Towry Law

Silversavers

Well, one of the buring questions we had was exactly "what do we get for our 2% pa?" I mean, if someone wants to charge me around £4K pa for managing the portfolio that EJ built for us (and which we paid them for) then I think it's a perfectly reasonable question.

And if someone is willing to say "well, given historical and projected growth then we believe that our way of doing things will deliver you an additional return that should more than cover the fees" blah di blah di blah etc, then we'd be a little more likely to shell out the extra £4k (isn't greed a wonderful thing!).

But not one fact, a projection, an assertion or anything else in response to the question. It seemed like it was just an almost evangelical belief that 'their way was the true way'.

And we're not alone. Our son who is also an ex-EJ'er had his 'meeting' today. He's told them to come back in a week with a 5 year workup on his portfolio that proves that a TL investment strategy would produce a better return that what he had from EJ.

dunstonh

And we're not alone. Our son who is also an ex-EJ'er had his 'meeting' today. He's told them to come back in a week with a 5 year workup on his portfolio that proves that a TL investment strategy would produce a better return that what he had from EJ.

Problem is that you cant do that. No-one knows what the future will bring and past performance is just information available with hindsight.

What you can do is find out what the strategy is. How many risk profiles they use (some firms only use a little as 3 levels!) , what type of investments they use (if they pay a commission, do they offset the fee) and what level of servicing you get from it (i.e. are transactions like bed & ISA done each year and is the transaction free of charge because of the servicing charge).

milla

If you are an unhappy (inherited ) client of Towry Law I would suggest you contact your original E J advisor who may not be working for Towry Law ,as I have done

TangoTap

Silversavers wrote: »

Following our meeting with TL we had another meeting with an alternate company. It was like a breath of fresh air after the bad taste that the TL advisor had left with us.

Who are these paragons of virtue?! We are also ex-EJ seeking a VFM alternative to TL. We have not been able to track down our ex-EJ adviser so would like to hear of any other positive experiences with alternatives to TL.

dunstonh

TangoTap wrote: »

Who are these paragons of virtue?! We are also ex-EJ seeking a VFM alternative to TL. We have not been able to track down our ex-EJ adviser so would like to hear of any other positive experiences with alternatives to TL.

Its possible, indeed probable, that there is a clause preventing them from going back to their clients. Although nothing stops the client initiating contact.

As for alternatives. There are 30,000 IFAs and thousands of discretionary investment managers out there. So plenty of choice. You dont particulary want any of the FAs or tied providers (banks for example).

TangoTap

Yes, we were warned that our ex-EJ adviser would not be allowed to contact us and unfortunately we have not (yet) been able to track him down to initiate the contact. I know that any IFA would be able to help us with the basics but our main consideration is the quality of investment advice. Any tips for sorting the good from the bad? Obviously it is the bottom line that matters, so we wouldn't mind paying TL-level fees if the outcome was going to be better than average. But of course there is no guarantee etc etc, so we are trying to shop around. We valued the home visits from our EJ adviser so would want someone local, but living in London, that doesn't narrow it down very much!

dunstonh

I know that any IFA would be able to help us with the basics but our main consideration is the quality of investment advice. Any tips for sorting the good from the bad?

Most are good. IFAs account for just 2% of complaints at the FOS (despite handling the majority of transactions) and the FOS themselves have said that over 80% have not had a complaint registered with them.

Ideally, get in with a local firm rather than a national and see if you can get the owner/partner/directors to be your adviser. Avoid employee advisers (may be prone to moving and they may not have scope to reduce charges/fees/commission). City based advisers tend to be more expensive than countryside based ones. Make sure you get a servicing adviser and agreement in place and not a transactional adviser (with no agreement for service in place).

EdInvestor

TangoTap wrote: »

I know that any IFA would be able to help us with the basics but our main consideration is the quality of investment advice. ... we wouldn't mind paying TL-level fees if the outcome was going to be better than average. But of course there is no guarantee etc etc, so we are trying to shop around.

How do you judge this quality?It seems that even after years of using an advisor,you are still 'shopping around' and trying to determine if you are getting good advice.Has the advisor not been able to show you his skills are worthwhile?

It seems easier to me to just move over to a discount broker and save the money from the start.OK, you have to do some work yourself choosing your investments.
But you're not continually worrying about whether your advisor is on the ball or whether you're wasting money on his charges and fees.

feesarefare

Those looking for an alternative to Towry Law may want to have a look at the Institute of Financial Planning website. It lays out how their advisers work an also has a uselfull "search" function.

terrytravel

Have just had my first meeting with the TL adviser (salesperson). She was 35 mins. EARLY !!!
Unfortunately I was involved with some other work and she had to wait in the car - she was not happy.
I was not at all impressed by her presentation.
Seemed reluctant to talk of costs, saying that all would be explained in the letter which would follow this first meeting. They seem to forget that all info. as per charges etc., are freely available on the web.
I do not consider 1.5% to be good value for money. In my opinion if people go with TL from EJ I`m afraid they will be flooded with sales material for other TL products - at the bargain price of circa £250 / hour consultation/work - I don't think so !!!!