According to a study by the International Longevity Centre (ILC), people who took professional financial advice between 2001 and 2006 saw a £47,700 increase in their assets over the space of a decade, when compared to those who did not take advice.
The study looked at the financial gains made by those who took professional financial advice between 2001 and 2006 and assessed how their wealth had changed by 2014/16.
The findings highlight the “pounds and pence” benefits financial planners can provide. Yet, more often than not, the biggest concern people have about professional advisers is their fees, which often fails to take into account the true “value” of the planner’s work.
Planners are not only there to make your money work harder. They also provide essential knowledge and support on a wide range of financially related subjects, ensuring you benefit from peace of mind.
It is also possible to find planners who charge fixed fees (such as Finance Lab), which aims to provide better value for money and allows you to budget more easily.
So, what are the benefits of using a financial planner, and how can they help you? Read on to find out.
Planners can get you financially “fighting fit”
Financial planners take time to fully understand every aspect of your financial life and encourage you to consider your financial situation more widely. This could include your goals, taxation, and intergenerational planning, as well as your short- and long-term future.
Planners seek to answer common questions like:
- Can I achieve my life goals?
- Can I retire at a time of my choosing?
- Can I afford to maintain my lifestyle now and in the future?
- Would I be able to provide financial help to my children?
- Will I run out of money later in life?
- Can my family maintain their lifestyle if anything happens to me?
By looking at these and other areas, planners help you to gain peace of mind that you are financially secure now and in the future.
Investigate different and more beneficial scenarios
A good financial planner will help you look at different scenarios, to ensure you are not missing an opportunity to fulfil an ambition in life.
For example, you may be able to retire comfortably at 67, but you might want to retire at 60 with a smaller income that would allow you to maintain your quality of life. This is something an adviser can investigate with you.
Tailor a financial plan to you
By exploring and looking at options, an adviser will be able to produce a financial strategy that’s individual to you. This provides peace of mind that you are as tax-efficient as you can be and understand how you can reach your future aspirations while still taking your current circumstances into account.
With continued or ongoing advice, you also have peace of mind if your situation changes. You will be able to discuss the changes with your planner who will, if necessary, amend any strategy to maximise the chances of your goals still being met.
Avoid common mistakes
By working with a regulated professional planner, you can not only use them as a “sounding board”, providing peace of mind that you can avoid common mistakes, but also use the information they provide to develop your own financial confidence.
This is because financial planners work in partnership with you. By developing an ongoing relationship with your planner – as the below infographic shows – you learn to understand your finances better, enabling you to feel more comfortable and in control of your money and aspirations.
Source: Royal London
Provide the confidence to spend
All too often we associate financial advice with accumulating wealth. However, a planner also lets you know when you should be spending money.
For example, your planner can provide the confidence you need to enjoy retirement, safe in the knowledge that you’re spending at a level that means you are financially secure. After a lifetime of saving it can be difficult to change your mindset and start to focus on spending, so the ability to discuss it with a professional can be a huge relief.
Allows you to get on with life
It is possible for individuals to effectively manage their money by taking a DIY approach, but this can be time-consuming and complex. Most people do not have the time nor the inclination to research investment opportunities, monitor them constantly and keep up to date with legislation changes.
As Royal London highlighted in their recent report, working with a financial planner as a trusted partner means you have the peace of mind to enjoy life, confident that your current financial situation and future aspirations are all in hand. People who work with an adviser are more confident, secure, and in control than people who don’t.
Source: Royal London
Value is more important than cost
Those that haven’t sought financial advice before often focus on the cost. But without considering the value delivered, it’s difficult to calculate whether an adviser’s service is value for money.
According to one report by Royal London, those who work with financial professionals feel positive about the service they receive, reporting that the vast majority are “very happy” with the quality of the financial guidance they receive, adding that their planner is easy to talk to and inspires confidence and trust.
It also found satisfaction grew when they had an ongoing relationship in place and received a more holistic input from their planner.
It is true that the cost of financial advice varies hugely between advisers and depending on the complexity of each individual’s financial situation. Yet fixed-fee arrangements can provide a much more cost-effective way of paying for advice, and allow you to budget for the service provided.
This is something we at Finance Lab offer, as we believe it provides a value-for-money service that potentially reduces the impact of charges on an investment’s performance.
Get in touch
If you would like to discuss your financial situation and potential options, please call us on 0116 262 1414.
At Finance Lab we help clients achieve financial peace of mind for themselves and their family, whether that’s meeting a financial goal, building an emergency fund or protecting their family’s future.
Please note
This article is for information only. Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article until you have sought professional advice.
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