Financial advisers can play a vital part in helping guide us
through the financial and investment decisions in our lives. Whether it's
helping with the day-to-day financial dilemmas, or the more important
milestones - from arranging your first mortgage to saving for a child's
education - advisers are there to help sort the good from the bad in an
increasingly crowded marketplace of investment products and providers.
Just as the number of investment products has grown at a bewildering rate over
recent years, so too the choice of investment advice on offer has expanded,
making it even more important to find the right investment adviser, whatever
the need.
Broadly speaking, there are three types of investment advisers offering
financial guidance in the UK: independent financial advisers (or
IFAs as they are known); tied advisers and multi-tied advisers.
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Tied advisers
are only able to advise and sell investment products provided by one company,
for example a bank or building society.
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Multi-tied
advisers
are able to sell a limited number of investment products from a panel of
companies, chosen by them.
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IFAs, on the
other hand, are not contractually tied to any financial product provider and
can therefore offer financial advice on investment products from any company in
the market.
Some IFAs describe themselves as
financial planners, preferring to give what is often called ‘holistic’
investment advice – essentially providing financial guidance rather than
advising on a specific investment product.
All three types of investment adviser have one thing in common: if they are
involved in selling or advising on products which are regulated by the
government (for example, pensions, investments and general insurance), they
must be authorised and adequately qualified. Some investment advisers may hold
qualifications in specific areas, helping demonstrate their areas of expertise.
What can vary between the different investment advisers is how they make their
money. IFAs can charge a mixture of
commission or fees,
but some will only advise on a fee basis. Commission is typically paid by the
investment product provider, while fees are paid by clients, much as they are
for say a lawyer or accountant, and are often open to negotiation.
Of course cost is not everything. With some 25,000 independent financial
advisers currently operating in the UK, impartial investment advice is
available on most financial products. So once you have matched the adviser to
the need, make sure you also feel entirely comfortable with them. Search by
anything from location to area of expertise to find the right investment
adviser for you.
To search My Local Adviser for
investment advisers click here.
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