Over the last 40 years I’ve met all manner of people across a myriad of professions, and I still have difficulty understanding why some wish to shun a financial advisor in favour of doing their own thing. We spend years learning our trade and skills so it’s a pity not to be able to share our knowledge and experiences.
It’s the ones that get away, or the ones we fail that I find frustrating, like the man who wouldn’t buy life assurance as he said, ‘God would provide’, Well with all due respect I’ve yet to see any cheques from God!
Then there are the clients who trawl the internet for the ‘best mortgage deal’ thinking they’re going to save some fees, when in fact they’ll spend the next six weeks on the telephone pulling their hair out and eventually needing counselling after head butting their computer screens.
The last time I went to see my GP, I Googled my symptoms to find a possible solution, and when I told him my findings, I thought he was going to strangle me with his stethoscope, so it doesn’t pay to be a clever dick and it probably costs more.
We often get asked if we’re expensive and I like to say reassuringly so but ignorance costs more, tongue in cheek of course. There are many examples of clients who don’t want to take advice on their investment portfolios and stick to what they have because the inertia of doing nothing is the easy option. Change is often difficult to achieve, but maybe once you’ve added up the cost of all those sleepless nights it would be cheaper and more beneficial to entrust your investments to a financial advisor.
So next time you need a financial advisor don’t Google for a cheap life assurance plan, pension, investment or mortgage go and see your local IFA. You know it makes sense!
Philip Vaughan is a Director at Abacus Assurance Financial Services Ltd, Porthcawl 01656 772222