Investment Advice In Kent
Investment Advice In Kent – You Need Someone You Can Trust!
If you have some money to invest – or if you need advice about
moving your investments – where do you turn?
When it comes to financial matters, it’s not always easy to find
someone you can trust. For most of us, someone in our local area
can provide a friendly face and the assurance of receiving
trustworthy advice.
If you live in Kent and are looking for someone to provide you
with investment advice, the choice can seem very confusing.
There are actually three kinds of advisers you can use.
- Tied advisers. These are the people you will be talking to if you go to your local bank and ask for a “financial adviser”. They are called “tied advisers” because they only sell the products of that particular bank.
- Multi-tied advisers. These advisers are partially independent but don’t have access to the whole market. They sell a limited range of products from other providers as well as from their own company.
- Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs). An IFA is not tied to any company and can recommend products from the whole market range. There are actually over 30,000 products available, so you would have little chance of finding your way through them all on your own! But it’s probably the only way you could be sure of finding the right investment product for your exact situation.
So if you decide you want to speak to an IFA, how can you find
one in Kent local to you?
- You can talk to colleagues, relatives or friends. Often word of mouth is the best way to find someone you know is recommended – as well as being warned off those to avoid!
- You can use Yellow Pages, though this is very time-consuming.
- You can go to the Financial Services Authority web site (www.fsa.gov.uk/register) and key in your post-code or town. There are also a number of other independent financial web sites that offer this service. However, the FSA will indicate which ones are registered and accredited, which is extremely important.
So once you find someone to provide investment advice in Kent,
how will you know if he or she is going to give you a competent
service?
You should expect the investment adviser to spend time with you assessing
your needs and requirements, including your financial
expectations, your attitude to risk and your tax situation.
After this, he or she will scan the entire market to find the
right product for you, based on the information obtained. After
selecting one or more products, the adviser should put in
writing why he/she judges it to be the right product for your
situation. The adviser should also clearly inform you as to
whether the products are commission-based or fee based, and give
you the choice as to which way you prefer to pay. This puts you
in control and gives you the maximum confidence in the adviser’s
independence.
Of course, financial advice is a very personal area and you need
someone you can relate to as well as someone you can trust. If
you choose an investment
adviser in your local area in Kent, especially someone
who has been established for some time, you have more likelihood
of being able to regard them as a friend. They may well be part
of the local community and there is a good chance that someone
of your acquaintance will know them. And they have every
incentive to build up a good reputation in the area by providing
a first-class investment advice
service.
EB May 2008