Should I stay with current IFA or jump ship?

Ibrahim5

I was talking to a relative recently who had used the same IFA for 20 years but has just dumped him and is now cash only. "He never made us much but in the last few years every time we see him he has lost us more money". This must be bonds I think. "What is your attitude to risk?". "Very very cautious. Always have been." he says with a big grin as though he is really clever. Could the IFA had invested any other way? This is the problem with investing for other people. It is different to investing for yourself. Sounds like Fisher make you adventurous whatever. He also had a small fortune in a current account earning 0%. The IFA isn't interested in the cash because no big fat fees for savings accounts. I make nearly 6% totally risk free by borrowing on 0% credit cards and putting the money in regular savers, bond ladders, notice accounts etc.

coyrls

FIREDreamer said:

BobGray said:

Well, like anything else in life, you get what you pay for.  In our case my wife and I had an IFA for many years before we realised that his advice was severely limited in breadth and accuracy.  His dealings when transferring funds between retail providers were not at all transparent and his advice was limited to "it will come right given time", "smoothed return funds are good".  Of course he was limited to offering familiar "retail" products like PRU, Royal London, Hargreaves, Aviva etc.  Finally, last year we had had enough and initiated a thorough expose and a six month transfer to Fisher Investments.  What a difference.  Professional to the nth degree.  With a proper understanding of our ability to accept risk, not a tenetative tick box review of our uninformed ideas of risk, we now have a 100% equity portfolio.  The portfolio is benchmarked using the Global MSCI and therefore not bias towards US, Europe, Asia etc. and has a varied spread of sectors which is actively reviewed and reported on.  We are not experts but feel totally informed and appraised of the Global markets and volatility we are to expect.  We have both UK and US councellors on tap for current updates to help us maintain our discipline and advise us with ongoing retirement strategy.  Oh, and not to be dismissed, Fisher's charges are less than those we were being charged between the IFA and the retail investment products.  All charges are made ultra clear upfront well before being signed up.  We settled in by Aug last year and enjoyed a 10.5% gain for the 5 months of the year that achieved 23% for 2024, following a 22% for 2023.  With ongoing Bull markets we expect 15 to 20% this year despite the sluggish current performance based on known Global negatives. With our 100% equity fund we experience daily volatility of +/- £60k but we feel comfortable that the fund is still making good progress.  All of this performance detail is presented to us on a continual basis through our personal councellors with reference to the Global MSCI benchmark.  So far, we have had three informative "meet the team" luncheons for all the local Fisher investors in our fund, where portfolio decisions are explained taking current market sentiment and performance into account; good to meet others in the same investment boat.  Again, what a difference to our previous retail IFA.  I would fully encourage anyone's thoughts of moving on to a more professional Global investment platform. Do your research and expect any worthwhile offer to take six months to transition.

Hello Mr Fisher! 😂😂😂

He needs a cut and paste lesson.

cfw1994

arthur_fowler said:

BobGray said:

Well, like anything else in life, you get what you pay for.  In our case my wife and I had an IFA for many years before we realised that his advice was severely limited in breadth and accuracy.  His dealings when transferring funds between retail providers were not at all transparent and his advice was limited to "it will come right given time", "smoothed return funds are good".  Of course he was limited to offering familiar "retail" products like PRU, Royal London, Hargreaves, Aviva etc.  Finally, last year we had had enough and initiated a thorough expose and a six month transfer to Fisher Investments.  What a difference.  Professional to the nth degree.  With a proper understanding of our ability to accept risk, not a tenetative tick box review of our uninformed ideas of risk, we now have a 100% equity portfolio.  The portfolio is benchmarked using the Global MSCI and therefore not bias towards US, Europe, Asia etc. and has a varied spread of sectors which is actively reviewed and reported on.  We are not experts but feel totally informed and appraised of the Global markets and volatility we are to expect.  We have both UK and US councellors on tap for current updates to help us maintain our discipline and advise us with ongoing retirement strategy.  Oh, and not to be dismissed, Fisher's charges are less than those we were being charged between the IFA and the retail investment products.  All charges are made ultra clear upfront well before being signed up.  We settled in by Aug last year and enjoyed a 10.5% gain for the 5 months of the year that achieved 23% for 2024, following a 22% for 2023.  With ongoing Bull markets we expect 15 to 20% this year despite the sluggish current performance based on known Global negatives. With our 100% equity fund we experience daily volatility of +/- £60k but we feel comfortable that the fund is still making good progress.  All of this performance detail is presented to us on a continual basis through our personal councellors with reference to the Global MSCI benchmark.  So far, we have had three informative "meet the team" luncheons for all the local Fisher investors in our fund, where portfolio decisions are explained taking current market sentiment and performance into account; good to meet others in the same investment boat.  Again, what a difference to our previous retail IFA.  I would fully encourage anyone's thoughts of moving on to a more professional Global investment platform. Do your research and expect any worthwhile offer to take six months to transition.

