Finding a good IFA

DoneWorking

I'm trying to find a good IFA to advise me on best way to protect a cash fund from inflation

I'm 72 years old 


Would it be best to go with a SOLLA  IFA

Or would any IFA be ok for me

What is the best way to find the right IFA

I've done some research but would welcome any advice

Albermarle

I'm trying to find a good IFA to advise me on best way to protect a cash fund from inflation

Not sure you need an IFA to tell you that protecting cash savings from inflation is currently not possible.

All you can do is look for the best savings rates.

The only way to try and beat inflation is to invest the money in risk based investments ( stocks and shares ) and be in it for the long term. So not much use if you have need of the money in the next few years.

There is no magic solution to beat inflation without risk .

Aegis

SOLLA advisers are the ones that can help with things like care costs and equity release.  If those aren't useful at the moment, there's no reason not to just use a generalist, ideally one that a friend has already used and would happily recommend.  You can use resources like VouchedFor and unbiased, but these have very much moved to a "pay to win" type of model.  I think there are other directories out there, but I haven't looked in a while.

eskbanker

Albermarle said:

I'm trying to find a good IFA to advise me on best way to protect a cash fund from inflation

Not sure you need an IFA to tell you that protecting cash savings from inflation is currently not possible.

All you can do is look for the best savings rates.

The only way to try and beat inflation is to invest the money in risk based investments ( stocks and shares ) and be in it for the long term. So not much use if you have need of the money in the next few years.

There is no magic solution to beat inflation without risk .

The subject itself is discussed at length in OP's main thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6318154/best-option-for-cash-lump-sum/p1

DoneWorking

Albermarle said:

I'm trying to find a good IFA to advise me on best way to protect a cash fund from inflation

Not sure you need an IFA to tell you that protecting cash savings from inflation is currently not possible.

All you can do is look for the best savings rates.

The only way to try and beat inflation is to invest the money in risk based investments ( stocks and shares ) and be in it for the long term. So not much use if you have need of the money in the next few years.

There is no magic solution to beat inflation without risk .

Sorry I didn't make my self clear

I'm looking for investment advice for my cash funds

DoneWorking

Aegis said:

SOLLA advisers are the ones that can help with things like care costs and equity release.  If those aren't useful at the moment, there's no reason not to just use a generalist, ideally one that a friend has already used and would happily recommend.  You can use resources like VouchedFor and unbiased, but these have very much moved to a "pay to win" type of model.  I think there are other directories out there, but I haven't looked in a while.

Thanks

I looked at moneyhelper.org.uk which has a few options for finding an IFA

I'm trying to work out if I need a large company or an independent

Is it worth the extra cost for a chartered IFA

How can I whittle down my search to those IFAs who provide a service at reasonable cost

jimjames

I tried unbiased but after 2 weeks have had no contact despite them emailing that they were looking for someone local. Mine was a specific type I'd ticked so maybe more general enquiries get better response.

Aegis

DoneWorking said:

Aegis said:

SOLLA advisers are the ones that can help with things like care costs and equity release.  If those aren't useful at the moment, there's no reason not to just use a generalist, ideally one that a friend has already used and would happily recommend.  You can use resources like VouchedFor and unbiased, but these have very much moved to a "pay to win" type of model.  I think there are other directories out there, but I haven't looked in a while.

Thanks

I looked at moneyhelper.org.uk which has a few options for finding an IFA

I'm trying to work out if I need a large company or an independent

Is it worth the extra cost for a chartered IFA

How can I whittle down my search to those IFAs who provide a service at reasonable cost

Whether chartered status is worthwhile has to be down to your preferences.  In essence, you can choose what level of exams you want your adviser to have sat.  Nothing about your case screams that you ought to be paying extra due to complexity, and there's certainly no hard and fast rule that you have to pay more for a chartered adviser than a non-chartered one.  In general I think it will come down to personality and whether they have a decent research process.  Higher qualifications are nice to have, but certainly not necessary when making decisions.

xylophone

https://adviserbook.co.uk/

Have you tried above?

Tick confirmed independent and any other specialisms required when the menu comes up.

Then you will need to ring round to check on service offered/fees etc.

Albermarle

I'm trying to work out if I need a large company or an independent

The latter , although probably better if it is a small group , rather than just a lone ranger .

dunstonh

Is it worth the extra cost for a chartered IFA

95% of the UK don't need a chartered IFA.     Do you have any specialist needs that make you think you do?  - nothing you have said so far indicates you do.

I'm trying to work out if I need a large company or an independent

The majority of firms are small localised ones with 1-5 advisers.         There are pros and cons with each but it shouldn't make any difference in respect of advice given.   When a firm gets too large, it tends to drop IFA status and move to FA.

Google is a good way to find local firms.  That would show the firms that don't advertise.      It can vary in different areas but in ours, vouchedfor has virtually no coverage (nearest is about 35 miles away and is a firm of trainee advisers. Hence they need to advertise).  Unbiased only shows the salesforces or regional firms. Most of which are not IFAs.      The reason is that most of the decent local firms to us don't need to pay to advertise as they get enough business in naturally.    So, you can end up with a situation that the ones appearing on the lead generation sites and marketing sites are the ones that need the business or want to gobble up as much as they can.