Today, highly qualified expertise in turbulent financial markets is vital. Whether you are shopping for a pension, need help with understanding annuities or have a young family to protect with low cost term assurance, solid advice is essential.
When considering any sort of investment advice there are two types of financial advisers you can get help from – ‘independent’ and ‘restricted.’
Advisors who source their products and recommendations across the full range of financial products and providers available are called ‘independent advisers’ (IFAs).
However, since the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) many advisers have chosen to offer ‘restricted advice’. This allows them to focus on a limited selection of products and/or providers because they have chosen to do so.
Your Assurance…
All financial advisers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Therefore both independent or restricted must hold minimum qualifications, subscribe to a code of ethics and keep their knowledge current with financial markets through ongoing professional development.
All advisers must also undertake a ‘fact find’) to understand your financial circumstances and attitude to risk to understand which product or products would be suitable for you before they recommend anything.
It is important to note that the quality of the advice you receive will be the same, whichever type of adviser you go for.
This protection is not available to you if you buy without getting advice from either restricted or independent advisors though, such as buying annuities after doing research online on your own for example.
Before contacting an adviser it’s helpful for you to get all your ducks in a row. You may not have a full financial plan in place yet but you should know the following…
- Financial assets.
- Current debts owed.
- How much you can save or invest.
- What returns you’re hoping to achieve balanced against what kind of risk you’re comfortable with.
The above should be set against an understanding of the overall financial objective you’d like to achieve. If you’ve done this kind of homework prior to bringing an adviser on board they will then find it easier to help you set in place a viable plan to achieve your financial goals.
To finish up, in the end you pay your money and you take your choice. Just like a good dentist, when you’ve received good treatment from a Financial Adviser, you’ll return to them again and again in the future.
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