IFA - Asking for too much information?

Danish74

Hi everyone, I went to unbiased.co.uk a free service that directs you to IFAs

A company called Humboldt Financial called me and after about an hour's chat where we shared things like

Outstanding Mortgage
Savings
Expenses
Plans for Retirement

At the end he asks me to scan and sign some forms back to him giving the company (Humboldt) my consent to write to our pension providers over the years to get an up to date valuation as well as enquire about any aspect of other products I might have with them

It all seems like handing over a lot of information without a contract (yet) and i wondered whether this perfectly ok or should I tread carefully?

Value the thoughts of this group! Thanks in advance.

Danish 74

MovingForwards

Maybe ask in this section as a couple of IFAs post and can compare it to how they do things:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/pensions-annuities-retirement-planning

Danish74

Thank you! I'll do that now

Danish74

Hi everyone, I went to unbiased.co.uk a free service that directs you to IFAs

A company called Humboldt Financial called me and after about an hour's chat where we shared things like

Outstanding Mortgage
Savings
Expenses
Plans for Retirement

At the end he asks me to scan and sign some forms back to him giving the company (Humboldt) my consent to write to our pension providers over the years to get an up to date valuation as well as enquire about any aspect of other products I might have with them

It all seems like handing over a lot of information without a contract (yet) and i wondered whether this perfectly ok or should I tread carefully?

Value the thoughts of this group! Thanks in advance.

Danish 74

squirrelpie

What are you expecting to get as a result? Does it depend on the information the IFA might gather? Do the forms give him carte blanche to use the information for anything he chooses or do they limit it to advising you or other sensible purposes? Is there anything he might actually learn that would embarrass you or otherwise inconvenience you?

dunstonh

It all seems like handing over a lot of information without a contract (yet) and i wondered whether this perfectly ok or should I tread carefully?

Once you sign the contract, you become liable for charges.  The initial free period is contract free but without cost.  So, take your pick.

For advice to be given, information needs to be obtained.  For example, how do you expect to be given retirement advice if the adviser cannot find out information about your retirement plans?

Marcon

If you're concerned about signing authority forms at this stage, then you could always write to each provider yourself and give them authority to send the relevant information 'in respect of this request only' to [contact details of IFA]. 

Clueless56

I would suggest if you feel you're being pushed into something you are not ready for, you refuse and say you need time to consider.  However, without knowing the up-to-date valuations etc of your pensions, he cannot give you an informed opinion of how he believes you should proceed to achieve what you want, which is what you have asked him to do presumably.  As dunstonh says, without a signed contract, you are committing to nothing and just gathering information.

cfw1994

Danish74 said:

Hi everyone, I went to unbiased.co.uk a free service that directs you to IFAs

A company called Humboldt Financial called me

Unbiased does NOT just do Independant Financial Advisors….are you sure Humboldt are IFAs?
Their website didn’t suggest it to me (quick skim) - they may just be Financial Advisors.
If so…I would steer clear.   

You should either DIY, or use IFAs….anything else will lead to more limited options….& perhaps increased fees 🤷‍♂️

Danish74

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the help here. They are asking for carte blanche to look into any aspect of my financials with my pension providers. And I think I might go back and ask them to limit the scope to just pensions

This has been invaluable

HappyHarry

If you are asking an IFA to give you advice, then the IFA will want to know a lot about your current circumstances and future plans, else they cannot give you the best advice.