Choosing an IFA

Groover24

In reply to som eof the comments ....

@dunstonh
I am not rural at all - South Birmingham. I will have another look but they do seem to be parts of bigger companies

@ali_bear
I must have been lucky as I have been given me information on the funds they suggest so that I can have a look at performance. One I taked to recent said something that returned twice the growth over an unspecified period. So, although I found the adviser quite personable, I feel that I have little to go on. 

@wjr4
Possibly not quite the same, I feel. Builders are told what is required, they quote for that and you pay for the work. In this case both parties know exactly what is wanted and if it is correct. Given the same information all quotes will be based on the same information. The choice is then down to which is felt to be the best option. In my case I have said what I want and I feel that I could be paying several thousand pounds for who knows what? All I know is a rough idea of performace (alledgedly) and cost of running the fund. 

DT2001

ggmf said:

My IFA was acquired (he sold out) to Ascot Lloyd. They have increased my ongoing charges to 0.85% from 0.75%, and I've been dropped to tier level 1, which I'm not happy about.

I've been waiting 8 weeks now for my report and any recommendations or portfolio amendments from my annual review.

I am now looking after our investments. Our IFAs wanted to increase the ongoing fee from 0.5% to effectively 0.8% (as there was a £10k cap). The turn around to requests for information and annual review reports dramatically increased following the departure of our previous IFA. We were being offered a change of platform and fund (I think an MPS with an OCF of just under 0.5%) - similar to a global tracker. I have watched/read the thoughts of Lars Kroijer, James Shack, Ben Félix, twoetfs etc and adopted a 3 ETF (plus a cash ISA) strategy. Written down my plan - to refer to when markets tank. With ETFs I pay fixed fees at HL and Fidelity, less than a 1/5th of low % platform fees. All told my fees are at least £1k p.m. less than they would have been. I will pay for one off advice re estate planning. The key IMO is stick to a simple plan that achieves your goals. My previous IFA taught me to look at the goals and plan accordingly (how much risk do you need to take to ensure you get there) and not to be greedy. I moved platform and pushing the button to buy ETFs in excess of £100k was scary - an IFA takes away that fear because they do it. So DIYing is also putting in place a few reminders - shares/funds have been this volatile before and come back - how much have I made (from the start) not how much of a paper loss I have suffered today/this week/month from the peak. If you can get through one crisis it helps with the next and they do come along regularly.

 The OP said IFA or DIY. If you think you are getting value for your money then it is fine 

Ibrahim5

Would you hire a builder and decide not to pay them at the end as you didn’t like the work they completed for you?

A builder would ask you a few questions, think for a bit, builds an extension and charges you £30K.

An IFA asks you a few questions, thinks for a bit and then charges you £30K

Groover24

I may have found someone I like but there is another that is a possible. However, I have checked on the FCA register and noted the following under Activities:

Investment activities

• 2. Giving personal recommendations on securities which are not stakeholder pension schemes or personal pension schemes or broker funds

I would guess they should not be providng pension advice? or have I mis-read it?

dunstonh

Groover24 said:

I may have found someone I like but there is another that is a possible. However, I have checked on the FCA register and noted the following under Activities:

Investment activities

• 2. Giving personal recommendations on securities which are not stakeholder pension schemes or personal pension schemes or broker funds

I would guess they should not be providng pension advice? or have I mis-read it?

I just checked my entry and a couple of other local IFA firms and they have the following:



Individual permissions are cumulative.  So, they may have more entries but number 4 is the key one for an IFA or FA.  "Giving personal recommendations on retail investment products"

However, some firms operate a paraplanner style set up where the individual you speak with for information gathering is not the adviser.   The adviser is the one who signs off on the advice.   So, does the firm hold the permissions?  is there another individual in the advice process for that firm?

Groover24

I have just checked and the full list includes 2, 4 and 20. So, it would seem that they are covered. I am just a bit nervous of them as they are part of Fairstone Financial Management and claim double returns in the last 5 years compared to my current plan. Previouslt suggested that this is possible depending on split with equities / bonds. I am not sure what constitutes an equity fund in this (apart from the obvious)



I have looked at  this split on Trustnet and I can make my return over 5 years go from 30% to 55% depending on when I start the baseline. Moving it just a few days or a month makes quite a difference to the overall return number

Albermarle

Groover24 said:

In reply to som eof the comments ....

@dunstonh
I am not rural at all - South Birmingham. I will have another look but they do seem to be parts of bigger companies

@ali_bear
I must have been lucky as I have been given me information on the funds they suggest so that I can have a look at performance. One I taked to recent said something that returned twice the growth over an unspecified period. So, although I found the adviser quite personable, I feel that I have little to go on. 

@wjr4
Possibly not quite the same, I feel. Builders are told what is required, they quote for that and you pay for the work. In this case both parties know exactly what is wanted and if it is correct. Given the same information all quotes will be based on the same information. The choice is then down to which is felt to be the best option. In my case I have said what I want and I feel that I could be paying several thousand pounds for who knows what? All I know is a rough idea of performace (alledgedly) and cost of running the fund. 

A lot of the benefit of having an IFA is not actually about investment performance, but about matching the package to your objectives and personality. This will include doing things in the most tax efficient manner and adapting plans to new legislation ( especially with pensions) and other related issues like how it all fits with your family/spouse finances. ( if that applies to you) 
Mistakes made in these areas can easily outweigh any investment returns.
Of course you can learn the basics of these things yourself, by reading this forum !

jinkster

OP. How did you get on? I'm thinking about moving to SJP. 

dunstonh

jinkster said:

OP. How did you get on? I'm thinking about moving to SJP. 

You seriously need an IFA if you are thinking SJP is a good idea.

I must ask though...  Why are you asking about an IFA when you are thinking about a salesforce FA that is one of the most expensive in the country,  retails its own products and isn't an IFA?

bjorn_toby_wilde

jinkster said:

OP. How did you get on? I'm thinking about moving to SJP. 

Hopefully you’ll avoid the tsunami of responses normally provoked by reference to SJP

SJP are not IFAs. They are anything but independent as they will only sell you their own products rather than sourcing from the whole of the market.

Their charges are among the highest but their products’ performance is mediocre

Just search SJP or Saint James Place on the forum and you’ll find plenty of educational threads