IFA

[Support Monkey]

Do it yourself, many years ago i was talking to my IFA who was a personal friend and he said with the amount of information available online now that there is very little you cannot find out if you just spend a bit of time looking, and he was right the tools are availble to compare insurances and i put my pensions with Hargreaves Lansdown, i just keep a check on it once a month or as and when i feel like it, and insurances i go over once a year just to make sure it is still suitable it's certainly not rocket science and you certainly don't need to shell out that kind of money for somone to tell you what you can find for yourself

[TheFaQQer]

I guess that's the reason for my post. I don't have any of those things.

It seems like a lot of money on the face of it, but I'm hoping that someone with a good experience of this will tell me it's money well spent.

I use SJP. My parents (who are significantly more financially savvy than I) are very pleased with how they have done with them, I like the guy and he's coming to see me in a couple of weeks to see how we're all doing. There is a portal which I could use to see how it's all doing real-time, but I haven't asked for a login yet so can't see it.

[kaiser78]

I guess that's the reason for my post. I don't have any of those things.

It seems like a lot of money on the face of it, but I'm hoping that someone with a good experience of this will tell me it's money well spent.

On the face of it as a well earning contractor, it isn't a lot of money and is money well spent imho.

I have just gone through a new IFA selection process and ended up with someone who will certainly get better returns then I could, even after deducting the fees charges we have agreed. Whilst I have a good spread of investment vehicles and choices at the moment, I don't have the time, the knowledge or the trust in myself to think I could do this alone without the input of an IFA.

[JRCT]

So do you have the time, inclination and knowledge to select your own savings ? if so, then full steam ahead.

I would say £600 would be £600 well spent getting a professional who has the specialist knowledge to do it for you, rather than relying on the superpower that has become the google search engine.

I guess that's the reason for my post. I don't have any of those things.

It seems like a lot of money on the face of it, but I'm hoping that someone with a good experience of this will tell me it's money well spent.

[kaiser78]

They can't make commission on the profit/ gains, but they can charge a % on what's put in.

Or a fixed amount if you negotiate with them.

[kaiser78]

They can't make commission on the profit/ gains, but they can charge a % on what's put in.

So, if I have £40k a year to invest in pension/ savings etc, I presume they are going to charge me *gets calculator* £600pa. So, anything they suggest would have to outperform my google search + £600 per year.

So do you have the time, inclination and knowledge to select your own savings ? if so, then full steam ahead.

I would say £600 would be £600 well spent getting a professional who has the specialist knowledge to do it for you, rather than relying on the superpower that has become the google search engine.

[Pondlife]

They can't make commission on the profit/ gains, but they can charge a % on what's put in.

So, if I have £40k a year to invest in pension/ savings etc, I presume they are going to charge me *gets calculator* £600pa. So, anything they suggest would have to outperform my google search + £600 per year.

Possibly, if that's what you agree with them.

What they can no longer do is recommend you use product A over product B because they're getting a kickback from A.

[Pondlife]

Poor sods. Much better to milk it at source

I did hear that many of the less ethical ones have 'retrained' to become recruitment agents.

[JRCT]

IFAs are not allowed to make commission from the companies who's products they advise on.

They have to be fee based these days.

They can't make commission on the profit/ gains, but they can charge a % on what's put in.

So, if I have £40k a year to invest in pension/ savings etc, I presume they are going to charge me *gets calculator* £600pa. So, anything they suggest would have to outperform my google search + £600 per year.

[DodgyAgent]

IFAs are not allowed to make commission from the companies who's products they advise on.

They have to be fee based these days.

Poor sods. Much better to milk it at source

[Pondlife]

IFAs are not allowed to make commission from the companies who's products they advise on.

They have to be fee based these days.

[I just need to test it]

I have very limited experience of IFAs.

A few years back I wanted to have a "life check" and was prepared to pay 500 quid on condition that any commission would come to me (by whatever means) rather than go to the IFA.

But in the end I spoke with an IFA that [cue alarm bells] my accountant recommended. And it went something like this:

IFA: Your existing pension arrangement - it's ridiculous. I will sort you out.

ME: Uhm, ok.

IFA: There. Look at this what I did. Here's how your old pension is forecast to perform. And HERE is how your NEW pension that I am setting up will perform.

ME: But according to these figures my old pension will do better.

IFA: But I am making no commission on your old one. Play the game, for God's sake. I have mouths to feed.

Oh, ok, he didn't actually say that last bit, but he recommended a pension that stood to benefit him not me. I forget the provider but I googled and there was a fair bit of tulip being thrown in their direction over the amounts of commission they paid IFAs. I binned him.

[minestrone]

I would forget paying him 750.

After a 10 minute meeting with my IFA a few months ago he sent me notification that they had taken 150 quid from one of my funds, they are getting ditched.

[JRCT]

Where do you get independent advice regarding IFAs?

I sat down with one, last week, for the first time and basically asked him to give me some advice on the usual financial products - Life ins, pension, mortgage, ISAs, etc, etc.

Nothing out of the ordinary in my requirements.


The last thing I said to him was that I would expect that after paying his fee/ commision I would be in a better position overall than if I'd done a bit of my own research on the internet and picked these products myself. Of course, he assured me that would be the case.

But the reason for my post is, I haven't got a clue how much is ok to pay an IFA. I understand he has to make money, but these kind of things always seem ridiculously expensive on the face of it.

A report on 'my life' (sounds a bit Eamonn Andrews) is basically going to cost me £750.

If I follow their advice and invest, then they charge 1.5% of whatever I put down (minus the £750, above).

I've done a quick search and found similar rates on a couple, but I don't know if this is good or bad.

The IFA is Foster Denovo. Any advice/ throughts you can share?