Financial Advice - how much does it cost?

Albermarle

dharm999 said:

I’ve been quoted 1.5% for initial advice and 0.75% for the ongoing annual cost, excluding platform fee and fund costs.  Our SIPPs, ISAs, Cash and general investments are in to seven figures, and the initial cost would be over £40k, which is a lot in my opinion.  I’m going to find out if they will cap the cost when we have our next meeting.  We are looking for overall advice on IHT, tax, savings, pensions, and pensions drawdown planning.  

If I was going down this route with a seven figure pot, I would be saying max 1% initial and max 0.5% ongoing .

GenX0212

Learn as much as you can and then make the decision based on how comfortable your are with your own level of knowledge, also ask yourself what you expect to get in return for the cost.

No doubt there is both good and bad in the world of financial advice but one example of bad I can give is when we were offered the opportunity to write a free will through the workplace. Knowing that there would be a level of 'selling' of other products I went in with an open mind but came out shocked that they wanted to charge £300+ for setting up an LPA when it can be done online yourself for £82 and they also wanted to charge £50 per year to store the will, you can do it yourself via the Gov.uk website for a one-off fee of just £22. God only knows what they would have wanted to charge for some actual real advice.

Needless to say I got my free will but the financial advice company in question didn't get a penny from me. I complained to my employers about the rip-off costs the company were trying to charge but they didn't seem bothered!

Albermarle

GenX0212 said:

Learn as much as you can and then make the decision based on how comfortable your are with your own level of knowledge, also ask yourself what you expect to get in return for the cost.

No doubt there is both good and bad in the world of financial advice but one example of bad I can give is when we were offered the opportunity to write a free will through the workplace. Knowing that there would be a level of 'selling' of other products I went in with an open mind but came out shocked that they wanted to charge £300+ for setting up an LPA when it can be done online yourself for £82 and they also wanted to charge £50 per year to store the will, you can do it yourself via the Gov.uk website for a one-off fee of just £22. God only knows what they would have wanted to charge for some actual real advice.

Needless to say I got my free will but the financial advice company in question didn't get a penny from me. I complained to my employers about the rip-off costs the company were trying to charge but they didn't seem bothered!

I do not think you can normally equate will writing companies/solicitors offering expensive services, with an IFA.
They are not the same.

Bostonerimus1

Albermarle said:

GenX0212 said:

Learn as much as you can and then make the decision based on how comfortable your are with your own level of knowledge, also ask yourself what you expect to get in return for the cost.

No doubt there is both good and bad in the world of financial advice but one example of bad I can give is when we were offered the opportunity to write a free will through the workplace. Knowing that there would be a level of 'selling' of other products I went in with an open mind but came out shocked that they wanted to charge £300+ for setting up an LPA when it can be done online yourself for £82 and they also wanted to charge £50 per year to store the will, you can do it yourself via the Gov.uk website for a one-off fee of just £22. God only knows what they would have wanted to charge for some actual real advice.

Needless to say I got my free will but the financial advice company in question didn't get a penny from me. I complained to my employers about the rip-off costs the company were trying to charge but they didn't seem bothered!

I do not think you can normally equate will writing companies/solicitors offering expensive services, with an IFA.
They are not the same.

I agree with this. I paid a one off fee to an estate lawyer to get my will, trust and POA all sorted. There is no ongoing charge.

GenX0212

Bostonerimus1 said:

Albermarle said:

GenX0212 said:

Learn as much as you can and then make the decision based on how comfortable your are with your own level of knowledge, also ask yourself what you expect to get in return for the cost.

No doubt there is both good and bad in the world of financial advice but one example of bad I can give is when we were offered the opportunity to write a free will through the workplace. Knowing that there would be a level of 'selling' of other products I went in with an open mind but came out shocked that they wanted to charge £300+ for setting up an LPA when it can be done online yourself for £82 and they also wanted to charge £50 per year to store the will, you can do it yourself via the Gov.uk website for a one-off fee of just £22. God only knows what they would have wanted to charge for some actual real advice.

Needless to say I got my free will but the financial advice company in question didn't get a penny from me. I complained to my employers about the rip-off costs the company were trying to charge but they didn't seem bothered!

I do not think you can normally equate will writing companies/solicitors offering expensive services, with an IFA.
They are not the same.

I agree with this. I paid a one off fee to an estate lawyer to get my will, trust and POA all sorted. There is no ongoing charge.

Point I was trying to make was to check what is being offered and compare. Don't just assume you will get value for money.

Ibrahim5

They are only charging £218 for filling in POA forms. Financial advisors charge thousands of pounds for filling in forms. The difference is that they are taken from the investments. That is how they get away with it. If you paid your financial advisor in £20 notes people might realise how much they were paying.

LHW99

Ibrahim5 said:

They are only charging £218 for filling in POA forms. Financial advisors charge thousands of pounds for filling in forms. The difference is that they are taken from the investments. That is how they get away with it. If you paid your financial advisor in £20 notes people might realise how much they were paying.

@Ibrahim5 - we are discussing PoA and Wills here, and the fees commonly charged by solicitors / will writers, not by financial advisers.

Regular posters understand you have an agenda, but in this case I think you are pursuing the wrong hare.

Ibrahim5

It's exactly the same. If you do a bit of research it's easy to do your own LPA. If you do a bit of research you do your own financial advice. Save a fortune and do a much better job yourself.

pterri

Ibrahim5 said:

It's exactly the same. If you do a bit of research it's easy to do your own LPA. If you do a bit of research you do your own financial advice. Save a fortune and do a much better job yourself.

Are you the kind of guy who would defend himself in court? 

Ibrahim5

Financial advice has very little knowledge required and no practical skills. That's why it's so easy to DIY. Going to court is a performance. You might employ someone who is good at performing.