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      11-05-2011, 02:26 PM   #1
TomF32
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Went to see a Financial Advisor a few days ago..

Went to meet with an IFA arranged through my bank (Bank of Ireland) to see what my best options were. Background = I'm 24, recently qualified as pharamcist, not in highest tax bracket but not a million miles off it.

All the regular savers accounts offered by the bank had max interest rate of 1.75% , hence why I met with this guy to see what else was out there.

Now, heres where I get angry! I may only be 24 but its not unreasonable to take me seriously and treat me with a bit of respect, but the arrogant pri^&k basically just tried to fob me off with a few income protection schemes and critical illness plans. I'm not naive enough to believe these have no merit whatsoever, but I had arranged the meeting to discuss ISA's, investments, longer term savings accounts. He just brushed past me as I was a young fella, seen me as a gullable prat, and tried to sell me these useless things that'll obviously just make him commision.

Am I being too hard here or are these income protection/critical illness schemes worthwhile?
The way I look at it, in the event of something happening, they'd be a great job, but the chances of anything happening are nil to me? especially as I have no dependants/responsibility I just have to look after myself basically?

The offers he had given me were ~£14p/m for roughly half my p.a. salary until I was well enough again to work or got to age 65.

Critical illness was ~£38p/m for a lump sum of £250k in event of illness (list of illnesses to long to list obviously)

I put him straight about half way through the meeting and made my intentions clear that I wasnt there to be sold this, and wanted more investment options but he insisted he had a responsibility to ensure my 'financial safety' before taking risky investments! Hmmm!

Rant over!
Seeing as some of ye seem to be financially well-briefed with regard to these things, what would your opinion be? Am I over-reacting?

Does anyone know of any good ISA's/investment portfolios at the minute?
I'm not in it for a quick buck. I dont particularly need the money at the minute and would be ok investing for 5-10 years if the return was suitably rewarding!

Thanks for listening!
Tom
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      11-05-2011, 02:42 PM   #2
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I'm sure rogerxp will be along in a min...

...which reminds me...rog you have a pm coming your way!
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      11-05-2011, 03:41 PM   #3
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Did you pay anything for this consultation?
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      11-05-2011, 11:39 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_s1 View Post
Did you pay anything for this consultation?
No! Thank god! After a meeting with one of the managers at the bank, she referred me on to this fella who worked for BOI but also did his own consultations, and so he/they didn't charge!
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      11-06-2011, 04:35 AM   #5
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Well there's your problem.... I've had similar experiences with banks and similar 'advisors' before.

Nobody's time is free, and if you aren't paying them by the hour, they are there to sell something.
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      11-06-2011, 06:01 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_s1 View Post
Well there's your problem.... I've had similar experiences with banks and similar 'advisors' before.

Nobody's time is free, and if you aren't paying them by the hour, they are there to sell something.
plus one.
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      11-06-2011, 06:15 AM   #7
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personally i believe critical illness and income protection etc are very worthwhile, especially while still young and 'setting your life up' etc

who knows what's around the corner, but chances are you don't have the financial stability in place to support yourself if circumstances changes for the worse all of a sudden?

but hey, that's just me
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      11-06-2011, 07:09 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfetone View Post
No! Thank god! After a meeting with one of the managers at the bank, she referred me on to this fella who worked for BOI but also did his own consultations, and so he/they didn't charge!
Sorry Wolftone but you pay for what you get! How do you think the advisor makes money by offering you a free service? Of course he's there to push products at you then he gets commission from the product provider.
If you want advise on savings go to a whole of the market advisor and pay for it.
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      11-06-2011, 09:12 AM   #9
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I think I would share the OPs disappointment to be honest.

IFA's should be setup to receive an income for offering various services, depending on the needs of the client. If this chap only receives income on certain products, or perhaps receives such an unbalanced income on some vs others that he pushes the wrong product, regardless of client requirements, then he is not an IFA. He is a corporate milksop who in Roman times would have been dragged into the street and bummed.