Not at all suspicious for a first post

It is odd when this happens, eh 😂

dannybbb

@MeteredOut do you have any reccomendations on how to find a good one. ive struggled so far  and need help with how to organise my SIP, im 50  - if i had a longer period of time i would be less stressed about getting it right but have a shorter time frame and less time to ride out any big crashes. i have hsbc global funds but wonder if a target fund like vanguard might be more appropriate  to automate the rebalancing. Any pointers towards an IFA would be helpful

MeteredOut

dannybbb said:

@MeteredOut do you have any reccomendations on how to find a good one. ive struggled so far  and need help with how to organise my SIP, im 50  - if i had a longer period of time i would be less stressed about getting it right but have a shorter time frame and less time to ride out any big crashes. i have hsbc global funds but wonder if a target fund like vanguard might be more appropriate  to automate the rebalancing. Any pointers towards an IFA would be helpful

I don't use an IFA, but I would look to your friends/family for a recommendation. If not, then perhaps a local facebook group, but I'd look for a recommendation for an IFA someone has used, not just someone they know. In that case, I'd want to speak to existing customers of the IFA committing to anything.

However, your needs seem quite simple - you want a basic fund. Do you really need an IFA? If you still do, consider one where you pay a one-off advice to find a fund that works for you, rather than an ongoing % of your portfolio.

Ibrahim5

IFAs buy and sell their business. They like to sell them to retire early themselves. It's all about funds under management. So they want as much funds under management as possible at the highest possible fees. If you ask an IFA to do transaction only they normally throw their toys out of the pram because it doesn't suit them.

Nick_Dr1

BobGray said:

Well, like anything else in life, you get what you pay for.  In our case my wife and I had an IFA for many years before we realised that his advice was severely limited in breadth and accuracy.  His dealings when transferring funds between retail providers were not at all transparent and his advice was limited to "it will come right given time", "smoothed return funds are good".  Of course he was limited to offering familiar "retail" products like PRU, Royal London, Hargreaves, Aviva etc.  Finally, last year we had had enough and initiated a thorough expose and a six month transfer to Fisher Investments.  What a difference.  Professional to the nth degree.  With a proper understanding of our ability to accept risk, not a tenetative tick box review of our uninformed ideas of risk, we now have a 100% equity portfolio.  The portfolio is benchmarked using the Global MSCI and therefore not bias towards US, Europe, Asia etc. and has a varied spread of sectors which is actively reviewed and reported on.  We are not experts but feel totally informed and appraised of the Global markets and volatility we are to expect.  We have both UK and US councellors on tap for current updates to help us maintain our discipline and advise us with ongoing retirement strategy.  Oh, and not to be dismissed, Fisher's charges are less than those we were being charged between the IFA and the retail investment products.  All charges are made ultra clear upfront well before being signed up.  We settled in by Aug last year and enjoyed a 10.5% gain for the 5 months of the year that achieved 23% for 2024, following a 22% for 2023.  With ongoing Bull markets we expect 15 to 20% this year despite the sluggish current performance based on known Global negatives. With our 100% equity fund we experience daily volatility of +/- £60k but we feel comfortable that the fund is still making good progress.  All of this performance detail is presented to us on a continual basis through our personal councellors with reference to the Global MSCI benchmark.  So far, we have had three informative "meet the team" luncheons for all the local Fisher investors in our fund, where portfolio decisions are explained taking current market sentiment and performance into account; good to meet others in the same investment boat.  Again, what a difference to our previous retail IFA.  I would fully encourage anyone's thoughts of moving on to a more professional Global investment platform. Do your research and expect any worthwhile offer to take six months to transition.

Hello Mr AI Robot. And not even a very good one as you've also learned how to spell badly.

hotncold47

I don't use an IFA, but I would look to your friends/family for a recommendation. If not, then perhaps a local facebook group, but I'd look for a recommendation for an IFA someone has used, not just someone they know. In that case, I'd want to speak to existing customers of the IFA committing to anything.

F/B is a great place to get recommendations from family members/friends of St James Place, True Potential salepersons.

MeteredOut

hotncold47 said:

I don't use an IFA, but I would look to your friends/family for a recommendation. If not, then perhaps a local facebook group, but I'd look for a recommendation for an IFA someone has used, not just someone they know. In that case, I'd want to speak to existing customers of the IFA committing to anything.

F/B is a great place to get recommendations from family members/friends of St James Place, True Potential salepersons.

They are not IFAs. I trust the person i responded to knows the difference.

Anyone who recommends SJP or their ilk is suffering from a financial form of Stockholm Syndrome, IMO.

dunstonh

I don't use an IFA, but I would look to your friends/family for a recommendation. If not, then perhaps a local facebook group, but I'd look for a recommendation for an IFA someone has used, not just someone they know. In that case, I'd want to speak to existing customers of the IFA committing to anything.

Facebook is a not a good place to look.   SJP gets mentioned every time on our community group, including by members of the SJP adviser's family and friends without disclosing their relationship.