If you are even toying with the idea of getting professional financial advice then take a moment to look at the results of a study conducted by the International Longevity Centre which has quantified the value of seeking financial advice.
The report was based on two groups of people, an affluent group and a group who were termed as ‘getting by’. The analysis showed that those who received professional advice between 2001 and 2006 experienced a boost to pensions and assets of £47,706 in 2014/2016.
But if you are still on the fence and thinking that this boost to finances was mainly for the affluent group, read on. Because whilst the affluent group did experience an 11% increase to their pension pot as a result of the advice they received, the group that were classified as ‘getting by’ saw a massive 24% increase to their pension pot as a result of the advice they received.
This would indicate that the benefits of receiving advice are greater for those in the ‘getting by’ category. Not only this, but establishing a long term, ongoing relationship with your advisor finance has been shown to lead to better outcomes. In fact the people who sought advice at both time points during the analysis had almost 50% higher average pension wealth than those who only sought advice at the start of the analysis.
It is also prudent to note that the time frame over which the analysis was conducted included the crash of 2008-09 which had a significant impact on investment returns
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Services on Offer by IFAs in Birmingham
- You are getting close to retirement age
- You have got a significant increase in earnings
- You have received an inheritance
- You are going through a divorce
- You sell a business, property, or have another significant event
- You want to consolidate your finances and take better control
- You are preparing to pass on some of your money to loved ones
- You are recently widowed
Top 10 Independent Financial Advisors in Birmingham
| Rank | Advisor | Description | Find An Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Abacus is a leading firm of independent financial advisers currently managing over 1 billion in client funds. | Find An Advisor |
| 2 |  |
At Professional Capital their main mission is to grow your wealth to meet your goals. | Find An Advisor |
| 3 |  |
MPA have been ranked in the top 100 Adviser firms in the UK by Citywire for the last three years, a testament to their independent and completely dedicated service. | Find An Advisor |
| 4 |  |
Keely & Co was founded in 1928 with the aim to deliver quality advice that rests on high ethical principles using technical expertise and high levels of customer service. | Find An Advisor |
| 5 |  |
At Beckford James they invest heavily in the technical and professional development of their staff to ensure their clients are getting the very best advice the market has to offer. | Find An Advisor |
| 6 |  |
At Whateley they understand that your plan needs to be as unique as you are if you are to achieve a secure future. | Find An Advisor |
| 7 |  |
Mazars enjoy the prestigious accolade of being recognised as one of the top five firms in the UK for Financial Planning by the FT Adviser. | Find An Advisor |
| 8 |  |
At Central Wealth Planning they will only take on a limited number of clients so they can ensure that each individual client is receiving a completely personal and bespoke service. | Find An Advisor |
| 9 |  |
At Southcote they put their valued clients at the heart of everything they do, building bespoke plans in order to add real value to their clients finances. | Find An Advisor |
| 10 |  |
Clear Solutions are a multi-award winning financial advisory firm who only work with a limited number of clients in order to deliver a truly personal, bespoke service. | Find An Advisor |
Help Identify Your Financial Aspirations
In order to put a successful plan in place you need to know what you are planning for and the exact figure you will need to achieve this. A financial advisor Birmingham will have the training and experience necessary to help you pinpoint your objectives which then form the foundations of your plan.
Review and Analysis
Putting together a successful portfolio requires time and expertise. A finance adviser Birmingham will constantly review and analyse your investments, taking stock of changes in your circumstances, as well as changes in legislation, to ensure your portfolio continues to experience peak performance.
Personal Recommendations
Obtaining a recommendation from a friend or family member can be one of the best ways to guarantee that you will get a good service from a financial adviser Newcastle. Other people’s positive experiences can speak volumes for the level of service and success you can expect. Another avenue is to ask for references from their existing clientele although this can be less convincing as the adviser can choose who you speak to themselves and will therefore avoid putting you in contact with any customers who have had a negative experience.
Tax Efficiency
Making your finances as tax efficient as possible can save you thousands of pounds in unnecessary tax liability. This is a highly complex area of planning and requires up to date training as well as in depth knowledge of the taxation system and any changes in legislation, as well as efficient tax mitigation strategies.
Product Knowledge
With the vast number of products and services available, an independent financial adviser Birmingham can help you secure the best possible products for your situation with constant reviews and research of the entire market.
Here is our round-up of IFAs in Birmingham
Abacus Associates Financial Services
Address:
CIBA Building, Birmingham, West Midlands, B16 9NX
Find and Advisor
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Abacus is a leading firm of independent financial advisers currently managing over 1 billion in client funds. They currently manage a diverse range of clients for whom they provide a completely independent, bespoke service in order to best meet their requirements.
