Finding decent IFA without word of mouth?

eskbanker

dunstonh said:

eskbanker said:

dunstonh said:
Indeed, not one of them uses any paid for directory as the general position is that the good IFAs don't need to advertise to get clients.   They are busy to begin with and get natural business inflows without needing to pay for it.

So in OP's position of not having access to useful word of mouth recommendations, how would prospective customers find IFAs in your area?

Google firms and you will get those that don't advertise as well as those that do.

Well yes, a generic search engine will undoubtedly turn up results but it seems a very blunt instrument and won't readily lend itself to structured searching using the sort of filters that might be expected from something more specialised.  However, I'm not shooting the messenger here, if that's likely to be the most viable route then so be it, but perhaps there's a market opportunity for someone there, albeit there are obviously traps to be avoided if previous directory/comparison sites have failed to deliver something both useful and sustainable....

Prism

I found that asking Bing Chat for IFAs in xxxxx gave me better results than a Google query. It extracts the details from the other sites, filters by independance and presents it rather than getting you to trawl through them yourself.

JohnWinder

‘they will have opinions on investment options and investing is largely about opinion’

Time has moved on, and health care has shown us that basing practice largely on opinion does not provide the best care, hence ‘evidence based nursing’ and the like; there even seems to be a journal of that name (and British at that). We might expect investing or any other endeavour would be better based on evidence from observation, experimentation or modelling than just opinions subject to all the old biases good research tries to minimise.

Hence, folk are getting on the evidence based bandwagon with evidence based investing. And there’s plenty of evidence out there to base investing on before we have to fall back on the lowest quality of evidence - expert opinion. It doesn’t have to be largely about opinion.

dunstonh

JohnWinder said:

‘they will have opinions on investment options and investing is largely about opinion’

Time has moved on, and health care has shown us that basing practice largely on opinion does not provide the best care, hence ‘evidence based nursing’ and the like; there even seems to be a journal of that name (and British at that). We might expect investing or any other endeavour would be better based on evidence from observation, experimentation or modelling than just opinions subject to all the old biases good research tries to minimise.

Hence, folk are getting on the evidence based bandwagon with evidence based investing. And there’s plenty of evidence out there to base investing on before we have to fall back on the lowest quality of evidence - expert opinion. It doesn’t have to be largely about opinion.

Evidence based investing still requires opinion.   How much in UK equity?  How much in US equity?   How much in gilts?   etc.

Bandwagons tend to be temporary fads.

JohnWinder

options and investing is largely about opinion.  So, you will get some preferences. 

Perhaps how much of this or that is about preferences, as noted earlier, based on opinion or evidence when available. Is that our choice?

_pete_

Do a search on your local facebook page.  Where I live people ask for recommendations for IFAs every few months or so.

JohnWinder

Might work, but to evaluate how well an advisor is doing their job you pretty much have to be up to doing the job yourself, otherwise it’s not a well informed appraisal. Which is I suppose why they get musicians to conduct exams for students studying music, engineers for engineers, and on it goes.

dunstonh

_pete_ said:

Do a search on your local facebook page.  Where I live people ask for recommendations for IFAs every few months or so.

In our local community group, when that happens, you get a bunch of SJP or other tied agents recommended.  Facebook can sometimes be the blind leading the blind.

wjr4

dunstonh said:

_pete_ said:

Do a search on your local facebook page.  Where I live people ask for recommendations for IFAs every few months or so.

In our local community group, when that happens, you get a bunch of SJP or other tied agents recommended.  Facebook can sometimes be the blind leading the blind.

Same with mine!

solidpro

I note my question hasn't been answered. Sounds like the best suggestion so far is to write IFA and my town into google..... is that really where we are in looking for someone to trust our lives with?