Wealth manager or not?

[MBE2017]

a). People will buy cheaper houses if prices don't go down as they won't be able to afford them anymore.

b). Prices will have to come down as no one will want to buy any of the current houses at current prices.

c). Rents will have to increase (even though peoples buying power and disposable income is getting eaten up and wage growth is in negative territory real terms) making even less people able to afford anything.

A - People will always buy the cheaper / best value house, IF AVAILABLE. Once again, there is a massive shortage in property, hence the large price increases.

B - Prices will find their level, they seem to be slowing down atm, but I don’t personally see any large correction. Mortgage rates have even dropped from some lenders, banks are actively buying property as well, and what houses there are, there are still plenty of buyers.

C - Rents have increased 10% on average in the provinces, up to 20% in London in the last year due to a huge shortage of property. People will have to sacrifice many luxuries, those latest iPhones, Netflix, gym memberships, leased cars etc to stay in the game. This is nothing new, I bought my first house in the eighties when gazumping and double digit interest rates were all too common.

With increased taxation, increased controls, unknown future EPC requirements, many landlords are selling up, and the rental market supply is actually reducing as a result.

Until real effort is made into increasing supply, prices will remain too high for most.

Most worryingly is many large USA investment funds and banking groups are starting to buy up UK property. If anyone thinks they will act or be better towards renters than private UK landlords, then you are all in for a huge wake up call in the next 10/20 years.

 

[jon shepherd]

One of the wealth managers today told me that he would pretty much put most of my money in equity funds and hold it there for the long term. He even provided a list of the all the funds he would use with a percentage breakdown of the holding.
Perhaps i'm missing something here, but I may as well use this information (of course doing my own research too) and bypass these guys and all the fees that come with using them and just do this myself.

Unless im missing something here, it seems to be a no brainer!

 

[The Byre]

Whose/which inflation measure are you referring to?

BoE

 

[DontAsk]

One of the wealth managers today told me that he would pretty much put most of my money in equity funds and hold it there for the long term. He even provided a list of the all the funds he would use with a percentage breakdown of the holding.
Perhaps i'm missing something here, but I may as well use this information (of course doing my own research too) and bypass these guys and all the fees that come with using them and just do this myself.

Unless im missing something here, it seems to be a no brainer!

Get a better "wealth manager".

Your investment should be kept under regular review so that when a star fund manager moves on, or a particular sector becomes volatile, you are not left in a fund that may no longer perform. Are you able to do this yourself?

We invest through one of the high street banks and have regular reviews at which they recommend rebalancing our portfolio to stay within our chosen risk level and/or divest funds that they no longer believe will perform well.

 

[DontAsk]

BoE

BoE CPI calculator? It does not agree with your statement about house prices and inflation.

 

[Gyumri]

Unless im missing something here, it seems to be a no brainer!

It is a no-brainer. Investors /fund managers are only investing in shares and nothing else. The stock market is simply a glorified horse race no different from betting on the horses.

Neil Woodford dabbled in buying unlisted shares but went belly up buying into the wrong companies.

Wealth managers are making wealth, but for whom?

 

[fisicx]

It is a no-brainer. Investors /fund managers are only investing in shares and nothing else.

Where on earth did you get this ludicrous idea? You are spouting complete rubbish.

 

[Gyumri]

Each unto their own. Why not ring up a wealth manager and ask them where they are going to invest your money?

"A fool and his money are soon parted."

If you know of any wealth managers who are any different then please spill the beans so we can all become wealthy!

 

[Mark T Jones]

One of the wealth managers today told me that he would pretty much put most of my money in equity funds and hold it there for the long term.

I'm far from an expert here, but an advantage I'd want to see from a wealth manager is that they keep a keen eye on things and can act promptly.

If it's just dump and run, you might as well take advice on here and DIY.

 

[fisicx]

If you know of any wealth managers who are any different then please spill the beans so we can all become wealthy!

I'm not sure you understand what a wealth manager does. A wealth manager will not make you wealthy. A wealth manager helps those who already have money. Read the whole thread and you will see examples.

 

[jon shepherd]

I'm far from an expert here, but an advantage I'd want to see from a wealth manager is that they keep a keen eye on things and can act promptly.

If it's just dump and run, you might as well take advice on here and DIY.

I see your point and its something im considering.
I have found a good advisor with low initial and ongoing fees. I think I may give them a small portion of my portfolio and see how they get on. I guess the benefit of doing this is that they will be quicker then me to highlight changes that need to happen which would enable me to adjust the rest of my portfolio as well

 

[MBE2017]

With the potential carnage heading our way, I doubt many would better a tracker fund, it will come down more to your level of risk as to what the fund invests in. I would recommend the likes of Coca Cola, BP etc true blue chips likely to do better than most over the next few years.

