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Financial advice and advisors

You can get very good financial information from a whole range of sources, including newspapers and the internet. Receiving financial advice is very different - a professional advisor asseses your personal circumstances and recommends, in writing, financial products that are suitable for you. To do so, he or she will need to have some detailed information about your financial situation, and you need to be willing to provide it.

But beware: there are 3 types of Advisor, and it pays to know the difference:

	Tied Agents can only advise on the products from one provider. These agents include the sales staff from banks or building societies. An increasing number of people buy pensions and investments products from high street financial institutions, but this does not guarantee that they are competitive or the most suitable in your circumstances.
	Multi-Tied Agents are similar to Tied Agents but have access to a panel of providers.
	Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) provide impartial advice as opposed to the Tied or Multi–Tied Agent. This means that they not only recommend the most appropriate product for you but also the ‘best of breed’ within the marketplace. In short, Independent Financial Advisors work for you, the client, and not on behalf of a product provider. Where appropriate, they'll work with solicitors, accountants and others, to formulate tailor-made solutions that really make a difference to your financial health.