Good IFA around Berkshire + what to do with a lump sum?
Discussion
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
V8 Fettler said:
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
cashmax said:
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
I don't advise upon QROPS but I have a specialist available to me if the client has the need.
DoubleSix said:
a professional should have a large bank of contacts and co-workers with which to provide a solution to the client.
Note the word "should" does not mean "will".When a car goes into the garage it "should" come back with all work properly completed....
.... and when you buy a car the garage "should" stay open for future service.
BanzaiMan said:
V8 Fettler said:
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
More to the point, how does a punter find a "good adviser with considerable experience"?
V8 Fettler said:
BanzaiMan said:
V8 Fettler said:
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
More to the point, how does a punter find a "good adviser with considerable experience"?
BanzaiMan said:
V8 Fettler said:
BanzaiMan said:
V8 Fettler said:
DoubleSix said:
cashmax said:
...they will also only be able to recommend a course of action that they are familiar with or even aware of, neither of which will be comprehensive.
Hmmm, I would levy that criticism at the DIY investor personally. It is the business of any professional to know their profession and the range and scope of options available to them. There are of course good and bad advisers, experienced and inexperienced as in any profession.
However, let's assume for the sake of argument we're talking about a good adviser with considerable experience - what courses of action are there you imagine would be beyond their thinking and yet easily put into action by the DIY investor?
More to the point, how does a punter find a "good adviser with considerable experience"?
V8 Fettler said:
A good adviser should be competent and act in the interests of the punter; competence achieved via education, training and experience. How does a punter find a competent financial adviser who will act in the interests of the punter?
A good question: must be as I asked it over on https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...No easy answer: I'm firmly of the belief that if you have some "common sense" and internet skills then you can take care of a lot of things yourself: be your own financial advisor and get specialist advice when needed.....
Of course a good financial advisor ought to be able to help shape your longer term goals with you: you need to trust them though....years ago I knew a lovely fella who moved into the world of finance, becoming an IFA...but knowing his own financial background, there was no way I would share my information with him!!
https://www.unbiased.co.uk looked like a useful filter....although the "about us" bit gives very little away about how they are funded (it's all about the money!)...
...although the fact remains that I still haven't spoken to any.....
Edited by mikeiow to correct link
Edited by mikeiow on Tuesday 27th February 08:17
V8 Fettler said:
A good adviser should be competent and act in the interests of the punter; competence achieved via education, training and experience. How does a punter find a competent financial adviser who will act in the interests of the punter?
Without wishing to be glib. How does one go about securing a good; lawyer, solicitor, builder, plumber? etc etc etc. Point being the situation is hardly unique.Most of my clients come to me via referral.
DoubleSix said:
Without wishing to be glib. How does one go about securing a good; lawyer, solicitor, builder, plumber? etc etc etc. Point being the situation is hardly unique.
Most of my clients come to me via referral.
But (also without wishing to be glib).....how many have had less than optimal experiences with lawyers, solicitors, builders, plumbers?Most of my clients come to me via referral.
For individuals, financial advice is often entered into with a longer timeframe in mind than the professions you mention, so even more important: again without meaning to be glib, the industry is littered with tragic financial mis-selling stories (PPI, endowments, pension fund scandals all over): how does one find a DoubleSix who is not going to rip us off?
Suggesting referrals is not the simple task you make it sound: when I have had conversations with friends around the topic, & let's face it, the British are generally poor at discussing money and never want to admit they were less than happy, I have invariably been less than impressed with what I hear. Maybe some people are destined to be their own financial advisor!
DoubleSix said:
V8 Fettler said:
A good adviser should be competent and act in the interests of the punter; competence achieved via education, training and experience. How does a punter find a competent financial adviser who will act in the interests of the punter?
Without wishing to be glib. How does one go about securing a good; lawyer, solicitor, builder, plumber? etc etc etc. Point being the situation is hardly unique.Most of my clients come to me via referral.