Just my thoughts, but if I tried to sell customers cloud when they want an in house Exchange solution, I will soon lose my job. It fucking annoys me when people are not held accountable for failing to do what the fuck they are supposed to.

Matt
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      11-06-2011, 10:49 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jabroni80 View Post
Sorry Wolftone but you pay for what you get! How do you think the advisor makes money by offering you a free service? Of course he's there to push products at you then he gets commission from the product provider.
If you want advise on savings go to a whole of the market advisor and pay for it.
That's the thing though jabroni, he was an IFA, therefore he was offering a range of products, not just ones provided by the bank (although he was associated with the bank, he wasn't actually employed or obligated by them.) It was the products he was choosing to offer me which was frustrating, not who was providing them.

Quote:
I think I would share the OPs disappointment to be honest.

IFA's should be setup to receive an income for offering various services, depending on the needs of the client. If this chap only receives income on certain products, or perhaps receives such an unbalanced income on some vs others that he pushes the wrong product, regardless of client requirements, then he is not an IFA. He is a corporate milksop who in Roman times would have been dragged into the street and bummed.

Just my thoughts, but if I tried to sell customers cloud when they want an in house Exchange solution, I will soon lose my job. It fucking annoys me when people are not held accountable for failing to do what the fuck they are supposed to.Matt
Exactly the point I'm making! Fair enough it was a free consultation for me, but surely he has a duty of care to his clients (as in healthcare, the code of ethics makes the patient your first priority/duty of care). I know its all well and good talking about principles but it really sickens me that he'd try and push something that he knew wasn't of benefit to me.
If I paid for an IFA I couldn't be sure they would behave any differently
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      11-06-2011, 10:58 AM   #11
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Sorry I'm up to my neck in nappies but will post later on with some helpful advice. Might be at about 3am though so don't wait up!!

Some interesting comments so far though which, I'm afraid, is the problem IFA's have these days. For every 5 of us 'good guys', there's always one hell-bent on ruining the reputation of our industry for the rest. Usually associated with a bank I'm afraid to say which is massively frustrating as people hold them is such high regard even though they'd sell your Mother just to make a quick buck. Problem being our regulator is too scared to take on the banks.
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      11-06-2011, 11:11 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerxp View Post
Sorry I'm up to my neck in nappies but will post later on with some helpful advice. Might be at about 3am though so don't wait up!!

Some interesting comments so far though which, I'm afraid, is the problem IFA's have these days. For every 5 of us 'good guys', there's always one hell-bent on ruining the reputation of our industry for the rest. Usually associated with a bank I'm afraid to say which is massively frustrating as people hold them is such high regard even though they'd sell your Mother just to make a quick buck. Problem being our regulator is too scared to take on the banks.
Lol I wouldn't wanna come between a man and nappies!
Any advice obviously would be apprecited. I have a feeling he was just full of crap and hopefully he's just a bad'un
What would your opinion be on the products/way he was selling? - would it be fair enough or is he just a cow boy seeing me as an easy buck?

Tom
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      11-07-2011, 05:48 AM   #13
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Right, I suppose I’d better properly reply now, I’m at work so won’t be distracted by dirty nappies, sick and random jobs until this evening!!!

As some of you will know I’m an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) and I am ‘truly’ independent i.e. can search the entire market for the best product/provider for my client’s needs. Financial Advisers (note the lack of ‘Independent’ in the title) at Banks or Building Societies tend to be working from a panel; say 3 or 4 providers only and are restricted to their products so you can end up with a best-fit as opposed to perfect-fit.

This is a generalisation as some IFA’s work from a panel (I could do but choose not to) and I understand some banks will have proper IFA’s in-house. It can be difficult to definitively find out which is which but you’ll find more IFA’s are exactly that and more bank/BS FA’s are working from a panel. Be aware though that the bank will LIE!!!

