What will a good independent financial adviser do for me?
The one sentence version: Your trusted adviser will help you to achieve your short, medium and longer term goals and objectives in life by using a comprehensive financial planning strategy over time.
The longer version: You think you need financial advice – maybe on something specific such as a mortgage or an inheritance, or perhaps you realise that you can no longer put off planning for retirement. But where do you start?
You are nervous. It’s understandable and good financial advisers recognise this and want to reassure you that their focus is on their clients, and helping them to make best use of their resources over time. It’s our job to help you to make your money work harder!
Hopefully our other articles will guide you to a financial planning professional with the expertise you require or you are fortunate enough to have family or friends who already work with one, but once you find this person, what will happen next? This is what the good guys do:
First, a good IFA will meet with you to establish your current position and what it is that interests/concerns you.
This discovery meeting is often without charge and will be without obligation so that both sides can decide whether it is appropriate to take matters further. At this stage you may gain enough information to fully answer your query, you may be pointed in the direction of someone else who can help you, or the IFA may decide to offer his/her services.
The IFA will clearly explain the services offered by the firm and the ways in which they will be paid for these services. The proposal may be for one -off work or may be for an ongoing relationship. Ideally an agreement should be drawn up, understood, and signed by both parties.
The next step is for your IFA to gain a thorough understanding of your current circumstances and your future goals and objectives. He/she will review your current financial arrangements as well as appraising your attitude to investment risk.
This information should be put into a report, with recommendations for immediate or future action along with the implications, advantages, disadvantages and cost of this action. It will highlight cost effective and tax efficient strategies.
The next stage is for you to meet to discuss the report and for the adviser to add detail and answer your questions. You will agree upon the action to be taken now and provisionally, in future. You will confirm the cost and the way in which the adviser will be paid.
The adviser will then implement the recommendations and set up any new contracts of insurance or investment, as well as rearranging any of your existing policies and plans to give you a more coherent and appropriate structure to your affairs.
Financial planning is an ongoing process, as your circumstances will change and the financial world will definitely change. No plan is going to remain entirely appropriate throughout your lifetime. In recognising this, the best financial planners will set up a formal review schedule to ensure that you remain ‘on track’ to meet your objectives
Top Tips
- Don’t be afraid to ask searching questions; the best working relationships are based on openness and honesty.
- Check whether there is an automatic review of your affairs included or whether you have to request one, and ask what it will cost.
- Disclose everything about your affairs so that the adviser gets a full picture.
- Keep your adviser up to date with changes in your life or future plans so that they can amend your strategy if required.
- Introduce your IFA to your accountant, solicitor or other professional adviser so that they can work together on your behalf.
- If you are fortunate enough to have linked up with a good professional financial adviser don’t keep it to yourself – we need to spread the word!
Good independent financial advisers tend to have a combination of great behaviour, skills and knowledge.
A good IFA will always put their clients' needs/interests first, acting with integrity and honesty. In other words they will be trustworthy.
They will have good interpersonal skills, being able to listen carefully, to develop an understanding of their clients goals and objectives, which in turn enables them to develop a financial plan with their client's to meet their personal goals. They must also be able to communicate often complex matters in a clear and concise way.
In addition they will have good technical knowledge which they will be able to apply in the complex financial world we live in and they will work hard to maintain this knowledge in this ever changing environment.
A good IFA will therefore undertake a financial planning process involving a comprehensive overview of a client’s finances and life goals, considering the two areas as one and aligning the clients finances to meet these personal goals.
A good financial planner can therefore provide a client and their family with guidance over their lifetime or work with a client to meet a specific goal or objective as required.