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5 Tips When Choosing a Financial Adviser
Dealing with your finances is a highly personal task and sharing that task can make you feel vulnerable. This is why finding a financial adviser you feel comfortable with, and trust is crucial in financial planning and achieving your financial goals. But, how to choose a financial adviser that meets your criteria is often left undiscussed.
Wealth management advisers help with a range of financial planning aspects, from retirement planning to mortgage planning to current investment strategies to efficient tax planning. No matter what you are looking for, the right adviser will have your interests and goals at heart. However, for them to make informed decisions, they need a vast pool of knowledge about your financial and life situation, something you will only share if you feel you can trust them with this information. This circle is why choosing the right adviser is so pivotal.
At Lester Brunt, we cover a wide range of services with a team of highly trained and compassionate wealth management specialists. We are a family-based practice that holds family values close to our hearts. These lead our practices of educating and informing our clients and taking a holistic view of their circumstances to generate the best outcomes for them.
In this blog, we share five tips for choosing a financial adviser.
Tip 1: Look for Relevant Credentials and Qualifications
The financial industry is highly regulated to protect you. So, the first thing you need to check is that the adviser or company is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is the regulatory body for financial advisers and ensures that they will be following best practices and standards.
Other qualifications and certificates to look out for are:
- Chartered Financial Planner – a prestigious title that signals a high level of knowledge and a commitment to ethical standards.
- Certified Financial Planner – an internationally recognised certification that demonstrates a high standard of financial planning.
- Diploma in Investment Advice – a qualification that specifically covers investment products, principles, and ethics.
- Chartered Wealth Manager Qualification – an advanced qualification gained to focus on wealth management, portfolio construction, and risk analysis.
- Diploma in Mortgage Advice and Practice – a qualification for anyone specialising in mortgage regulations, practices, and ethics.
- Certificate in Pension Transfer Advice – a certification that demonstrates advanced knowledge and understanding of pensions and their complexities.
The accreditations you look for will differ depending on the services you are looking for. But overall, a firm or person should have the appropriate professional qualification and licences.
Tip 2: Evaluate Their Experience in Your Areas of Need
Financial planning is complex, and each part of the industry has its own best practices and regulations.
It is important to find someone who specialises in the area you need so that they can apply their specific area expertise and experience to your case and deal with any complications they might face.
With expertise, you should also be looking at their experience, as this demonstrates their knowledge being put into practice. Where possible, look for case studies or testimonials, as these will give more detail of their experience.
Tip 3: Assess Their Approach to Investment and Risk Management
Different advisers will approach investing and risk slightly differently, so you need to make sure you find someone with a philosophy that mirrors your own.
There are typically two types of investment styles that you should understand:
- Passive Investment – focuses on long-term growth by investing in low-cost index funds and Electronical Traded Funds (ETFs). It is often lower risk as it seeks to match market performance, not outperform it.
- Active Investment – is a far more active strategy that involves selecting individual stocks or bonds in an attempt to outperform the market. This is a riskier investment strategy as it involves making more frequent trades.
The investment strategy will typically be drawn from your risk tolerance – your adversity to risk.
If you are more resistant to taking risks, a passive investment strategy is likely to be more suitable for you, so you should look for an adviser who follows this philosophy.
Meanwhile, if you are more open to risk, you might find that an active strategy helps you meet your goals.
Tip 4: Understand the Fee Structure
There are a number of different ways that financial advisers can charge for their services. It is important that you understand each so that you can find a payment system that works for you and your situation.
The typical fee structures are:
- Hourly
- Flat rate
- Percentage of assets under management
The cost will vary across each of these types of structures, so you need to understand how much each one might cost you so that you can work out how they fit within your budget.
Talking to one of the advisers at the firm you are interested in will help you as they can give you an explanation of how they work and how much it would cost you.
Tip 5: Check Compatibility and Communication Style
Communication is incredibly important, especially when it comes to your money. So, you need to be confident that your financial adviser will contact you in a way that is suitable for you.
Conversation and engagement will be key to building a relationship and trust. It will be the foundation of feeling comfortable enough to share your situation and financial goals. Whether you prefer face-to-face meetings or video calls every now and then to catch up or frequent communication over email, you should find a financial adviser who is able to meet this communication request.
Choosing Lester Brunt
There are many parts to consider, so we hope the above helps you understand how to choose a financial adviser that meets your needs.
If you combine looking at their accreditations and experience with comprehending their investment approach, fee structure, and communication style and commitments, you will likely succeed in finding a financial adviser who you will trust.
At Lester Brunt, we are a family-owned business that puts our clients first.
We have several chartered financial planners on our team, providing unparalleled knowledge and experience. Plus, our other advisers hold the required certifications needed. This means that you can be confident that our team has the expertise to help you. We will match you to an adviser when you first enquire, matching your needs and your situation to our team.
While our practice has celebrated 10 years, our founding partners had lengthy careers before merging their practices together. As a team, we bring a wealth of experience in each of the financial planning services we provide. Over our 70 years of experience, we have seen complex matters in investment strategies, retirement, mortgage and tax planning and many more parts of financial planning.
Our approach to financial planning is holistic and tailored to you and your risk assessment results, meaning we never push your comfort levels, nor do we ignore an openness to taking risks. This is something we discuss in our initial consultations and continually monitor with you to ensure our strategies constantly meet your risk adversity.
We will discuss our fee structure and your communication preferences at our discovery meeting, which will be set up after your enquiry.
If you are interested in learning more about Lester Brunt and these five points, don’t hesitate to book a no-obligation meeting with a member of our team. Call us on 01202 695 801 or complete our online contact form, and we will call you back to arrange a meeting.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
Written By Michael Lester
Financial Adviser
Lester Brunt Wealth Management
Lester Brunt Wealth Management is a trading name of Lester Brunt Wealth Management Ltd