Over the past few years the financial management business has taken a few knocks mainly because of problems in the market that brought unexpected decreases in portfolios and partly from a few financial products that obtained unwanted criticism because the operating costs reflected badly on the customer. This attention has made some people a little wary of the market and there has been a climate of cash and hold in order to protect savings and investments. The reverse problem is that it has never been more important to make the most of whatever money people have so that they are best protected in the future.
The rates of return have decreased greatly and it is sometimes difficult to persuade people to invest when such small returns are available and the potential risks are not inconsiderable.
The arguments can be taken either way but if the value of the investments is just to keep pace with inflation and perhaps provide a small increase then careful financial planning is required now more than ever and should be sought.
The trick is to find a financial planner who can be trusted implicitly and who will work for his client. The business revolves around trust but unfortunately trust is not something that is easily forth coming and takes a little while to establish. A financial manager should be picked so that it is certain he is representing the client as in many cases the position is such that the control reverts back to the bank or finance company that he is employed by.
In this case there is a natural pressure for the products sold to be such that they give the highest return to the seller not the purchaser. The laws are in place to stop this but they are both unwieldy and unworkable in many cases, it really does come down to trust.
Pick the financial advisor who takes time to show the product warts and all and examine the reasons for recommending the product concerned, a short term gain can give a long term loss. Take time to consider what is really required, it is not a case of taking todays special offer, build for the future.
Demand to know fully the actual record of the investment that is being considered and any details that may affect the future of the funds and insist on knowing the full costs over the full term of the investment. Governments are always trying to stop unscrupulous trading and it is easy to get caught in the legislation.
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