At Abacus it is important that the lifetime relationships they build are based on a foundation of respect and trust and therefore they take the time to ensure that all the advice you receive is fully transparent and presented to you in a way that is easy to understand.
At Abacus they strive to deliver a plan that can protect you should the worst happen whilst simultaneously growing your wealth in order to achieve your goals and aspirations.
Financial Planning
Life is full of unexpected bumps in the road, however, with some careful planning you can ensure that you and your family are provided for regardless of what life throws at you. The independent financial advisers at Abacus can help manage your finances in a way that can help you achieve your goals in both the short term and long term with a balanced plan.
Investment Planning
At Abacus they help develop a budget plan for investing, using information such as your income versus expenditure, to identify surplus or deficit, so together you can ascertain how much you have to invest. Their investment strategy will then be to help you grow your wealth, whilst making adequate provision for unexpected events. At Abacus, this tailored solution alongside their constant review and analysis is the most direct way to make your money work as hard for you as possible.
Homes and Property
At Abacus they understand that having your home secured for as long as you need it to be, is all part of your security and wellbeing. Whether you are buying or renting, they will factor this into your plan to ensure your home is safeguarded against any unexpected events. When you are buying a home, they can work with you to assess your current finances, so you stay within a range of what you can afford as well as identify the best possible mortgage products available from across the marketplace for your unique circumstances.
At Professional Capital their main mission is to grow your wealth to meet your goals. They do this by assessing and quantifying what your aspirations are and then carefully coordinating your data to meet your needs and expose areas of opportunity. Their constant review and evaluation process can help identify alternative applications in order to best increase and protect your wealth. At Professional Capital they form long lasting relationships, built on the back of trust and understanding and resulting in the achievement of lifetime goals with clear, creative solutions.
Retirement Planning
The average retirement has changed dramatically in the face of longer lifespans and ever changing financial environments. Professional Capital have worked through the challenges this presents to planning for your retirement with projections and complete retirement plan analysis to ensure you can live out your years in comfort. This comprehensive service will ensure you are tax efficient on all your assets and take inflation into account to give you realistic income goals upon which to establish the rate of return you require from your investments.
Once you retire the service you received continues to support your income with risk assessed opportunities from investments to increase your income and maintain your level of comfort whilst balancing saving and spending.
Investment Planning
As an independent firm, Professional Capital have no limits on the investment funds they can utilise in order to establish the best possible portfolio for you. They will constantly assess and adjust your portfolio in line with changes to capital markets and fund managers to ensure you continue to get the best possible returns. They strive to strike the perfect balance when dividing your money among equities, bonds, and other asset classes to ensure your asset allocation drives lucrative portfolio results.
Estate Planning
Protecting your home, savings and business are of utmost importance regardless of your stage in life. At Professional Capital they work with you to ensure all your affairs are in order and you have the correct measures in place in the following areas:
- Bloodline planning
- Business succession
- Care
- Powers of attorney
- Wills
MPA have been ranked in the top 100 Adviser firms in the UK by Citywire for the last three years, a testament to their independent and completely dedicated service. They strive to offer their clients the best possible standards in the profession with a team of advisers who are constantly striving to be as qualified as possible in all areas of advice. They build trusting relationships with their clients and use this as a foundation for a robust research process upon which they can achieve the best possible results.
MPA Wealth
At MPA they offer clients a first-class service backed up by years of experience, research, expertise and market insight. They work with you to create truly bespoke solutions to address your unique circumstances and source the best possible investment solutions to grow your wealth.
At MPA the objective is simply to help you achieve your goals. The highly qualified advisers will look to the whole of the market to identify the best investment opportunities including OEICs, unit trusts, investment trusts, UCISs, structured products, insurance funds, ETFs and trackers, VCTs and EISs. This is all expertly balanced in order to produce investment solutions that they believe to be superior to those offered by other independent advisers.
MPA Lite
Exclusive too MPA, this is for clients with existing pensions and investments of under £100,000. MPA Lite matches your attitude to risk with one of five portfolios, offering clients an excellent initiation with a portfolio that they can completely manage using advanced technology.
MPA Private Clients
For clients with an excess of £500,000 in investments, MPA offer their exclusive private clients service, complete with sophisticated tax planning and a full range of portfolios to suit their needs as well as completely bespoke portfolios.
MPA Mortgage
Regardless of your current situation, the advisers at MPA are on hand to assist you with all the burdens of moving, buying to let, re-evaluating your mortgage or coming to the end of a fixed term period. They can help you identify the mortgage value that is most suited to your situation and search the whole of the market to find the best product for your circumstances.
