September 2nd, 2010
If the Find an Adviser site from the leading financial advisor professional body the Personal Finance Society is intended to help a meaningful number of consumers find the most professionally qualified financial advisors in the UK then I would question whether it has been successful.
I have received only 3 leads from the site in the last 12 months despite having a Chartered priority listing. Of possibly more concern was that those potential clients were not looking for financial planning advice and the level of services offered by a Chartered Financial Planner.
This leads me to believe that the site is not only generating insufficient unique visitors each month but the visitors finding the site are unlikely to require the services of a Chartered Financial Planner.
I fully endorse Mike Fosberry’s comments in the latest edition of the Personal Finance Society magazine Financial Solutions, that 2000 Chartered Financial Planners is a heck of an achievement and one that needs broadcasting from the rooftops. However before reaching for the loud hailers I just wonder whether we should be looking closer to home by making the find an adviser site “fit for purpose”.
Might I suggest that currently a more fitting strap line for the site would be “for financial advice you can trust but can’t find!”
Tags: chartered financial planner, financial advisor, financial planning advice
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July 26th, 2010
How valuable are the investment tips we find in the weekend money sections? Can these experts skilfully predict the future and at the same time are they sufficiently altruistic to share their secrets with millions of newspaper readers? I hope readers realise that these tips are of little or no value although they are an interesting read which I guess is why personal finance news editors like to include them in their papers.
I hope everyone is going to give the tip “buy distressed property in America with a yen funded mortgage” a wide berth in favour of independent financial planning advice from a Chartered Financial Planner.
Perhaps not as interesting but what can be more valuable than working with an independent financial planner that is “sitting on your side of the table” helping you achieve you financial objectives. A hot tip indeed!
Tags: chartered financial planner, Financial Planning, independent financial planning
Posted in Blog, Financial Planning | Comments Off
July 18th, 2010
It is about time that the Government of the day treated pensioners as grown ups so the announcement last week of more flexible rules surrounding how pension funds must be used in retirement is great news for investors. This includes allowing those that can show that they will never need state benefits to be able to draw unlimited taxable lump sums and for those over 75 that have chosen not to buy an annuity the tax on the fund on death reduces from 82% to 55%. Consulting an expert in retirement planning is more important than ever and to ensure that your critical capital lasts financial planning advice should be sought from a Chartered Financial Planner.
Tags: chartered financial planner, financial planning advice, retirement planning
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July 18th, 2010
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a low cost and increasingly popular way of investing in the markets but potentially come with a tax sting unless they have reporting or distributor status. Gains are subject to income tax which for a higher rate tax payer means paying 40% or even 50% tax rather than the new maximum capital gains tax rate of 28%. Before investing better to seek independent advice from a financial advisor or investment advisor who understands ETFs
Tags: financial advisor, investment advisor, Investment Planning
Posted in Blog, Investments | Comments Off
July 13th, 2010
The star fund manager is a marketing department construction supporting conventional wisdom that there are individuals out there that can skilfully and consistently out smart the markets. And a star fund manager today is not necessarily going to be one tomorrow.
Whilst it is an easier sell promoting the star fund manager I think a client is far better served if their adviser focuses on helping them achieve their financial objectives and concentrates on successful investment planning with the focus on asset allocation, diversification and keeping investment costs as low as possible.
Tags: Investment Management, Investment Planning, Star Fund Manager
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February 5th, 2010
We have just launched our brand new website.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our services.
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