When to ditch your IFA?

[IanM]

Been speaking to my IFA about a course of action and asked for a cash-flow forecast for what that might look like. Reply arrives after a week or so, a few back and forths and what I received raised more questions than answers.

So, I did my own forecast with a series of questions requiring clarification. No reply for 5 weeks, then one arrived today! They said that they "start to panic when clients do their own calculations!" Clearly not panicking enough to get a timely reply then.

No apology, or comment about the gap. Think it is time they got binned, buy they will get a chance to respond. What would you do?

 

[Blue in Munich]

It's your money & your future; if you are not happy with them, move your money to someone that you are happy with. It's that simple for me.

 

[USER1999]

I would expect my IFA to be a phone call away, and answer emails within a couple of days if non urgent, faster if urgent. I am paying them, not the other way around.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Used an IFA in the 1990's binned him because I thought he was clueless.
Re-invested using our own knowledge and probably done slightly better than OK [Thank you Premium Bonds]
Out of the blue last year I got a £4.5k payment from something I had given up on. In fact I did not even know that I still had.
Jury's out.

 

[rudebhoy]

1. was it a one-off or is there a pattern?
2. how happy are you with how they are managing your money? (assuming you already have a portfolio)

 

[Tashyboy]

I had an IFA a good few years back, recommended by my brother. At the end of every year we were to have an update on how everything was going. After 2 years nothing, so I contacted the company. They had sacked the IFA as he was a “ maverick”. His advice had cost customers thousands and thousands. Including Tash. I was livid. Not just coz I had lost brass, but the lack of service I was paying for. The company reimbursed me so much, the difference between what my policy was in and what it should of been put in. I had paid them a couple off thousand in commission and asked for that as they had done SFA. I got nowt.
Now this company were supposed to be experts, they were rammel and cost me a small fortune. In all honesty I wish I had put it into the banks, Isa etc. Bearing in mind Santander Isa was at 10% at that time.
Suffice to say I do not have the time of the day for them.
Talking of investments, my best ever investment by a country mile was the solar panels on the roof. The best £10k I have ever spent. Nigh on making £2,000 a year now ( since 2012 ) and still another 16 years return to come. ?