At Hoskin Financial Planning one of our very important values that you will see referred to on our website is TRUST.
There are many meanings to this relatively small word but the definition I am about to discuss is
Trust
- firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something: relations have to be built on trust
- acceptance of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation: I used only primary sources, taking nothing on trust
- the state of being responsible for someone or something: a man in a position of trust
For a relatively small word, its meaning is BIG. In an uncertain financial world trust becomes even more of an importance when dealing with financial affairs. So, who can you trust with your money and financial affairs?
You would have seen in the recent news the IT issues affecting the Royal Bank of Scotland which impacted thousands of their customers. How could this happen in such a large organisation with an IT department the size of a small town?
Barclays Bank were fined £59.5 million by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for misconduct relating to interest rates. It is the largest ever fine imposed by the regulator. It has also been hit with two fines in the US: $200 million by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission and $160 million by the US Department of Justice.
Don’t worry though; the men at the top have forgone their bonuses!
Many high street banks have withdrawn their customer facing financial advisers and others have reduced their number of advisers significantly.
So, who do you turn to for financial advice? One route you could take is one of the many comparison sites or an online flowchart style websites. But, how would you know that what you are doing is the right course of action? Is it appropriate for your needs? Will it meet your objectives? Is it the most cost effective solution?
An Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) will review your financial affairs as a whole, taking into consideration how they interconnect with short, medium and long term goals; dreams and aspirations both personally and financially. This is sometimes referred to as Holistic Financial Planning. Your IFA will complete a factfind with you which is a document used to record your financial details, goals and aspirations. If your adviser is Independent he/she will undertake research of the whole financial market for the most appropriate, cost effective financial solution to meet your needs.
In an uncertain financial world you still have choices of where you can turn to for advice but I would personally want to deal with someone or an organisation I can TRUST.
Until the next time Paul Hoskin IFA.