experienced" advisor a day to review your situation, a day to put together some options and a day to complete the paperwork. £500.00 a day is good wages for a professionally trained and competent advisor. Set a budget of £1,500.00 and don't get locked into ongoing fees indefinitely.

You say £500 a day is a good wage. However, you appear to have forgotten costs.

bowlhead99

SonOf wrote: »

You say £500 a day is a good wage. However, you appear to have forgotten costs.

I might be quite happy with £500 a day as a wage.

If I was, no way in hell my employer would charge me out at only £500 a day, as he would need to pay social security and pension cost on top, cover the work I do that's not directly chargeable, apportionment of the time costs of other non fee earning staff, costs of infrastructure and premises and systems, insurances and regulatory costs, marketing and finance blah blah blah and a profit margin for the business on top. And Vat where applicable depending on the nature of the service.

So maybe 3-5x the £500 a day wage would cover it.

If the £500 was the end price for the day's work, the 'wages' might only be £100-150 of it. An experienced adviser doesn't want a wage of £100 a day.

[Deleted User]

Yes, always bear in mind that the first consideration is that of the financial adviser.

If, as a client, your eyes are still watering over the fee remember, it's not about you.

bowlhead99

ZingPowZing wrote: »

Yes, always bear in mind that the first consideration is that of the financial adviser.

If, as a client, your eyes are still watering over the fee remember, it's not about you.

I'm sure IFAs will take on unprofitable business with the hope that it will evolve into a more profitable relationship, or if it is already connected to an existing relationship that they want to retain. That's what they tell us and no real reason to doubt it.

But you're right, the first consideration of someone thinking about offering goods or services by way of business is whether they can make sufficient money out of it, for that work to be worth their time or their capital or both.

So, many / most goods or services that you buy are being sold by a business whose owners primarily bought or built that business after first thinking about whether they want to be in the business of providing those goods and services, and what might be in it for them. Rather than first meeting you and deciding that they should build a business to look after your needs irrespective of what you can afford to pay.

On some level it's the difference between capitalism and socialism/communism, and if you hope to make money out of investments it will suit you to be investing in an environment that embraces capitalism.

Fortunately that environment does allow you to cut out the middleman if his service doesn't appear to be worth what he wants you to pay,

[Deleted User]

Would hate to think that the most ardent posters from the financial services industry are somehow partial; or that the weekly presentation of their company's fees means anything beyond a comparison.

bowlhead99

ZingPowZing wrote: »

Would hate to think that the most ardent posters from the financial services industry are somehow partial;

Would hate to think that the views of ardent posters who own or run businesses are somehow less valid than the views of people who would like to obtain services from others but think it scandalous that there be a profit motive for the provision of the services.

or that the weekly presentation of their company's fees means anything beyond a comparison.

Not sure what this means.

kangoora

So how does it differ from a garage charging £40/hour for a mechanic - £320/day. Pretty sure the mechanic isn't getting paid £83k+ a year.

I used to get circa £250/day salary - my firm charged me out at £900 - £1200/day (whichever figure they could [STRIKE]screw out of[/STRIKE] err, justify to the client).

AlanP_2

kangoora wrote: »

So how does it differ from a garage charging £40/hour for a mechanic - £320/day. Pretty sure the mechanic isn't getting paid £83k+ a year.

I used to get circa £250/day salary - my firm charged me out at £900 - £1200/day (whichever figure they could [STRIKE]screw out of[/STRIKE] err, justify to the client).

But you weren't an IFA so that's alright, it's only IFA companies that are supposed to trade at a loss so that ZPZ can be happy.

[Deleted User]

AlanP wrote: »

But you weren't an IFA so that's alright, it's only IFA companies that are supposed to trade at a loss so that ZPZ can be happy.

Lol, another cry from the financial services industry ..

So long as the fees charged by the financial services industry outrun the benefit to its customers, these threads are are going to recur again and again. That won't change whether ZPZ is here or not.

Thrugelmir

kangoora wrote: »

I used to get circa £250/day salary - my firm charged me out at £900 - £1200/day (whichever figure they could [STRIKE]screw out of[/STRIKE] err, justify to the client).

How productive were you over the course of a year though?

Did your company recover a 100% of productive time booked?