What Are The 3 Most Important Factors in Determining Who To Choose To Look After Your Financial Future
Whether you are starting to think more about your future and providing security for your family, or a fledgling business – or whether you feel your money could be working harder for you, but you aren’t sure who to turn to, then looking at using a fully independent financial advisor makes sense.
It is not without risks however. I mean, sure there are “market” risks, but that can be true whoever you choose. No, we mean that the person or firm that you choose to look after your financial future is a big choice to make – and getting it right for your needs can be quite difficult.
Picking A Huge Firm – vs- An Independent Financial Advisor
Picking a huge firm could seem to offer more security than, say, a “one-man-band”, however you can be quickly swallowed up in the huge numbers of clients on their books – and feeling you are “just a number”, speaking to someone different every time and missing out on opportunities because the company adopts a “rack-’em and stack-’em” approach can leave you feeling “short-changed”.
Picking an independent might offer you a more personal service, but there are countless stories of down-right scoundrels out there who will take your money and run.
So who should you invest your money with? Well, from our experience at HG Financial Planning, as a small family-run firm of Financial Planners, we have focused on THREE core components of what we believe makes a reliable investment business, and also which without just one of them, our success would fall down.
The 3 Core Components You Should Look For In A Financial Advisor
1. Are They Trustworthy?
Qualifications is one thing, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee quality. What we have found in over 26 years of helping our clients to understand and benefit from the many developments in the financial planning world, is that experience and results are the cornerstone of building trust.
Now that’s great for our clients, but what about for someone looking in from the outside? Well, the fact we have been trading for 26 years is reassurance enough that we must be doing something right. If you aren’t very good in this industry, you don’t tend to last too long!
But it’s more than that. Our approach to build on trust isn’t just because it is ethical, but it also makes commercial sense. We have been there to support many of our clients through their precious early family days or the launch of a fledgling business.
By offering a transparent, consistent approach that focuses solely on the client’s needs, our relationship with our clients invariably leads to more business for us.
So in judging where to place your money – how long have the parties you are looking at been trading? What are their qualifications? How transparent are their services? How clearly explained are your options? All of these are questions that you really should be looking at.
2. Confidence in Choices
Because we offer fully independent advice our clients can be sure they are getting the best the market has to offer. This is important because we aren’t driven by specific kick-backs biased towards a specific product. Here confidence is felt on both sides.
There are other things we can do to inspire confidence in our clients. For example, each client receives detailed comparisons and information when setting up a financial plan and this is then followed up by regular personal reviews to ensure all aspects of that plan remain appropriate and effective. Again, providing the opportunity to measure, discuss and react is crucial for putting a client’s mind at ease.
We also provide our clients with their own secure client-site which also features a secure messaging service directly to their own adviser at anytime from anywhere. By doing this we ensure the client has not only the information they need, but access to their own personal advisor as and when they need it.
If you are with a company where your money just sits there, you hardly hear from them or they are difficult to get hold of, it can all add to the uncertainty of whether your money is working as well as it can for you. And this leads us neatly onto…
3. Continuity Planning Of The Advisor
Not only is where you invest today important, but who you choose can influence the service you receive in the future too.
Huge, ever-expanding companies can lose the personal touch with their clients quite easily, whilst the sole financial advisor has to retire someday. So looking at the continuity and consistency in approach to your investments is crucial to determining where to place your financial future.
Over the years, we have built up a loyal and prosperous client base by making sure they and their family continue to be well looked after through future generations.
As a family-run business ourselves, we have our own generations dealing with our clients, and by doing this, we have already put in place a succession plan securing the continuation of our high level of service and professional expertise.
It is crucial to us that, having shared their life plans and committed their assets to our care, they are not subjected to the turmoil of being ‘passed on’ in a business sale or takeover.
What do you think are the most important factors when looking for financial advice? Please feel free to leave your comments below. If you have any questions about any of our financial products then feel free to contact us.