Why is the cost of advice so high?

Silvertabby

Albermarle said:

The general public does not have the knowledge and ability to carry out many of these simple things.  Or perhaps more a case of a lack of inclination to learn about it before doing it.     The regular posters here are not typical of the general public.

Regardless of the usual pro/anti IFA comments , the above statement is 100% correct .

In my experience a significant % of people are literally clueless about personal finance, pensions etc . and have little/no interest in learning about it . Of the rest most only have a vague idea of the details ( and a little knowledge can be dangerous ) and maybe only start thinking about it a bit more as retirement appears on the horizon.

When the pension freedoms were announced, it was scary the number of LGPS members (deferred, current - and even a few pensioners) who thought that meant that we would just transfer all of their benefits into their current accounts, for them to do with as they wanted.

To be fair, most of these were/had been low paid manual workers for whom just a few £K would be riches beyond their wildest dreams.  Many had plans to blow the whole lot on their first ever new car, a kitchen, a big family wedding or holiday.  These are the people that the new pension advice regulations are really aimed at. 

Ibrahim5

I was just writing about private health insurance and I remembered this thread. It's hilarious really that you can see a private medical consultant with a complex problem for around £200 but an IFA wants £5K to look at a pension. 25 times as much!

MK62

Try getting the medical consultant to proceed with any treatment for £200 though.......and few (if any) IFAs would want 5k just to "look at" a pension...

Thrugelmir

Ibrahim5 said:

I was just writing about private health insurance and I remembered this thread. It's hilarious really that you can see a private medical consultant with a complex problem for around £200 but an IFA wants £5K to look at a pension. 25 times as much!

Can you obtain a hip replacement for £200 privately?  An IFA may offer the intital consultation for free. 

 

Ibrahim5

An IFA has no practical skills. An IFAs 'treatment' would be filling a few forms in.

Thrugelmir

Ibrahim5 said:

An IFA has no practical skills. An IFAs 'treatment' would be filling a few forms in.

What advice would you give the OP then?  Save them some money. 

MK62

Ibrahim5 said:

An IFA has no practical skills. An IFAs 'treatment' would be filling a few forms in.

No practical skills?.......you can't just call yourself an IFA and start dishing out chargeable advice you know.....it's a regulated activity for which you have to pass qualifications.You also need to have some rather expensive insurances.
Any contractor might seem expensive if you can, and want, to do the job yourself.....mechanic, decorator, plumber, electrician, builder, and so on.....if not you employ someone to do it for you - and like all those other professions, there will be good and bad IFAs and cheap or expensive IFAs.

Ibrahim5

Well I do my own and I just fill a few forms in online or on paper. Hip replacement is a practical skill. The more I think about it the more incomparable it becomes.

Ibrahim5

mechanic, decorator, plumber, electrician, builder IFAs

Are trades not professions.

Thrugelmir

Ibrahim5 said:

Well I do my own and I just fill a few forms in online or on paper. Hip replacement is a practical skill. The more I think about it the more incomparable it becomes.

You've no practical advice for someone else though.