This article is more than 6 months old
It was correct at the time of publishing. Our views and any references to tax, investment and pension rules may have changed since then.
With over 90% of people unlikely to ask the experts when getting financial advice, we look at three reasons why it could pay to get some help.
This article isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure whether an investment is right for you please seek advice. If you choose to invest the value of your investment will rise and fall, so you could get back less than you put in.
It was correct at the time of publishing. Our views and any references to tax, investment and pension rules may have changed since then.
We all need a little help now and again. You’ll probably go to different people depending on the help you need.
Our recent survey showed that lots of people turn to loved ones for advice on money. In fact, just under half of the people we asked said they’d speak to someone they know for advice on their finances.
We all have important financial decisions to make throughout our lives. But you could argue our decisions become more important as we get older. Decisions around things like retirement shouldn’t be taken lightly, and it can help to have a second opinion.
Only 8% of the people we surveyed said they’d look for professional advice. That means over 90% are going to unqualified people to help them make potentially life-changing, financial decisions.
While friends and family will do their best to help, they can have an emotional bias. They’ll also usually lack the qualifications and experience of a professional financial adviser, so might not be the best place to turn to when making important financial decisions.
Relying solely on informal chats with your friends to make financial decisions might not give you the best results.
Although there’s generally a charge for taking financial advice, you can also get free guidance from places like Pension Wise, the Money and Pensions service or Citizens Advice. This is a step up from getting help from those around you. But you still won’t get the personalised or in-depth recommendations you’d get from a financial adviser.
Here are a few reasons why you should consider speaking to the experts, and make sure you’re not being led up the garden path.
This can be especially true when going to your family for advice.
Everyone wants to see their family members doing well financially. Older members of the family who’ve ‘been there and done that’ might speak from experience to try and give you advice. But it’s likely times have changed since they needed to make the decisions you’re facing now.
Your family are also likely to be the ones you speak to at sensitive times, like after a divorce or the loss of a loved one. There’s usually financial decisions to be made at emotional moments, so it’s easy to take advice from family and friends just to get it off your plate.
Although your family will have your best interests at heart, a financial adviser is more emotionally removed. They can offer clear-minded advice that your family might not be able to. They’ll still treat your situation delicately, but by helping you make decisions, they’ll be able to take some of the emotional weight off your shoulders.
Our finances are a personal subject, and it’s likely information like your salary are only known by a select few.
Because of our reluctance to share too much with our friends and family, they’ll never get the full picture. Any advice they give might not help your financial situation as much as you first thought.
A financial adviser is impartial and discrete. This lets you share more detail with confidence. With more information at their fingertips, an adviser can help you build more of a complete strategy.
Whether it’s advice on your career or on which car to buy, lots of the advice we give our friends is anecdotal.
The world of investing moves quickly and no one knows what’s going to happen today or tomorrow. Not even an adviser with years of experience can predict what stock markets will do next. So don’t listen to anyone who claims to know what’s around the corner.
You can’t make predictions based on past performance. Just because someone you know might have made money on an investment in the past, it doesn’t mean it’ll happen again, or that it’ll suit what’s best for you.
Instead, a financial adviser will look at your attitude to risk. They’ll also look at your finances as a whole and make sure your investments fit in with your goals to help you succeed over the long term.
This article is not personal advice. All investments can go up and down in value, so you could get back less than you put in. If you’re not sure whether an investment or course of action is right for you, seek advice.
The New Year can be a time when investors look closer at their portfolios and make changes that better fit what they need. Or even make new investments. If you’re not sure where to start, you could take advantage of our latest offer of tailored investment advice at a fixed cost of £495. Book your callback with our Advisory Helpdesk by 12 February and agree to take advice before 26 March to qualify. Terms apply – see below.
It starts with a no-obligation callback from our Advisory Helpdesk. They won’t give you any personalised advice on the call, but they’ll help you decide if advice is right for you and answer any questions you might have. They’ll then pass your details onto one of our qualified advisers who can chat to you about your personal circumstances.
1. If you contact our Advisory Helpdesk between 18 December 2020 and the close of business on 12 February 2021, agree to receive Investment Advice by telephone and return a signed Adviser Charge Agreement by close of business 26 March 2021, we will only charge you our minimum charge of £495 (+VAT where applicable) (the “Offer”). The Offer is subject to these terms and conditions.
2. To be eligible you must contact our Advisory Helpdesk between 18 December 2020 and the close of business on 12 February 2021 either by calling 0117 317 1690 or by booking a call back with us by close of business on 12 February 2021. You must also decide that you wish to receive Investment Advice from us, and have signed and returned an Adviser Charge Agreement, by close of business on 26 March 2021.
3. If you decide that you wish to receive Investment Advice by telephone from us within the timescales noted above, you will not be subject to our standard rate of 1-2% of the portfolio value being advised upon with a minimum charge of £495 when advice provided by telephone. Instead we will fix the cost of receiving the advice from us at our minimum charge of £495 (+VAT where applicable). For more information regarding our financial advice charges, please visit our website at www.hl.co.uk/financial-advice/advisory-charges.
4. Investment Advice means the receipt of recommendations from one of our financial advisers in relation to investment decisions. This may include:
i. A new cash investment into any panelled wrapper. This would include reinvestment of tax free cash taken from a pension or making a pension contribution.
ii. Any investment through regular premiums.
iii. Recommendations to alter an existing investment portfolio except where the existing investment is currently held within an Investment Bond, Income Drawdown or Pension arrangement
5. Investment Advice does not include wider financial planning matters which shall include, but are not limited to, advice on transferring or consolidating pensions, retirement planning, care provision and inheritance tax planning. If after discussions with your financial adviser, the scope of advice needs to be widened to include wider financial planning matters, the Offer will no longer be applicable.
6. This Offer only covers Investment Advice received by telephone and excludes advice provided on a face to face basis.
7. This Offer excludes on-going advice charges.
8. Where you qualify for the Offer, your Financial Adviser will apply the fixed charge to your Adviser Charge Agreement.
Please note:
9. The Offer is limited to one per client.
10. You must not be an employee of any Hargreaves Lansdown Group company or a member of any such employee’s immediate family or household.
11. We may amend, extend or withdraw this Offer at any time. Details of any such amendment, extension or withdrawal will be posted on our website at www.hl.co.uk/financial-advice.
12. This Offer will be governed by English law and, in participating, you submit to the jurisdiction of the English courts.
13. References in these terms and conditions to “Hargreaves Lansdown”, “our”, “us” or “we” are to Hargreaves Lansdown Advisory Services Limited (company number 03509545), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA Register number 189627), whose registered office is at 1 College Square South, Anchor Road, Bristol, BS1 5HL. References to the “Hargreaves Lansdown Group” are to Hargreaves Lansdown plc (company number 02122142) and its subsidiaries from time to time.
This article isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure whether an investment is right for you please seek advice. If you choose to invest the value of your investment will rise and fall, so you could get back less than you put in.
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