Is it worth having a financial adviser? Of course, we would say it is! But is there really any evidence to back that up?
Well, research by the University of Montreal estimated that people with an adviser would, over 15 years, have 2.73 times more money in a savings pot than those without. Narrow it down to five years and the savings was still 1.58 times more.
And recently the value of having an adviser has also been demonstrated. With the panic over the Covid-19 outbreak, the FTSE 100 fell by more than 26 per cent in early March. Some people might have been tempted to move investments out of equities into assets, which are traditionally seen as safer. Even if they moved them back into more equity-dominated funds in April, because the FTSE 100 made its biggest recovery between March 23 and 26, the money would have been out of the market at the optimum time.
So our approach of keep calm despite the financial volatility we believe was the right approach. We spent a lot of time at the start of the crisis talking to our clients and making sure we gave robust advice; advice based on years of experience. Although like everything in life, even we can’t 100 per cent guarantee we always get it right!
But some more research might make you think. The International Longevity Centre has found that people who used a financial adviser and who received ongoing advice had pensions worth 50 per cent more than those who took one-off advice, and overall those who took advice were likely to be richer in retirement.
If you want to talk to us about your pensions or investment, please contact us on 01246 560 570.