Simon Hawker, IFA St Albans - The value of an independent financial adviser

Friday 24 March, 2017

The value of an independent financial adviser

You may already be familiar with ‘Robo-advice’ which offers financial advice using automated or digital methods without the involvement of human financial advisers.   It is arguably a positive development as it offers people with smaller investment amounts the chance to access more cost-effective investment advice. However, not all questions can be answered by computer models and in many situations paying for independent financial advice makes sense.  Independent financial advisers can offer a more holistic approach to wealth management, which involves advising on a whole range of complicated financial products.

US fund manager Vanguard estimates that working with a financial adviser could add 3% per annum to your investment returns.  According to Vanguard, a financial adviser adds value in areas such as asset allocation, tax planning, risk management, as well as costs, and they prevent their investors from making common investment mistakes.

If you buy a financial product recommended by a financial adviser it should always meet your individual needs.  If you employ the services of an independent financial adviser directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, you are guaranteed they are qualified to offer advice on a range of financial services products.  Perhaps most importantly, buying direct or through a financial adviser also gives you more protection; if you buy a product based on financial advice you can seek compensation if the advice is subsequently found to be unsuitable.

Simon Hawker, Managing Director and independent financial adviser and member of the Lonsdale Services Financial Planning team in St Albans says:

‘According to a recent HSBC survey, a quarter of adults believe that financial advice is too expensive.  Over the next few weeks we wil be adding case study examples to our website of situations where it pays to employ the services of an independent financial adviser.   At Lonsdale Services we pride ourselves on educating our clients and ascertaining their attitude to risk before we recommend suitable financial products for them.  Our goal is to ensure our clients receive positive outcomes from the savings, investment and protection products we recommend for them.  Ultimately, we want all of our clients to feel they have had value for money following our independent financial advice.’

Before employing a financial planning company ensure they offer you the following:

•    a qualified independent financial adviser with several years’ experience who specialises in your area of interest
•    access to client testimonials and client satisfaction surveys
•    a free consultation meeting
•    open, honest and upfront communication about the cost of independent financial advice

For more information read Deb Nolan, independent financial adviser Leeds / Bradford and member of the Leeds / Bradford financial planning team's article: 'Financial Advisers have a responsibility to educate before offering financial advice.'

‘The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may not get back what you invest.

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