Finding a financial adviser in the UK is something all households need to consider. Financial decisions are challenging. Decisions you make could impact your goals. Finding a financial adviser allows you to have a professional opinion on how to achieve what is important to you.
In the UK, the financial conduct authority has created regulations that state that in order to be able to give Financial advice, Mortgage advice, and Pension advice, you must undertake a series of qualifications. These qualifications are governed by independent exam bodies to a high standard. This means your financial adviser is fit and proper to help you along your financial needs journey. What's more, they are able to offer what is known as an 'Advised service', which means they can make recommendations bespoke to your priorities.
Unfortunately, as banks depart the high street, obtaining financial advice has become a little bit difficult. It requires proactivity and ownership of your goals. Don't fire shots in the dark, this is your life after all. Make sure you have given yourself the best chance to make informed decisions.
Financial Advisers can charge fees for their advice. Most offer free initial consultations. Others ask for no fees and are paid solely via commissions. The fee structure is a mandatory point amongst regulations. When you have your first introduction meeting this will be made clear.
If you know you need to discuss a specific area of interest, let's say Equity Release. Trying to understand who the correct advisers are to help you could result in a lot of phone calls, time wasted, and no success. You will need to understand the qualification requirements for the relevant products you need help with. It can make finding the right adviser a tricky task. Using a service like Sunny Avenue allows you to search under the relevant product to find an adviser who specialises in this advice.
If location is important to you, or you prefer face-to-face meetings, you can look for advisors in our directory. This is your classic 'Find a financial adviser near me' search. Searchable by postcode and product type. However, due to our busy lives and advancement in technology, it is no longer a requirement to have advisers who are local. Many now work centrally and around your lifestyle. Using tools like Microsoft teams, skype & zoom, this helps to keep things flexible.
If there is ever a rush to progress quickly, that can be worked towards in an efficient manner. Imagine needing a day of holiday from work to complete a mortgage application. Those days are behind us.
The only exception to this is that you will want to find an adviser who is based in the country you seek advice. There are regulation differences across the four nations of the UK and it would make sense to work with an adviser with knowledge of the local rules that apply to you.
Advisors generally sign up for networks, and networks negotiate with the banks for the products advice is given. This means that even if you speak to an adviser, who can offer products from the Whole of Market, they are still likely to be restricted to what the network has arranged.
On the other side of the scale, there are tied advisors, those who only represent one company. These products are often not found on the Whole of Market proposition and are limited to the tied advisers to offer advice on those. A similar way of thinking of tied advice is if you went to see your bank. The likelihood is you are buying products specifically from your bank. You would not find your bank offering a competitor's products.
What is important to remember is that advice is bespoke. A recommendation is made based on your needs and priorities, if a product does not fit your requirements, it should not be recommended.
If anything goes wrong with your advice, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service to review your complaint. For example, if a financial adviser misleads you into an investment by telling you that your investment will not go down in value and it does. Sunny Avenue has measures in place to ensure we only onboard reputable advisers. Our review system allows for direct client feedback to be recorded and available to help you make a choice of adviser.
Sunny Avenue works with a network of independent Financial, Mortgage, Insurance & later-life advisers who are ready to help.
Find yourself a UK financial adviser within our directory or use our Sunny fact find to help us help you. The advisers will take time to understand what is important to you. All the advice is discussed in a way that is relevant to you. Finances are never a 'One size fits all'. Therefore, advice is invaluable.
Stuart is an expert in Property, Money, Banking & Finance, having worked in retail and investment banking for 10+ years before founding Sunny Avenue. Stuart has spent his career studying finance. He holds qualifications in financial studies, mortgage advice & practice, banking operations, dealing & financial markets, derivatives, securities & investments.
Our website offers information about financial products such as investing, savings, equity release, mortgages, and insurance. None of the information on Sunny Avenue constitutes personal advice. Sunny Avenue does not offer any of these services directly and we only act as a directory service to connect you to the experts. If you require further information to proceed you will need to request advice, for example from the financial advisers listed. If you decide to invest, read the important investment notes provided first, decide how to proceed on your own basis, and remember that investments can go up and down in value, so you could get back less than you put in.
Think carefully before securing debts against your home. A mortgage is a loan secured on your home, which you could lose if you do not keep up your mortgage payments. Check that any mortgage will meet your needs if you want to move or sell your home or you want your family to inherit it. If you are in any doubt, seek independent advice.