There are financial advisers, and there are financial advisers…..

20 Years of Perspective

In October, this will be my 20th year as a financial adviser…. I never thought I was suited for this type of job when growing up, but as someone who has always looked up to my father, it would seem destined that I would follow in his footsteps….

20 years is a long time in any industry and I wanted to share some thoughts about what I’ve observed over the years.

The Allied Dunbar Foundations

I started at a company in the UK called Allied Dunbar, back in October 2000. My father was a financial adviser working with the company at the time. He asked me to come under his wing and train as a financial adviser. As a young 19 year old, I jumped at the chance to work with my father every day.

As a young man it was thrilling learning a new trade, new skills, meeting new people and sitting my first industry exams and later becoming fully UK qualified. I was sent to the company training centre in Swindon, by that time Allied Dunbar had been bought by Zurich insurance. The training was substantial, spending numerous full weeks at the training centre.

The Spectrum of Advice

Fast forward a number years later, and as I met more and more financial advisers…. Something dawned on me. There really was a full spectrum of financial advisers – ranging from the lowest type to the most impressive.

I found the poor ones – blasé, ‘salesy’, arrogant, lazy, self indulgent, careless, money hungry, etc…. On the contrary, I found some who were just excellent, intelligent, knowledgeable, sharp, cared intensely for clients, disciplined, wanted to develop themselves, put client first, leaders in their fields, etc….

The Dubai Difference

When I moved to Dubai in 2011, I found the spectrum even more extreme. In the UK financial advisers have a reasonable reputation – we’re highly qualified, highly regulated, and generally older and more mature. Most IFA’s there are career advisers, and you won’t really find many who are there to “make a quick buck”.

Sadly, Dubai is different, there are a number of advisers who would fall into the “making a quick buck” category. So ask yourself – is your financial adviser:

• Honest
• Sharp / On the ball
• Proactive
• Regularly in touch with you
• Presenting new ideas to you
• Having the difficult conversations with you
• Readily available and responsive to you

A recent study by the fund manager Vanguard – a stalwart low-cost investment management company, released a study titled Advisor’s Alpha. This study estimates that clients who work with a good financial advisor will receive on average a 3% increase in the value of their portfolios each year – see the study details here.

Ask yourself – on a scale of 1 – 10 how would you rate your adviser? Do you have a “financial adviser”, or a financial adviser?