Do IFAs take their own advice?
capital0ne
Posts: 872 Forumite
Why do IFA's work or even exist, surely if they took their own advice the could design a plan to provide all of their income, once of course they had created the capital they needed.
They can't be doing it as a service to us ill-informed masses because their fees are so high.
Just a thought for dismal Saturday afternoon
They can't be doing it as a service to us ill-informed masses because their fees are so high.
Just a thought for dismal Saturday afternoon
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Comments
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Surely IFAs have designed a plan to provide all of their income - being an IFA is part of the implementation. Presumably, like most of us, when they have sufficient capital they will stop working and cease being IFAs.0
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You'd rather this was a world with no IFAs?
Just FAs/salespeople or your own resources?
It's a free country. Those who wish to use an IFA can do so. Those who do not need not.I am one of the Dogs of the Index.0 -
capital0ne wrote: »Why do IFA's work or even exist, surely if they took their own advice the could design a plan to provide all of their income, once of course they had created the capital they needed.
They can't be doing it as a service to us ill-informed masses because their fees are so high.
Just a thought for dismal Saturday afternoon
I certainly do. I have a plan, which will allow me to retire at an age I think i will be happy with the income I want, with no mortgage, In the meantime, I am regularly investing and saving into a pension whilst living a comfortable lifestyle. I don't have the advantage of a large lump sum or windfall which many of my clients have, and have around 20 years less working life so far than many of my clients. My income is also far lower than many of my clients.I am an Independent Financial Adviser. Any comments I make here are intended for information / discussion only. Nothing I post here should be construed as advice. If you are looking for individual financial advice, please contact a local Independent Financial Adviser.0 -
Do you go to work as a charitable donation to the community, or as a public service - rather than charging market rates for your skills and knowledge? If you do that (i.e., undercharge) you're in a minority. Most people want to charge their employer a salary that the market will stand, so they stay in a job, but not doing themselves a disservice in terms of turning down a higher level of income that people would be willing to pay them.capital0ne wrote: »
They can't be doing it as a service to us ill-informed masses because their fees are so high.
Just a thought for dismal Saturday afternoon
Similarly most people setting up their own business (whether a regulated investment firm or IFA shop, or a solicitor, doctor, consultant, mechanic, plumber, roofer, taxi driver etc), will charge a level of fee for their service per hour that's higher than their take-home pay, and therefore quite likely to be higher than the take-home pay of their clients, but not actually set so low as to be a non-profit public service.0 -
capital0ne wrote: »Why do IFA's work or even exist, surely if they took their own advice the could design a plan to provide all of their income, once of course they had created the capital they needed.
They can't be doing it as a service to us ill-informed masses because their fees are so high.
Just a thought for dismal Saturday afternoon
Being an IFA doesn't make a large enough pot of money to retire on miraculously appear it of thin air. That's why IFAs work: to generate the capital need to retire throughout a hopefully productive working life.
Don't use one if you think the fee are too high, noone will make you.I am a Chartered Financial Planner
Anything I say on the forum is for discussion purposes only and should not be construed as personal financial advice. It is vitally important to do your own research before acting on information gathered from any users on this forum.0 -
Why do IFA's work or even exist, surely if they took their own advice the could design a plan to provide all of their income, once of course they had created the capital they needed.
You need money to make money. Why would an IFA stop working if they are happy with the job and it continues to provide 6 digit income?
How about you asking all the DIY investors why they are not working as the same would apply to them.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
All investors are working for because they're not actually that good at investing and don't have the conviction just to go it alone.
Also you need an amount of capital to begin investing. if investors where any good at it they would then just rely on their investments.
Only a small few can actually cut it - good old WB for one.
The rest cannot so they have to continue working and selling there skills in investing to those who don't even have a clue.0 -
Okay, I will bite...
Investment/speculation is a spectrum of risk and return.
There are all sorts of reasons, unique to each individual, whereabouts on that spectrum they fit their finances.
To say that most investors are working because they are no good at investments in just nonsense.
I think Warren Buffet will be at work tomorrow.I am one of the Dogs of the Index.0 -
Perhaps the OPs question should have been more like 'Why don't those cold calling strangers to sell so called 'investments" just buy them themselves.“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” --Upton Sinclair0
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I think most posters have missed the point. The OP is saying since IFAs have secret sauce around what funds to buy over others, surely their time would be more profitably spent making that sauce instead of meeting with Bob the guy who wants to transfer his DB to a SIPP.
It’s a relatively common misconception IFAs hold such magic ability. They have zero ability to make such prognostications. Many do play this way, one on this forum is fond of saying how his firms portfolio making machine beats the market. Laughable!! Thankfully many don’t, and it’s somewhat heartening to see the challenge go unrecognised against your post.
No, IFAs are there to help those with low financial literacy navigate financially uncertain times, and wealthy risk-averse individuals not make a silly mistake. It’s a visit to the financial GP. Your family doctor won’t live to 100 by giving up her day job, but then she doesn’t peddle the elixir of youth.
The OP should ask the same question of all the media pundits who do explicitly make a living by saying they can read the tea leaves. Creators of this list or that, and what will be hot next year. And even those active managers who sort of put their money where their mouth is - and then the OP may realise they continue to do that day job because taking the management fee you are willing to pay is far more profitable than their ability to pick stocks.0
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