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Is a personal referral the best way to choose an independent financial adviser?

4th August 2018

You can spend your life working hard and following all the advice you pick up along the way. If you’re financially savvy, you might be able to pay off your mortgage quickly, put plenty into savings and build a nice nest egg to retire with. Getting a financial adviser to guide you through the process can be a great idea, but when you hand someone the keys to your capital, you want to make sure they know what they’re doing.

There are plenty of excellent financial advisers out there whose services are well worth employing; there are also some that will, unfortunately, lead you into hidden fees and tax-planning blunders and not grow your nest egg as much as you’d like. Picking the right one is important, so how should you go about doing that if you don’t have an adviser already?

The generally accepted theory is that a personal recommendation from a trusted friend or colleague is the most foolproof way to find a good financial adviser. People often consider advice from those with high salaries as reputable, taking the “if they’re good enough for them, they’re good enough for me” approach. We’re proud to say that we’re recommended by a very high percentage of our clients, but there are valid questions around whether this is the best way to choose your adviser.

As a society in general, we’re not particularly financially literate. The chances of your next door neighbour, sister in law or your colleague knowing what constitutes a good financial adviser better than you do yourself might be considered unlikely. Having the skills or knowledge to command with a high wage is not the same as knowing what’s best to do with that money, or how to judge the decisions of your financial adviser.

The best thing you can do to ensure you make the right decision is to inform yourself of what it is you actually need and make sure that’s what your adviser is providing. Are they going through their investment process with you? How often will they be providing you with reviews? Will they be giving you a full plan or just undertaking a single transaction, like transferring a pension? Can they provide testimonials from existing and past clients? What fees do they charge? Are they independent, or restricted? As always – knowledge is power!

To learn more about our services read our factsheet here

See some of the reviews for our advisers on Vouchedfor here

Financial Adviser Worcdloud


Sources:

https://www.marketwatch.com/Story/this-is-the-worst-investment-advice-you-can-get-2018-05-16?&siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pensions-retirement/financial-planning/choose-independent-financial-adviser-ifa-much-should-pay/

Reference – BL004 – Aug – 18

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Gale and Phillipson Investment Services Ltd, Gale and Phillipson Advisory Services Ltd, Gale and Phillipson General Financial Services Ltd and Gale and Phillipson (SE London) Ltd are all authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Reference Numbers 431387, 142752, 195080, 195522).  Gale and Phillipson (Herts) Ltd and Gale and Phillipson Consulting Ltd are appointed representatives of Gale and Phillipson Advisory Services Ltd.  Gale and Phillipson (Surrey) Ltd is an appointed representative of Gale and Phillipson Investment Services Ltd. (Reference Numbers 615821, 811525, 703337). All companies trade under the name Gale and Phillipson and are registered in England and Wales numbers 05409822, 02232959, 03751076, 04077157, 08864945 and 04823391.  Registered office for all companies is Gallowfields House, Fairfield Way, Richmond, DL10 4TB.

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