You wish to invest and may have received some general advice possibly from more than one source and you are not sure which adviser to choose. When you are deciding use common sense to assist you.
- Check how long he has been in business.
- How large is his business?
- What qualifications or experience does he have?
- What computer back-up and information service does he have?
- Is he bonded in accordance with Section 47 of the Insurance Act 1989?
- Does he appear honest and competent?
- Are you satisfied with his independence and integrity?
- Has he a good reputation?
Before investing be wary if
- She does not ask you many questions about your financial position, other investments and financial commitments. She would have difficulty giving you suitable advice without this information.
- Your adviser offers a rate of return for any investments you make which seems higher than anyone else. If it seems too good to be true it probably is.
- He invites you to put money into a special scheme run by him, which he cannot explain in detail, is not supported by any documentation and which you have never heard of.
- She advises you to cash in all your existing investments and give the money to her to invest, particularly it they are long term such as life assurance where you may lose out financially if you do.
- He advises you to put all your money in one investment. Some investments such as life assurance and unit trusts are themselves made up from a spread of investments. Unless something such as this is involved or it is a fairly small amount of money, or you do not mind losing the lot, this is bad advice. You should spread your risk, so if one investment loses money, you are not left high and dry.
- The investment is one which must be taken advantage of immediately. There may be some extremely rare occasions when such an opportunity comes up, but it may just be that she wants you to part with your money without proper consideration.
- It is suggested that he may save you tax in a slightly doubtful way. If he does run off with your money you may be too frightened to complain.
- She is plausible and charming and everything sounds wonderful, but you are not quite sure what exactly would be happening to your money. It is your money and you should not part with it unless you understand what is to happen to it. Ask for the full information on paper and time to think about things. Then you can check up on anything you are doubtful about.
- If it all sounds simply wonderful and will solve all your problems you are getting greedy and gullible. If it sounds too good to be true it is! Disaster lies ahead.
Once you have parted with your money you cannot afford to rest on your laurels.
When you parted with your money you should have received some kind of receipt. Make sure you do as you may not be able to substantiate a claim upon the firm unless you have proof you invested. Preserve it carefully.
Look at it, who has issued it? If you have invested in, for example, in life assurance or unit trusts, does it come from the life assurance or unit trust company? It should do. If it does not check it with the company you think you have invested with to see if your investment exists.
With most investments you should receive regular reports as to how your investment is doing, check at the beginning if this is to be the case. These should be at least once a year and should be on paper, not just a telephone call saying that everything is fine.
After investing be wary if
- You do not hear anything about your investments.
- Your investments seem to be doing very well, when there is an economic slump and everyone else is doing badly.
- You wish to withdraw your investment and your adviser refuses to comply or makes excuses for continual delays.
- Once having got your money your adviser loses all further interest in you, is impossible to get hold of and does not answer letters.
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Please call Seamus Parfrey today on 021-4310266 if you need further information on choosing an investment adviser or a consultation.