The key to finding the right financial adviser is knowing what type of advice you need.
For example, are you:
- looking for help with investing into your pension or a Stocks and Shares ISA?
- coming up to retirement or navigating your way through it?
- looking for a mortgage or perhaps life insurance?
- simply looking for help with keeping your finances on track and meeting your long-term goals?
There are lots of reasons why people need advice from a financial adviser. But there are also lots of different types of adviser, so it’s important to know who to go to and when.
Financial advisers aren’t always called ‘financial advisers’. Instead, they’re sometimes named by their specialism, such as ‘mortgage adviser’, ‘investment adviser’, ‘pension adviser’ or ‘financial planner’.
Sometimes, they are known as ‘brokers’ – often when dealing with products such as:
- mortgages
- home and car insurance, or
- investments including shares.
Whatever they might be called, what all financial advisers in the UK do have in common is that they’re regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means there are rules they must follow when dealing with you. You can check if the adviser is on the Financial Services Register which lists the firms and individuals regulated by the FCA. Check the register or you can phone on 0800 111 6768 (freephone).
There are minimum qualifications that all regulated financial advisers need to have achieved. Most will have achieved benchmarks above that, such as the Chartered Financial Planner or the Certified Financial Planner qualifications.
They might also have specific qualifications covering the areas they specialise in, such as long-term care, equity release and pension transfers.
Most advisers will offer you a free initial meeting. This gives you the chance to get a sense of whether you’re comfortable with them and how they work. Any properly qualified adviser will show you their certificates if you ask them to.
You could search a reputable directory such as:
Unbiased a free service to match you to a fully regulated financial adviser, mortgage broker or accountant.
The Personal Finance Society this tool from the financial planning professional body can help you find a local qualified adviser (it includes advisers who cover more than retirement options so mortgages, investments and other financial planning).
Vouchedfor for reviewed and vetted financial, legal and accounting advice.