Financial Advice
Why Get Financial Advice? It Puts Your Finances On The Right Track!
If you want to look forward to a secure financial future,
getting financial advice and personal financial planning is one of the most important issues
you need to resolve.
However, when it comes to actually doing your financial
planning, if you are like most people you will find it hard to
know where to start.
Whatever your situation,
- if you want to start saving for a pension;
- if you are wondering about taking out life or other policies to protect your family;
- if you are confused about the best type of mortgage to take out;
- if you are coming up to retirement and are unsure about how to convert your pension fund into retirement income;
the available possibilities seem endless and it can be very
confusing to sort out the pros and cons of every option.
If you are in this type of situation, it can be easy to get
caught out if you aren’t careful and seek independent
financial advice. For instance, you may find a
product that promises high interest rates, but you may not be
aware that the high rates are only for one year and may be
conditional on your buying other products from that company.
Many very financially “savvy” people have been caught out by the
recent “boiler room” scandals, in which they have been conned
into buying non-existent shares by people apparently well
qualified and even apparently FSA registered.
The fact is, if you want to do your best for yourself and your
family, there is no substitute for taking financial advice. Far
from showing your ignorance, it is the smartest way to ensure
you make the best decisions and end up in the best financial
situation.
So why get financial advice? There are a number of ways it can
help you.
- Planning. You don’t have a crystal ball to predict what your
life will be like in 20, 30 or 40 years’ time. It’s essential to
have a clear financial plan that can help you be prepared for
events, whether expected or unexpected. Whether it’s a new baby,
redundancy, disease or death, a financial plan can ensure you
are as prepared as possible to take them in your stride.
- Products. There are said to be more than 30,000 financial
products on the market! There is no way you can possibly have
knowledge of all these products, let alone the pros and cons of
each one, and let alone being able to keep up with all the
changes in the market. An
Independent Financial Adviser has the
expertise and knowledge – and the technology – to be able to
have all this information available.
- Personal. The companies who advertise all these products
always do so in a way that makes them look like the most
fantastic product on the market. But how can you know which is
best for your situation? Everyone’s situation is unique and the
financial adviser will spend time finding out your exact
circumstances and wishes before selecting a product. This way
you can have the assurance that the product is the right one for
you.
- Power. When the adviser recommends a product or a course of
action, the decision is always up to you. The job of the
financial adviser is to put you in control and make sure you
have all the necessary information to choose a product and
decide how to pay for the information (i.e. via fee or
commission). If the product later turns out to be unsuitable,
you have grounds for a complaint – which you wouldn’t have if
you tried to do it all yourself!
Whatever your financial circumstances, you are virtually certain
to need to make financial decisions at certain points in your
life. This can seem so daunting that you might end up just
putting it off! Getting financial advice
is one sure way to put your finances on the right track.
EB May 2008