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Original poster

Tell me about using an IFA...

10 replies

Monkeybird · 03/04/2008 22:02

I think we need one. I'd prefer to pay a fee than commission. Can anyone advise, or even recommend one (if they're mobile, could be anywhere between NorthWest and Midlands)

Would be interested to know what they do, how much they charge, how extensive/detailed is the advice/help they can give.

Any other info welcome - thanks.

OP posts:
Original poster
Monkeybird · 03/04/2008 22:14

...?

OP posts:
cat64 · 03/04/2008 22:32

This reply has been deleted

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lilyloo · 04/04/2008 13:02

monkeybird my dp one and he isn't charging anything to mumsnetters atke a look at his ad on here for more info.

hopefully · 04/04/2008 13:16

There's also unbiased.co.uk, which allows you to search for IFAs for everything (mortgages, pensions, investments etc), although Lilyloo's husband seems fairly on the ball from my memory of old threads!

hopefully · 04/04/2008 13:19

Oh, and fees can vary enormously, depending on the adviser. On the basis that commission for, for example, a pension might be 2% of a £100,000 pension fund, I suppose it's fair to assume that an adviser would want to be charging around the £2,000 he'd get in commission for something like that.

They should be able to deal with all your financial needs, from mortgage to pension, savings, investments, retirement plans, etc etc. I cannot recomend getting one highly enough if you have a reasonable amount of money, as they can add a lot of value.

I'm a journalist writing for a magazine aimed at financial advisers, so if you have any other questions I'll try to help!

Original poster
Monkeybird · 05/04/2008 13:09

Thanks all,

Hopefully (the poster, I mean!) & Lilyloo, could you tell me a bit more about what they do? We need - for example - to sort out some long term savings/investments (for university costs hopefully for our 3 kids), we also need to review our life insurance and also get advice on capital gains tax. Are these things they could help with?

OP posts:
Original poster
Monkeybird · 05/04/2008 13:10

should add, don't actually need a mortgage!

OP posts:
lilyloo · 05/04/2008 14:30

monkeybird just spoken to dp and he said he can help you out if you just mail him on or ring him on the link

hopefully · 06/04/2008 13:27

IFA will be able to review best savings schemes, including products like bonds, structured products etc, which you would struggle to research and access by yourselves, and which can prove much better than a standard savings account for long term savings such as for university etc.

He/she will also be able to review life insurance and usually get you a better quote than you can by going direct to a provider, even if you do lots of research

He should be able to tell you how to minimise your CGT (legally) by taking advantage of certain investments etc.

If you're talking about more than a couple of products and more than just the odd tenner of savings, an IFA should be able to save/earn you more than he's charging, therefore adding value to your money.

caramelbunny73 · 07/04/2008 10:16

We chose an IFA that was reccommended to us and who doesn't charge, he takes an introduction fee from the companies, but everything he does he shows us up front so we can see before deciding, and I do trust him to have always found us the best offer for us rather than best intro rate for him. We don't have much money, which is why he has been so great. He helped us choose a mortgage, and all the associated insurances etc, rejecting a whole host of protection ones we decided we didn't need. After an initial consultation he then came round to our house in the evening and spent a good 2 hours going over everything and leaving the info for us to choose which product we wanted. Recently he came to see us at home again because he knew we'd had a baby and so found us the baby bond that best suited us, and also opened 2 ISA's, one small one for us to try and start saving and one for the money family gave us for the little one. I can't reccommend IFA's highly enough. We are based in Sheffield and use FKW. Buying a house was so easy as he liased with solicitors and made everyhting understandable, he is currently sorting us out some life insurances as we are both only children with retired parents so if anything happens to us we need financial cover for our little one's future. You should always receive a 'Key Facts' document for whatever advice you are given, it is a summary of the product, all fees, risks, small print etc, you should get this and read through before signing up for anything to make sure you understand.Hope this helps.

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