Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers...
Back history:
My mum is looking for a new financial adviser. Having been burned twice out of three times (changed after bad advice, then got good advice, person retired, had more bad advice and now they have wound down so rather than be handed on she thought she would try to find somebody who was better and local.
She has spoken to a couple of IFAs that other people have used and recommended (albeit both through professional rather than personal recommendations) and liked both of them.
So when discussing which she was going to choose, I asked her a couple of things like:
- How much will it actually cost you - for the first year with them (ie any start up fees) and subsequent years
- What returns are they typically getting at the moment for similar sized investments, did they get over the last few years and expecting to get for the next few years and why
- What happens if they lose a big chunk of money
and she didn't have the actual answers to any of these questions.
So she's going to call them tomorrow/friday and find out the answers. I just wondered if anyone had any other good questions that she ought to be finding out before signing up with anyone?
And does anyone know if it is OK to ask for references or to contact other clients to check that they really are doing OK...
Thank you!