I've twice employed financial advisers via referral, on both occasions performance was poor.
mikeiow said:
V8 Fettler said:
A good adviser should be competent and act in the interests of the punter; competence achieved via education, training and experience. How does a punter find a competent financial adviser who will act in the interests of the punter?
A good question: must be as I asked it over on https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...No easy answer: I'm firmly of the belief that if you have some "common sense" and internet skills then you can take care of a lot of things yourself: be your own financial advisor and get specialist advice when needed.....
Of course a good financial advisor ought to be able to help shape your longer term goals with you: you need to trust them though....years ago I knew a lovely fella who moved into the world of finance, becoming an IFA...but knowing his own financial background, there was no way I would share my information with him!!
https://www.unbiased.co.uk looked like a useful filter....although the "about us" bit gives very little away about how they are funded (it's all about the money!)...
...although the fact remains that I still haven't spoken to any.....
Edited by mikeiow on Monday 26th February 07:21
V8 Fettler said:
Your first link goes to the PH forum home page.
Odd....sorry, it was https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...Duly edited!
DoubleSix, what do you think makes your service/advice work where clearly many IFAs fail?
& aside from a positive reference, how would someone find someone like you? Are you on unbiased, or are there other search engines, things to look for?
Or does one have to know someone who knows you!?
Edited by mikeiow on Tuesday 27th February 08:21
mikeiow said:
DoubleSix, what do you think makes your service/advice work where clearly many IFAs fail?
& aside from a positive reference, how would someone find someone like you? Are you on unbiased, or are there other search engines, things to look for?
Or does one have to know someone who knows you!?
I'm not sure there is a panacea I can point to for finding a good adviser. What I mean to say is that the route to finding a good IFA is like much in life, not necessarily quantifiable and likely involves a multitude of variables. Before I attempt to answer your first question I would just say I'm not here to self promote or subtly leverage my worth via the PH masses (as some do!) - I come here to chew the cud and sometimes help a few folk if asked.& aside from a positive reference, how would someone find someone like you? Are you on unbiased, or are there other search engines, things to look for?
Or does one have to know someone who knows you!?
Edited by mikeiow on Tuesday 27th February 08:21
I don't agree that "many IFAs fail". Many IFA/client relationships may fail but that's in my experience often a result of failings on both sides. Many clients approach IFAs or Investment Managers with unrealistic or just ill-informed expectations and in these examples the relationship is often doomed from the outset - I'm very wary of this sort of prospect. One of the first questions I ask my clients is regarding their expectations of me and of their investments so I can assess this early on and address unrealistic expectations from the outset. An IFA cannot be a 'yes man' and must have the ability to tell a client what they don't necessarily want to hear or the wheels will probably come off at some point.
I can usually judge pretty well if I'm dealing with someone I can build a long term working relationship with or if I need to walk away. On the flip side I'm sure there are those advisers that over-promise and under-deliver with predictable results.
Similarly, some people are sceptical of the value offered by IFAs and other investment professionals and I would never spend any time trying to convince them otherwise. It's a waste of breath in my experience. There are many, many people out there who value professional services and are prepared to pay for them without quibbling over the value.
I think my firm used to sign new advisers up to unbiased but not so sure we do that anymore. As I said to the OP, independence would be top of my list if I were looking for advice but beyond that things get a bit more nuanced depending on your specific needs. I imagine a lot of the proponents of DIY investing on here have pretty simple needs (basic investment needs essentially) and are seeing things from there own perspective. However, those with more complex requirements such as overseas residency, commercial property to SIPP, estate planning and/or trust work probably take a different view. Oh, and there's nothing like a 10 year bull market to make investing feel easy...
I'm a bit of a different animal to a lot of IFAs in that my background is as a stockbroker (Chartered Wealth Manager) so I guess I bring a different perspective to my role than those with an insurance background. Some will place value on that, others may not even be aware of the difference.
HTH
Edited by DoubleSix on Wednesday 28th February 01:20
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