unregulated adviser???

coyrls

If your neighbourhood social media site posting refers to the adviser as an IFA, that should be corrected, as if the adviser works for St JamesPlace they will be an FA not an IFA.

Albermarle

El_Torro said:

The pros and cons of St James Place are well known, though for those not in the know:

There is nothing dodgy about St James Place, in the sense that they are regulated and they're not likely to lose all your money / run off with it. That's the good news.

The bad news is that they are eye wateringly expensive. I don't know if they're the most expensive in the market but if not they must be close. For the platform, fund and advisor fees expect to pay at least 2% per year. All their funds are managed (no trackers), which at least partly explains why they're so expensive. I have not seen any evidence to suggest that their managed funds perform better than trackers (even taking their high fees into account). 

The general advice (at least on this board) is to find an IFA, not a FA. St James Place definitely fall in the FA camp, not IFA.

I think a lot of people like them as the advisors/salespeople seem to have good social skills and keep in regular contact. So they give customers that warm fuzzy feeling as they fork out the high fees !

phillw

Brie said:

The guy has simply said "he's done well for me, why not have a chat with him"

Do they say how long ago they visited them? If it was recently then I don't see how you can tell he's done well, if it's been a while then the market conditions are entirely different now.