Nationwide Frustrations with Financial Advisors

246 views and no replies. Everyone's delighted with the service they get from financial advisors. I would have never guessed. :rolleyes:
 
Hi Steven

It might be the title of the thread?

I suggest something more specific such as "What do you want from a financial advisor?"

Brendan
 
Past Reputation (probably from bank advisors, tied agents)
Confusion over fee based and commission based (are they really working in our interest or theirs, even if free based)
Clear services and fees (ala dub_nerd above)
If they really worked then why so many people in trouble? (maybe only the advisors's clients survived, do we know?)
Do some specialise (who and what?)
What do they really do?
 
What I find most strange about the whole area is the idea that if a client comes into the office with €10k to invest there are lots of rules and regulations about the products that can be offered.

If a client comes in and says they want to borrow €100k to buy a property there is no regulations and this is even worse where property is syndicated by advisors completely unregulated.

As a rule if think that clients are suspicious of people who provide advice for "free" ie whose commission is paid by the insurance company.
 
SBarrett said:
What things frustrate you the most with financial advisors?
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My biggest gripe is wasting time with financial advisers who do not know the products they are selling, have little knowledge of the markets they are recommending and cannot discuss future prospects even at a basic level. I, (like most people on this forum) try to be proactive and knowledgeable about my financial planning and it is extremely frustrating to talk to qualified financial advisors who obviously know little about the financial environment beyond the top superficial layer.

I talked to three advisors recently regarding pension planning and one had absolutely no idea, he just parroted the info on the data sheets that he presented to me and could not even answer some basic questions. The second person had a better understanding and was more experienced but really struggled to advise me or explain the differences between the various products. Interestingly this person was a previous winner of the Champion Sales Advisor/Consultant – Financial Services category of the Irish Sales Champion Awards - go figure! Any discussion regarding general observations/trends (e.g. the USA Equity market is way overvalued and should be avoided) was met with a blank stare. The third advisor certainly seemed competent and most definitely knew way more than I did (I spent a few weeks researching on the internet, including AAM) but was tied to the BOI.

Now that the pension has been started I would like to withdraw my savings from minimum paying deposit accounts and look for a better return but the thought of hitting the financial advisor trail again is really putting me off.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.
 
SBarrett said:
246 views and no replies. Everyone's delighted with the service they get from financial advisors. I would have never guessed. :rolleyes:
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Six replies and no acknowledgement..... Are you on holiday since Xmas Eve or what Steven?o_O
 
seantheman said:
Six replies and no acknowledgement..... Are you on holiday since Xmas Eve or what Steven?o_O
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I was indeed Sean! Christmas is a time for recharging the batteries and spending time with the kids. :)

Thanks very much for your replies. It is very important to me to understand what people's perceptions and annoyances are so I can improve my business.

Galwegian44, are you going directly to the banks/ life companies all the time?

Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
 
SBarrett said:
I was indeed Sean! Christmas is a time for recharging the batteries and spending time with the kids. :)

Thanks very much for your replies. It is very important to me to understand what people's perceptions and annoyances are so I can improve my business.

Galwegian44, are you going directly to the banks/ life companies all the time?

Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
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Happy New Year Steven.

I think the biggest issue is the breadth of knowledge an Advisor is expected to have .
It is simply not feasible to quickly answer the variety of queries arising from even an (apparent) simple life insurance query .
If the advisor delves into customers real needs it is perceived Mr Advisor is screwing customer for extra commission.

If advisor does not delve, he stands accused of incompetence or worse.

The REAL advisor is up against single focused and I suggest ill-trained , uncaring Bank type staff who have a very biased agenda.

The word Advisor is now added to Banker/Insurance man as a negative word.

That said , those Advisors who give genuine/factual customer advice will still make an honourable living.

I would hope (for your sake) that customers now avoid the Banks advisors and accept that the non linked advisor is the one to go to.
 
monagt said:
Are NOT all advisors linked??? (in some way?)
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I do not think so.
The Banks moved heavily into all insurances and quickly appointed advisors with little more than a cursory grounding in insurances or investments.
eg. these (advisors) put on very inappropriate insurances too many times.
eg. these (advisors) put people into inappropriate investment products too many times.

