If you have never used a financial Adviser before then you may be skeptical as to why you need one now.

Firstly I would ask you, had you had a financial adviser for the last 10/20/30 yrs do you think you would be better off now? Could your pensions, investments have done any better or be in a better place than they are now or are you in the perfect position with all the knowledge and plans for your financial wellbeing?

In the internet age we often feel we can do most things ourselves with a few google searches. Personally my feeling is that let the professionals do what they are good at and if they cant add value to your circumstances then clearly they aren’t worth having. Paying for an accountant, solicitor, architect, engineer, handyman etc are all worth it in the long run. Richard Branson always said that he is not an expert in space, planes, trains, finance (and all the other 170 businesses he is involved in) his key to success is employing experts in each sector to help him achieve the success in that particular field.

Research conducted by Royal London suggested those that use a financial Adviser are on average £47,000 better off over 10 yrs than those who go it alone. This is on anything from Investment returns to Tax advice.

5 examples of how a financial adviser can add value.

1 – Lifetime allowance, We have seen clients on countless occasions that have been unaware of how lifetime allowance protection can save them literally tens of thousands of pounds. This tax advice is so often overlooked.

2 – Investment reviews, pension and investments are often added to and started and then just left. This. Is the number one issue for many clients where the initial intention and advice may well have been with good intention 5/10 15 yrs later these funds are old hat, the investment managers may well have moved on, the fund could well be out of sync for the investors attitude to risk, they may be old expensive poor performing legacy funds. Keeping on top of this and just by adding an extra 1% return per year can see a significant increase in fund performance than by doing nothing. This is often the biggest added value.

3 – Real Financial Planning, when are you going to retire, what does that look like, how much do you need in retirement? We all save for the future but how much income do we actually need, what risk do we need to take to achieve those goals? When can we actually finish working and retire.

4 – Tax advice, Are we adding money to the right pot, i.e. ISA,Pension, General Investment Account. Are we paying too much tax, should we be saving for children, grandchildren. Are we going to penalised for putting too much into a pension. Should we take all our tax free cash from our pension now and pay off a mortgage. There are so many questions related to tax and investments that to get any of this wrong can cost thousands through lack of advice. A good Financial Adviser will be invaluable here.

5 – Financial Wellbeing, essentially we are talking about keeping your finances from being a worry. Since Covid 35% of people who have not taken financial advice feel anxious about their financial situation. Over 17 million people in the UK have taken financial advice and the vast majority feel positive about the adviser and the services they provide. From those that have taken advice the most commonly recognised emotional benefits of their advisers services are having access to expertise, which makes them feel confident in their financial plans; feeling more in control of their finances and gaining piece of mind. * Royal London 2022

Impact of Financial advice on wellbeing

 The research also shows that people who have received advice are highly satisfied with the quality of the advice they receive (82%), as well as their adviser’s communication style (81%) and trustworthiness (81%). This satisfaction is further increased when there is an ongoing relationship between the customer and adviser. In addition to feeling more confident in their financial plans, customers establish a closer connection with their adviser which amplifies these emotional benefits.

Interestingly enough, those who have protection products through an advised channel felt even more emotionally secure than those advised generally on other matters. One in five indicated that they felt less worried about what will happen to their family after they die compared to just one in seven who were not advised on this matter specifically.

Furthermore, those who receive this type of financial advice tend to be more financially secure and stable (63%) as opposed to those without an adviser (48%). On top of this, only 32% of advised customers are anxious about household finances while that figure increases to 41% among non-advised customers. Even lower income households benefit significantly from being advised as they feel more in control of their finances (65%) compared to those who haven’t received any advice (52%). Additionally, only 39% of lower income households that have had advice worry about whether or not they will be able to cope financially when they retire whereas 47% of non-advised households worry about this issue.

Advisers not only help customers become more financially secure but also provide them with peace of mind by teaching them how to better understand financial products and concepts so that they can make informed decisions regarding their money matters. Those who do have an adviser are around three times more confident in terms of understanding products and financial matters than those without one. Understanding is much higher among those who have been advised on protection or retirement planning specifically as opposed to general advising across other matters are greater amongst those who were advised compared to the non-advised. A quarter of non-advised individuals said they would not know where to start when asked about life insurance (23%) or protecting against serious illness (24%). In comparison, just 7% of those who are advised gave this response when asked about life insurance and 8% would not know where to start when asked about protecting against serious illness.

Better Returns

We will never say we guarantee better returns for you, firstly this is impossible to guarantee and just as you may say you came to us for better returns then you will leave us for better returns elsewhere from the next new investment opportunity. The odds are though that the more time and effort we put into investment advice and ongoing reviews then the better the performance over the long term. Often its about making sure we take the correct first steps and keep up with any major news in the investment world in between. Markets can go up and down and we need to be ready for both of these inevitable situations, don’t deviate from the initial path don’t sell when markets are dropping and we are confident that you will see a positive result that will follow inline with the initial expectations.

Conclusion.

At Arthur Browns Wealth Management our advisers have been providing advice to clients for a combined 40 yr period. Our advice is cost effective, professional and delivered in a timely manner with a personal touch. Often advice isn’t recognised until its been given and the benefits have been felt, try us out by getting in touch and see how we can help you out.

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