As for charges, you have an option for either paying on a time/cost fee basis, on a commission basis or a combination of both. You’ll usually get an initial consultation for free, which costs should be discussed during, and take it from there. If you pay on a time/cost fee basis (like an Accountant would charge) then you pay for all the time, etc, out of net salary don’t forget (so increase by 40% in some cases), but the contract charges should be reduced to compensate. On a commission basis the product provider pays the adviser a commission (varies dependent upon type contract, premium, term, etc), so you pay nothing upfront, however the charges are likely to be a bit higher – money doesn’t arrive by magic I’m afraid. A combination would be something like the adviser says I need to earn £500 for this case, the provider will pay be £350 commission, you pay £150 as a fee. From my experience, most people prefer the commission route (though this is being outlawed from 2013) therefore accepting slightly higher charges over the duration of the contract but means they don’t have to part with their hard earned cash. All three options should be discussed and considered. Monthly ‘retainers’ are starting to become more commonplace.

I wouldn’t trust anyone at the bank as far I as could throw them I’m afraid, for anything, I‘ve spent too long trying to unravel the mess they’re created for clients who eventually come to me with a rather sheepish expression of ‘mmm, OK, you were right after all’. I can virtually 100% of the time offer more cost effective contracts to the bank and, absolutely definitely, offer a hugely massively better level of service.

As for you specifically Tom, if you went to ask for investment advice, well that is what you should receive. Yes, OK, as part of our job we recognise other needs & priorities which should be flagged up but not pushed down your throat rather come back and revisit at a later time.

To answer your questions regarding the contracts offered…

Income Protection – a good contract that replaces your salary if you’re unable to work due to accident or illness. Check your sick-pay at work as this policy should kick-in once that runs out (can reduce cost). Not many people have this if I’m honest but great peace of mind. This protects things like mortgage payments & general living costs. This is vital for the self-employed.
Critical Illness – lump sum payment upon diagnosis of a list of CI’s. You don’t need to die so benefit from the payout (bearing in mind a lot more CI’s are survivable) so can clear mortgage/debt and so end monthly interest payments. More expensive than straight life cover which simply reflects the much greater chance of being diagnosed with something as opposed to dying. Our policy incudes death & CI so covering both bases (and cheaper perversely than CI on its own).

As BGM said, these ‘protection’ contracts are much cheaper to take out when you’re young and healthy and offer good protection if the worst were to happen. But, as you say Tom, they’re only good if you need to make a claim – like all insurance (house, car, phone pet).

As for ISA’s, are you looking at regular contributions or a lump sum (up to £10,680 for this tax-year). We offer pretty much what you’re looking for with regards to a ‘portfolio’ of investments to choose from. We can satisfy a risk rating from between 2/3 up to 7/8 out of 10 using the portfolios. We can go higher but wouldn’t use a portfolio for that. Lower then get a Cash ISA at the bank. You’re best planning to invest for 5-10 years to allow for the charges & any immediate volatility to iron out to long-term growth.

In summary Tom, sounds like you weren’t talking to the most ethical of advisers (rather typical of the bank) who was pushing what he’s rather sell as opposed to what you wanted (not saying the products weren’t appropriate but his technique hardly confidence building).

As for my sales pitch Tom (and anyone else still awake!!) is, if you want good quality advice, high levels of service and most importantly on-going service/advice then avoid the banks, or any tied-adviser, and seek a good quality IFA. Don't forget Mr Bank IFA will be here today, gone tomorrow, so won't really give a shit about you. I'm 35 and run my own business, I'll be here giving advice for another 30 years, which give me massive accountability; no vanishing into fresh air for me I'm afriad. I’m happy to speak to anyone on here, if I can help, I’ll certainly look after you, if I can’t compete for any reason then I’ll tell you so upfront. Locality really doesn’t trouble me as I have clients nationwide. Even if you already have bits and bobs I can still look into 'rejigging' to save cost or improve benefits on pension, protection, healthcare, mortgages, etc. Companies too (group pension, life cover, healthcare, etc).

Hope that helps.

Roger

Wow, this turned into a massive free advert - thanks Tom .
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      11-07-2011, 07:44 AM   #14
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Your first mistake is going to Bank of Ireland!

IFA (proper Independent one - ask) or do your own research online.
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