I needed some advice re managing financially after retiring.The "independent" advisor charged me a hefty sum for tick boxed information I submitted to him, because I didn't sign up to a policy he recommended for which I learnt he was a broker.How does one know how to find real independence? The sign off from many on the media is "seek advice from an independent advisor". I'm pulling my hair out.
How do you find a truly independent financial advisor?
- Thread starter Lucyfarr
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T McGibney
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How much did he charge you and for what?
Was his advice any good?
Was his advice any good?
To the best of my knowledge there are nearly no 'independent' advisors operating in Ireland. Others in the game here can probably explain why that is. The only one I know of is Paddy Delany at Informed Decisions. You should be prepared a pay a fee several multiples of the one you were charged however. Paddy has an excellent podcast though, where he freely shares information, it's a terrific resource and one I highly recommend. For the record, I don't use his services, nor have I any other link to him.
Seems contradictory?
There are a few brokers who post regularly on here and who, even if they only deal with certain product providers in some cases (?), are very honest/trustworthy and won't try to sell you something that is not appropriate.
Assuming it's ok to do so, I would suggest/recommend @LDFerguson who has provided me with great assistance and service for many years in regard to pensions and general investments specifically. But there are also a few others whose knowledge and expertise you can judge from their posts on here.
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Brendan Burgess
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There's no such thing as a truly independent financial advisor.
It's a myth.
Every one I know or have come across has a bias towards a product, provider, platform, thinking it's the best solution in all scenarios.
Gerard
www.prsa.ie
It's a myth.
Every one I know or have come across has a bias towards a product, provider, platform, thinking it's the best solution in all scenarios.
Gerard
www.prsa.ie
Including yourself?
Including yourself?
Absolutely!
Did you tell them that you once worked in the UK?
T McGibney
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You're far too modest Gerard. And I mean that seriously. Ditto btw for @LDFerguson
Independence in my book means integrity and honesty. Preferences towards perceived better products and solutions is a given.
T McGibney
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Few financial advisors will have much experience of or expertise in UK pension eligibility. Chartered Accountant Frank Buckley of USP Financial is one person who happens to have both. https://www.uspfinancial.ie/uk-state-pension/
Gordon Gekko
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So the person advising you on managing financially after retirement charged you the ‘hefty sum’ of €150.
The price of a woman’s hairdo basically.
What wouldn’t have been a ‘hefty sum’?
€40? €5? €83?
Brendan Burgess
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I pay €16 for mine and am thinking of changing my barber.
Lord, index link that over a few years and you are really in trouble!
It was the lack of quality and bias of the advice that made the cost unacceptable.Most of what he fed back was filled in info from a format questionnaire,and I suspect he used a formula to come up with a a sum that we should invest in a pension product.
Dublin has ruined me, I saw €16 and my first thought was that's very reasonable
That's not necessarily a problem.
One common formula for those who own their own home, have their mortgage down to a manageable level, and can afford it, is simply gross income x age related maximum tax relief percentage.
Nothing at all wrong with that per se.
Tax relief on pension contributions
This page outlines the tax relief available for pension contributions
www.revenue.ie
I wrote a blog post on this very subject this morning
How do you know if you are receiving genuinely objective advice?
This is a test I devised many years ago when a prospective client was shopping around and asked me if our advice was “independent”
A simple test of objectivity is to go to a financial adviser and say I have a mortgage and have just received a windfall. Would you recommend paying off some debt or investing it?
Most financial advisers are really salespeople. They have sales targets and in Ireland today, most are paid by a commission for selling a financial product. No sale, no commission and no hitting sales target. It’s that simple. There is a massive conflict of interest.
Whereas, paying down debt gives you a guaranteed tax free return equal to the average future interest rate of your loan( and interest rates have increased a lot recently).
Keeping your payments the same will accelerate the speed you pay off your mortgage giving you considerable financial security, peace of mind and saving potentially thousands in interest payments.
So, under most circumstances, the best advice is to pay down debt.
www.linkedin.com
How do you know if you are receiving genuinely objective advice?
This is a test I devised many years ago when a prospective client was shopping around and asked me if our advice was “independent”
A simple test of objectivity is to go to a financial adviser and say I have a mortgage and have just received a windfall. Would you recommend paying off some debt or investing it?
Most financial advisers are really salespeople. They have sales targets and in Ireland today, most are paid by a commission for selling a financial product. No sale, no commission and no hitting sales target. It’s that simple. There is a massive conflict of interest.
Whereas, paying down debt gives you a guaranteed tax free return equal to the average future interest rate of your loan( and interest rates have increased a lot recently).
Keeping your payments the same will accelerate the speed you pay off your mortgage giving you considerable financial security, peace of mind and saving potentially thousands in interest payments.
So, under most circumstances, the best advice is to pay down debt.
Marc Westlake CFP, TEP, EFP, APFS on LinkedIn: Should I Pay Down Debt or Invest My Savings - Everlake
How do you know if you are receiving genuinely objective advice? This is a test I devised many years ago when a prospective client was shopping around and…
www.linkedin.com
I have a hunch there may be a bias towards PRSAs....Including yourself?