That said, I am no expert. So do your own research.

 

[Conor O'Sullivan]

Long story short - I have recently exited my business and have upwards of 7 figures to put to work.

Im reasonably proficient at investing but also limited in terms of my time.

My question is, how many of you use wealth managers and would recommend using them to look after your money?

Do you have any good experiences or bad experiences?

Have you paid a fixed fee for advice or ongoing management fees?

I have a number of meetings set up tomorrow, and a number of questions to ask them, but any assessment questions you recommend asking would also be great.

Any recommendations for good wealth managers would also be great.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Jon

Full disclosure I am an IFA and I run my business as I'm about to describe.

I'd agree with a lot of the comments in this thread. Most "advisers" are sales people in different guises.

If you want to get some proper advice then look for someone who is ideally a Certified Financial Planner and a Chartered Financial Planner.

The Certified Financial Planner is the key. This is the equivalent to a Masters and there are probably less than 10% of advisers in the UK who hold this designation. Assuming they are also an IFA (smaller % again) then they should be able approaching the conversation looking at your goals for the future (in terms of life) before they begin to talk about money at all. Ideally they will all have the flexibility to charge a flat fee rather than just a % as this makes them agnostic on the solution and can therefore consider many different routes to wealth eg property and/or traditional investments.

I'd be happy to have a quick call. If for whatever reason we don't gel (it's just as important you can get on with the person you're dealing with) I'd be happy to try and connect you to similar advisers as me across the country as needed

If not, hopefully this gives you a good steer.

Conor

 

[MBE2017]

Just like to say, nice to see a truly non sales professional introduction on the forum, which I am sure will reap rewards in the future for Conor O’Sullivan.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

Personally I've used St James Place which I've been happy with.

Anyone considering investing with St James's Place should first read this recent review - https://www.yodelar.com/insights/st-jamess-place-review

 

[richard10002]

One of the wealth managers today told me that he would pretty much put most of my money in equity funds and hold it there for the long term. He even provided a list of the all the funds he would use with a percentage breakdown of the holding.
Perhaps i'm missing something here, but I may as well use this information (of course doing my own research too) and bypass these guys and all the fees that come with using them and just do this myself.

Unless im missing something here, it seems to be a no brainer!

Along those lines, you could do a lot worse than watch every one of this guys videos. He's not selling anything, and seems to provide some good advice and information.

https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesShack/videos

 

[Robert NW]

'How to create and manage family wealth' without an IFA

We're doing tests now to assess whether there is a market for the above educational and hands-on webinar series. I would appreciate all opinions.

These are the current ground rules:-
a) only for people who do not want to use an IFA
b) £350k to £10mn assets, roughly, so if relevant we could include family investment companies, trusts etc but not get into comparing family offices
c) we're looking for £45 per month, six months, siw webinars, plus home work, then graduation to choose their own set up
d) we are training them to manage their own wealth - some tasks might be delegated but if so carefully benchmarked and monitored

Thank you all, and Mr Shepherd your feedback especially is welcome.

 

[NortonBishop]

I would qualify under b)

I was tempted to say that the reason I qualify is because I've not wasted money for "£45 a month" courses.

Having said that, I could give people advise worth £45 a month so there may be people to whom it would be valuable.

How would your potential customers know that it would be worth it?

 

[MBE2017]

'How to create and manage family wealth' without an IFA

We're doing tests now to assess whether there is a market for the above educational and hands-on webinar series. I would appreciate all opinions.
Thank you all, and Mr Shepherd your feedback especially is welcome.

FWIW, for anyone looking to legally reduce their tax burden, plan their futures via trusts, LTD companies, LLP, or other vehicles, I would recommend finding a specialist tax advisor and accountant in your field.

They should more than save their fees, and should understand your requirements better than yourselves, and ensure your affairs are set up correctly. The hard part is finding the right professional to work with, so ask a lot of questions and check your own network for recommendations.

I would still be tempted by the suggested course depending on the posters qualifications to run one, but firstly I already have a reasonable idea regarding my own circumstance, plus I value my time more than the professionals charge.

 

[Robert NW]

Thank you both, I can see that
(a) if the target market is for those who dispense with financial advisors then they would be sceptical about any course too
(b) people generally don't know what they don't know so there's no demand for improvement in the results of managing family wealth. Outside a family office, people don't benchmark their performance.

 

[MBE2017]

Thank you both, I can see that
(a) if the target market is for those who dispense with financial advisors then they would be sceptical about any course too
(b) people generally don't know what they don't know so there's no demand for improvement in the results of managing family wealth. Outside a family office, people don't benchmark their performance.

