Do I Still need a Financial Advisor

Albermarle

keithtoon said:

Hi,
This is the statement I receive. If I stay with Scottish Widows and accept their charges as they are managing the account why do I then need a Financial Advisor?
Thank you 

You need to be clear that Scottish Widows are not managing your pension, they are administering it.
Without an IFA, you have to manage it, decide what to invest in etc
You could of course just leave the investments as they are, but SW will never change anything unless you tell them to.

dunstonh

keithtoon said:

Hi,
This is the statement I receive. If I stay with Scottish Widows and accept their charges as they are managing the account why do I then need a Financial Advisor?
Thank you 

At the end of the day, you either see value on what the IFA/FA does or you don't.  If you don't value it then end the ongoing servicing.

chrispies2020

Hi - your question very much reminds me of my own enquiry regarding IFA's. Appraoching retirement and unsure if I need an IFA ti manage my savings in the coming years.

I'm not sure how you feel regarding the responses you have recieved. For me, I have been unable to get to the bottom of this conundrum. Not only have I found it impossible to unearth anything solid in order to make a decision, I have not even been able to identify what an IFA will actually do that i cannot do myself. Wether I act or don't act, the choice is 50/50 chance of things either going well or not.

For now  I am leaving things as they are. Despite making quite a lot of effort, nothing has come to light to help me make a decisive move one way or the other. To buy into an IFA's services at the moment feels a little bit like buying into thin air!

Beddie

chrispies2020 said:

I'm not sure how you feel regarding the responses you have recieved. For me, I have been unable to get to the bottom of this conundrum. Not only have I found it impossible to unearth anything solid in order to make a decision, I have not even been able to identify what an IFA will actually do that i cannot do myself. Wether I act or don't act, the choice is 50/50 chance of things either going well or not.

You're right. They are no different to a plumber in that sense - if you know how to DIY you don't need one, unless it's a very difficult job.

Most people who use IFAs are not so financially savvy, or have better things to do with their time and would rather their finances were managed for them. 

The majority of people posting here know enough not to need an IFA most of the time, except maybe when it comes to taking a pension, for example. If you don't see value in an IFA, don't use one, it really is that simple.

LHW99

I have not even been able to identify what an IFA will actually do that i cannot do myself.

There are some fund providers who only work through IFA's so if you have those funds, and are happy with them, you would need to stay with an IFA (even if you changed the company / person). IFA's will also hold your hand and give you distance from what is actually happening. Reassurance, if you like, that no matter what gymnastics the markets go through it will come out in the wash eventually, thereby preventing a knee-jerk reaction which may not be justified.

chrispies2020

Yes - thats one thing I am avoiding. Knee jerk reactions.For now, my approach is keep calm and carry on :-)

Linton

I would think the most important role role of an IFA for most people is

1) Work with you to identify and document what and when you want the investments for and how much money you will need.
2) identify and document an efficient strategy to enable you to accumulate the money you want when you want it
3) identify and document the investments most appropriate for implementing that strategy

And for ongoing servicing 
4) check that your needs have not changed and that you are on track.  Identify actions to correct any mismatch.

If you are confident you can do these yourself you probably don’t need an IFA unless perhaps you have particular tax and inheritance issues.

Albermarle

chrispies2020 said:

Hi - your question very much reminds me of my own enquiry regarding IFA's. Appraoching retirement and unsure if I need an IFA ti manage my savings in the coming years.

I'm not sure how you feel regarding the responses you have recieved. For me, I have been unable to get to the bottom of this conundrum. Not only have I found it impossible to unearth anything solid in order to make a decision, I have not even been able to identify what an IFA will actually do that i cannot do myself. Wether I act or don't act, the choice is 50/50 chance of things either going well or not.

For now  I am leaving things as they are. Despite making quite a lot of effort, nothing has come to light to help me make a decisive move one way or the other. To buy into an IFA's services at the moment feels a little bit like buying into thin air!

There is almost nothing significant an IFA can do that you can not do yourself, as long as you understand what you are doing . ( or at least mostly understand) .

dunstonh

Albermarle said:

chrispies2020 said:

Hi - your question very much reminds me of my own enquiry regarding IFA's. Appraoching retirement and unsure if I need an IFA ti manage my savings in the coming years.

I'm not sure how you feel regarding the responses you have recieved. For me, I have been unable to get to the bottom of this conundrum. Not only have I found it impossible to unearth anything solid in order to make a decision, I have not even been able to identify what an IFA will actually do that i cannot do myself. Wether I act or don't act, the choice is 50/50 chance of things either going well or not.

For now  I am leaving things as they are. Despite making quite a lot of effort, nothing has come to light to help me make a decisive move one way or the other. To buy into an IFA's services at the moment feels a little bit like buying into thin air!

There is almost nothing significant an IFA can do that you can not do yourself, as long as you understand what you are doing . ( or at least mostly understand) .

That pretty much goes for anything in life.

Nebulous2

Beddie said:

chrispies2020 said:

I'm not sure how you feel regarding the responses you have recieved. For me, I have been unable to get to the bottom of this conundrum. Not only have I found it impossible to unearth anything solid in order to make a decision, I have not even been able to identify what an IFA will actually do that i cannot do myself. Wether I act or don't act, the choice is 50/50 chance of things either going well or not.

You're right. They are no different to a plumber in that sense - if you know how to DIY you don't need one, unless it's a very difficult job.

We do a lot of plumbing ourselves. We also use a plumber that we know and trust for some things, like capping gas pipes and installing a new boiler. 

There are some clear differences, and I struggle to understand whether they are significant. We use plastic pipes and pushfit connections. He uses copper pipe and brazes the joints. Does that matter? 

I've always had an interest in personal finance. I spent a miserable year as an FA many years ago and sat all the relevant exams at that time. I've bought into the idea that trackers and low costs are more important than managed funds. I have also convinced myself that we don't have enough resources to bother an IFA. Our future is covered by a public sector DB pension that meets most of our day-to-day expenses, with a six figure sum as back-up.  We will also, down the line, get two full state pensions. 

Yet I'm aware that I may have a plastic pipes versus copper ones in my finances as well........