First SEEK ADVICE… B
By HELEN COOKE, IFA ACIB BSc (Hons)
y the time you read this
Christmas will probably be a distant memory with only the
extra inches on the waistline and probably a few odd specks of glitter about the house to remind you of all the festive fun. Yet I’m jotting these few words down whilst all the excitement is still to come; gifts are being bought, cards are being written and Advent windows are being opened. Hopefully, your planning and the endless list making will have proved worthwhile and yet I suspect there were some items on your list that you just didn’t get around to.
It is not as though Christmas comes along by surprise. So why is it that so many of us are seen to be dashing about on Christmas Eve for those last few gifts! Perhaps we are just not that good at planning, or do we just bumble along in the hope that all will turn out well!
Worryingly this seems to be the approach that many people also take with their financial plans. Whether it’s a young couple earning a good income, with no
commitments, but failing to put any money aside for their intended purchase of a property, or possibly
someone in their late 50’s
with an underfunded pension, or no pension at all, just hoping that they will be looked after by the State; or the couple with a young growing family ignoring the potential funding issues of giving their children the best possible education.
Many of the people I speak to seem to have taken surprisingly little time over their financial plans and routinely fail to update these plans as time goes by. There also seems to have been a reluctance to take professional advice, relying instead on the wisdom of family and friends. Certainly this is a cheaper option and does not necessarily provide wrong answers, but the odds are that you are missing investment opportunities, not looking at the full range of options or perhaps taking far more risk with your money than you think you are.
The past behaviour of some Financial
Advisers has certainly damaged the confidence of the Jersey public and
has, quite rightly, made us all a little less willing to blindly trust the advice given to us. However I strongly believe that the professional, qualified Adviser still has a lot to offer, but then I would wouldn’t I!
So let me make a case for the use of an independent Financial Adviser.
Make you answer the tough questions.
It is quite natural to avoid certain questions; how do you plan to take care of your elderly parents if required? How would you cope financially if you lost your job? How would you pay the mortgage if you or someone close to you suffered a serious illness? Many of us fail to consider these difficult questions, but a Financial Adviser will ask you to face up to them and help you look for solutions.
Develop a lasting relationship An effective Financial Adviser will take time to get to know you and your family’s needs. They are in it for the long haul and their number one priority will be to understand you and work with you over the long term rather than just sell the latest product, take the commission and move on to the next meeting.
Take an objective, unbiased view I know people who take more time researching and selecting their new phone than they
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20/20 Finance & Investment
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