Why Use Fully Regulated Financial Advisors For Your Retirement Planning?

If you’re looking for professional help and guidance for your retirement planning, you should make sure that any advice you seek comes directly from fully regulated financial advisors. As with any other aspect of a wealth management strategy, your retirement planning needs to be undertaken seriously and thoroughly to ensure that you’re on the right track to getting the retirement that you want.

Why do they have to be fully regulated financial advisors?

Using fully regulated financial advisors is essential if you want to be sure that you’re getting a good service, best practice and advice that’s tailored to your personal needs. Unfortunately, in many countries, anybody can call themselves a financial advisor, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are trained or have the right experience and qualifications. This means that you could be drawn into getting advice from an advisor who’s actually tied to one specific bank or similar financial institution – which means you’ll be offered products that only provide financial benefits to their associate company and themselves, through commission.

Unregulated advice can leave you in a position where you haven’t had all of your options clearly explained to you. So when seeking help with your retirement planning, you may find that your options are very limited and you end up choosing a product that isn’t really right for you, just because it seems to be the only decent one on offer. This can be particularly dangerous for expats or those planning to move abroad when they retire, as they may be presented with the option of a QROPS that doesn’t offer the best tax benefits, investment opportunities or other advantages that a better QROPS could provide.

Because advisors must act in accordance with the guidelines set out by their regulatory body, they’re bound by an ethical code which dictates that they must provide impartial recommendations and analyse your specific circumstances in order to offer the most appropriate advice. If a regulated advisor acts in anyway unethically and causes you a financial loss, they can be fined and struck off the register.

Who regulates financial advisors?

In the UK, the Financial Services Authority, or FSA, is the organisation responsible for the regulation of financial advisors. If you live elsewhere, or you’re an expat seeking a company who can serve you both home and away, then you will need to check who the regulatory body is for the country you’re in. You should be able to enquire as to whether the financial advisor you’re considering using is on their list of regulated providers. The best possible advice is to never take a chance on your money, so always make sure that you use fully regulated financial advisors for your retirement planning and other wealth management needs.