I think you need to grab attention, maybe a minute or so YouTube video to gain interest.

I am not for one second suggesting your advice is not worth your fees, or that of your course. I have paid an awful lot more in the past, present and probably the future. A friend of mine just paid £20k for very good advice from highly regarded specialists. An ordinary accountant does not cut it.

My advisor for instance managed to reduce my tax bill, totally legally I might add by 50/60% one year, and all future payments will be at a very reduced rate. His suggestions took into account all my current requirements, tax today, in the future, IHT, trusts for family etc and succession planning.

People fail to understand in general tax is not ever fixed, the Gov constantly changes things and YOU are expected to understand your affairs and their rules, few do, myself included. Hence the requirement for good advice. For that very reason I have both LTD and LLP vehicles, to cover myself according to changing circumstances.

 

[Dinky]

I'll repeat the advice I gave my mother, she was obsessed with leaving something behind for her sons, but we can take care of ourselves and I've told her to go out in style - blow every penny she has in enjoying her latter years with drugs and strippers. You may want to do things differently.

Now that would be a fun movie!

 

[Dinky]

Way back in the early '90s we identified the phenomenon of 'top slice millionaires'.

I Googled 'top slice millionaires'. Didn't get the expected results, but does look tasty!

 

[Robert NW]

'Is Financial Advice Worthwhile?' by an FT journalist. I've been asked to provide a researched opinion on this and wondered if the forum wanted a copy in PDF format when I've finished. I also wanted to thank you all because I've looked at your comments and tried to address them. The conclusion is perhaps not what you would expect.

 

[Abe2019]

Lots of good discussion above. In case you are still thinking about a wealth manager, FT Weekend did an article in June (2023) and provided an ARC Research performance returns table, along with manager profiles as food for thought: htt ps://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/uploaded-files/PCWM%20tables-710a2046-a230-4233-aff6-c9c070cf0877.pdf

Use this link to read the article "Time to look for a wealth manager": ht tps://www.google.com/search?q=find+www.ft.com/content/c67add57-e9a6-4282-addf-941fb22d1679

Interestingly they also did one a year earlier (2022), with a similar table: ht tps://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/uploaded-files/GD_PCWM_2022_03X-a772b964-4c04-4b10-946f-8633c567e674-f218e2ad-df48-4bec-98cc-32292fc03c68.pdf

And for something similar for 2021: htt ps://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/uploaded-files/pcwm%202021%20DOWNLOADS-b0a19a26-f5f9-4b8c-9863-baeef78120c9.pdf

The obvious thing to note before jumping anywhere is that these are past returns - and in 2023 the investment world seems to be in flux (although I wonder if I think that every month). Also what is not quite clear is if some of these returns are long term results or just a fluke - of if a portfolio manager has since moved on, etc.

 

[Robert NW]

Top 5 questions for a wealth manager

Let me first flag that we are asset managers, but since we don't want to do wealth management as well we often coach clients on how to choose one. The shortlist of questions below might help.

But before I go there, let me say that it is a simple matter to ask an asset manager to prove consistent performance better than peers for the last ten years, by requiring performance data to the respective PCI index. If the asset manager will not, then go on to the next one.
[You also might want to be convinced the PCI index is close enough to the efficient frontier less fees - i.e. the best performance the markets allow at the risk you set - to know you cannot expect to do better. So far it has been) see the 'asset risk consultants' web site.

Top 5 questions for a wealth manager
1. Do you ever benefit in terms of commissions or fees from selling or arranging mass market financial products? [If yes exclude]
2. What is your methodology for calculating my best decisions? [If this is not based on verifiable tried and tested research, discard. Most will fail here.]
3. I am not going to take an annual service from you. But I do want to have a checklist at the back of any report telling me what I need to do every year to keep on top of things. Can you show me a sample of yours?
4. Please give me a sample copy of whatever document you use to convey your advice [if there is no evidence of the answers given in (2) and (3) move on]
5. Most advisers will say they have a fidiuciary duty to act in what they think are the best interests of the client. But we both know that your plumber can have a fiduciary duty to advise on the best investment - in other words the fiduciry standard expected is bounded by what I think you should be good at. What are you not good at? [ for example, any good at tax planning family investment companies? trusts? cross border? iht? pension transfers? MTD? VAT? finance? )

Just to be clear, from a list of 100, you'll end up with 5 who will talk to you after they get the above, Most will not respond. Whittle it down to 3, then choose one based on ease of communication.

 

[fisicx]

Not sure if those are good questions because I’m unlikely to ever need a wealth manager. Mainly because I have no wealth.