What to look for when seeking financial advice

Each of us take financial advice at varying points during our lives. First it’s from our parents, then probably the bank, and in no particular order, at some point maybe a colleague or our boss will make a suggestion, we’ll read the financial press and some of the great bloggers out there and then potentially approach a professional adviser too. When you reach this last stage and potentially much earlier than this, what should you look for in a potential adviser? How can you tell the good ones from the bad; the ones that will make a big difference to your finances from the ones who are just ‘tweaking’ around the edges.

We work with financial advisers on a daily basis, so we feel as though we have a good insight into what to look for when you decide it’s time to seek formal advice. Here are our top tips!

Check whether your adviser is tied, restricted or independent

Tied advisers can only offer your products from the place they are tied to, such as the bank they work within. Restricted advisers have more scope but, as the name suggests, some products or investments may be off limits. Truly independent advisers have access to the whole of the investment market and can recommend any products which suit your financial requirements.

Ask your adviser to talk about their investment proposition

Advisers will sometimes not discuss their investment proposition with clients, but it is a big part of how they do business and what they do with your money. We provide an investment proposition to advisers so we’re a little biased here: our proposition ensures advisers make every investment choice based on evidence and data, rather than on ‘gut feel’ or the guidance of an investment expert and any known or unknown biases they may be operating under. Whatever your adviser’s proposition, get them to talk you through it and explain why they think it’s a good thing (our video here might help a little!).

Ask to speak to a client in a similar situation to yourself

Good advisers normally have lots of clients who are willing to say that they’re good advisers! Ask to speak to one whom the adviser sees as similar to yourself. They’ll be able to share their experience of the adviser with you and it will give you the confidence that the adviser knows how to address your unique questions and circumstances.

Get the adviser to outline how they think investments and advice are changing

The advisory industry has talked about ‘robo advice’ and the change in technology for a number of years now, but few advisers are leveraging technology to its full potential. Ask your adviser what he thinks of changing investment approaches and technologies and whether they see themselves changing how or what they use in the next few years. It will, at the very least, give you an idea of where your investments might end up in five years time!

CleverAdviser provide technology to independent advisers, which allows them to optimise fund selection for clients and maximise their returns. Instead of relying on irrational, irregular human decisions based on biases, preferences and emotion, Clever reviews funds monthly and selects funds based purely on big data, algorithms and analytical evidence. Based in Chester, Clever are a team of 17.

Established in 2000, the firm has grown steadily and currently manage around £975 million of client assets. Clever consider themselves to be the only purely data-driven investment proposition for IFAs and their approach has been evidenced by two Professors at Cass Business School in London.

Clever believe that a data and technology-driven revolution is in progress within financial services and that Clever have been at the heart of that process and will continue to be throughout 2017.

Clever believe that both progressive financial advisers and advisory clients no longer wish to settle for poorly-evidenced and unsustainable investment models, which deliver less-than-ideal results. Instead, clients and advisers demand every possible advantage, in pursuit of a better, more consistent client experience and improved investment returns.

from Finance Girl http://www.financegirl.co.uk/what-to-look-for-when-seeking-financial-advice/