My experience of good advisors is that they do take time to understand their clients needs.
It is a pity that too many chancers are called advisors.
 
But some are linked indirectly to financial institutions, for example, an approved supplier of their products.

Some advisors (fee or non fee based) supply products from A, C, D but not from B,E,F (And I understand that they may know more about some vendors suite of products than another) but questions do arise.
 
monagt said:
But some are linked indirectly to financial institutions, for example, an approved supplier of their products.

Some advisors (fee or non fee based) supply products from A, C, D but not from B,E,F (And I understand that they may know more about some vendors suite of products than another) but questions do arise.
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.........
Point taken , but generally Advisors have a suite of options and if they are on your side you will at least get some variance.
I suppose your best advisor is the one that is recommended.
 
monagt said:
But some are linked indirectly to financial institutions, for example, an approved supplier of their products.

Some advisors (fee or non fee based) supply products from A, C, D but not from B,E,F (And I understand that they may know more about some vendors suite of products than another) but questions do arise.
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Monagt

I provide advice to clients on their personal finances. Not all of the work I do involves a product. In fact, some of my work involves telling people to spend their money or leave it where it is.

When it does come to products, I have agencies with all of the main players in Ireland but I usually use 2-3 of those providers. Why? Because I research the products available from each of those providers and between the contracts offered and their funds, I have made a decision on what I believe is best for clients. When a new contract becomes available, I see if it is better than the ones I currently offer. If it is, it's in. I don't look at funds until I have 3 years data on them.

Gerry, thanks for your post.

Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
 
SBarrett said:
Monagt

I provide advice to clients on their personal finances. Not all of the work I do involves a product. In fact, some of my work involves telling people to spend their money or leave it where it is.

When it does come to products, I have agencies with all of the main players in Ireland but I usually use 2-3 of those providers. Why? Because I research the products available from each of those providers and between the contracts offered and their funds, I have made a decision on what I believe is best for clients. When a new contract becomes available, I see if it is better than the ones I currently offer. If it is, it's in. I don't look at funds until I have 3 years data on them.

Gerry, thanks for your post.

Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
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OK, I think we are generally in agreement.
 
Hi all
A very interesting question
The key part to my financial advice is not to commence any initial meeting with financial advice but with a thorough fact find which if completed properly will give the foundations of what it must achieve namely getting to know you. This is the key to any initial meeting because without it you are selling and this industry has had enough of selling, in my view. The word trust is used very loosely in my business but it can only be built over time and the best way to get over this hurdle initially is by getting referrals from my existing client base. Some keys to the continuation of a successful relationship
* Educate as you advise
* Be available
* Correct mistakes early
* Tell how you are paid
* I dont know everything
* Take the financial journey together both are responsible
* Life Assurance is the foundation of all good plans
* A meeting will establish if there is a rapport because if there is not it will benefit neither party
Just some of my thoughts on the matter Padraic
 
I would imagine frustrations exist in relation to what exactly they can do for you, and how, and at what cost....
 
PadKiss said:
Hi all
A very interesting question
The key part to my financial advice is not to commence any initial meeting with financial advice but with a thorough fact find which if completed properly will give the foundations of what it must achieve namely getting to know you. This is the key to any initial meeting because without it you are selling and this industry has had enough of selling, in my view. The word trust is used very loosely in my business but it can only be built over time and the best way to get over this hurdle initially is by getting referrals from my existing client base. Some keys to the continuation of a successful relationship
* Educate as you advise
* Be available
* Correct mistakes early
* Tell how you are paid
* I dont know everything
* Take the financial journey together both are responsible
* Life Assurance is the foundation of all good plans
* A meeting will establish if there is a rapport because if there is not it will benefit neither party
Just some of my thoughts on the matter Padraic
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Most of that sounds ok to me, except: if an adviser only did fact-finding on a first meeting, I'd worry that he's fishing around for how much he can get out of me. I like the idea of "educate as you advise" -- education would be my primary objective in talking to an adviser. I don't expect him to make any actual decisions. I want to know what he knows, and take it from there myself. "Life Assurance is the foundation of all good plans" -- this sound like an over-generalisation. I wouldn't have the slightest interest in, or use for, life assurance.
 
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