Keely & Co
Address:
6 St Pauls Terrace, Off Northwood St, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 1THFind an Advisor
Keely & Co was founded in 1928 with the aim to deliver quality advice that rests on high ethical principles using technical expertise and high levels of customer service. Their long standing position in the marketplace has enabled their skilled advisers to stay abreast of changes to legislation and tax for the benefit of their clients and they continue to offer exceptional service to clients and their descendants.
Life Planning
With the comprehensive life planning service offered at Keely, you can take stock of your current circumstances, and identify what you desire from your future in order to put an achievable plan in place to reach your goals. Knowing that all your finances are being professionally looked after and your cash is working hard towards achieving your ideal future is invaluable to clients and Keely follow a tried and tested, structured process in order to make this happen.
At Keely they work hard to get you to the point where you realise that you can lead your life by design and make your aspirations a reality.
Financial Modelling
At Keely they build an interactive model of your lifetime cash flow, including your assets, liabilities, income, bills, education funding and any other significant outputs utilising technological advancements in order to give you a tangible life plan. They can then provide financial coaching to help you achieve your life plan so ensure your long term security and help you manage your finances with confidence. They then back this up with continuing support where you need it to make sure you stay on track to financial success.
Wealth Management
At Keely they offer four risk-graded portfolios which they create with their extensive knowledge and experience and then continually monitor and assess to ensure they continue to perform as expected.
Retirement Planning
Keely employ a modern approach to planning for your retirement taking advantage of efficient and cost effective pension companies in order to offer clients a completely tailored service to best meet their needs.
Beckford James Chartered Financial Planners
Address:Cornwall House, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 1APFind an Advisor
At Beckford James they invest heavily in the technical and professional development of their staff to ensure their clients are getting the very best advice the market has to offer. They are not satisfied with advisers achieving the minimum qualifications so often employed by other firms, but expect their staff to obtain the higher chartered financial planner status.
At Beckford James, clients can be confident that they are getting the highest possible standard of advice that has their own interests at the heart of everything. The advisers are happy to translate financial jargon into plain English in order to provide a completely transparent service that clients can have confidence in.
Financial Planning
At Beckford James they understand that the key to security in your retirement lies in the planning. They work with you to identify your aspirations in order to provide a road map which leads exactly to where you want to be at the time you need to get there. They use advanced tools to demonstrate to you how key decisions can impact your future and map out all your income and expenditure along with assets and liabilities in order to provide a clear strategy so you can make informed decisions.
Pension and Retirement Planning
At Beckford James they understand that putting money into a pension pot and leaving it there simply isn’t enough. They will evaluate any existing pensions you have to ensure that you have the very best product for your situation and make detailed and expert recommendations based on your personal aspirations. This will be continually reviewed and updated in order to take into account changes in legislation and your own personal circumstances such as changes to your income, environment or personal goals.
Tax and Estate Planning
Legitimately mitigating your tax liability can save thousands in unnecessary tax payments. At Beckford James they can organise your assets in order to reduce the amount of tax your beneficiaries will face with a wide range of options including trusts, investing in assets, gifting and other strategies.
Whateley Wealth Management
Address:
3 Parsonage Drive, Birmingham, West Midlands, B30 2EPFind an Advisor
At Whateley they understand that your plan needs to be as unique as you are if you are to achieve a secure future. They create truly bespoke, unbiased solutions, balanced to your exact needs, and designed to build your prosperity. They produce complex plans that are presented to you in simple, easy to comprehend formats and then go on to support your plan with regular reviews to ensure your plan stays in line with your changing needs.
Pension Planning
The advisers at Whateley understand the importance of planning properly for your retirement and can offer clients expert service across a number of areas. Within the complex area of personal pensions they can help clients ascertain the best way to save into a pension plan, be it by regular installments, one-off investments, or a combination of the two. They can also help you navigate the complex area of tax considerations to ensure you are taking advantage of any tax reliefs available to you in order to mitigate your tax liability
Mortgages
With hundreds of mortgage products to choose from, the advisers at Whateley can use their extensive knowledge and experience to drill down and find the best mortgage to suit your individual requirements. Whether you require a buy to let mortgage, equity release, flexible mortgages, remortgages, self build mortgages, or are a first time buyer, their expertise can help you establish the best interest rate options to ensure your hard earned cash is properly protected.
Protection
With insurance costs falling and the level of cover rising, there has never been a better time to review any existing policies or even take out an appropriate level of cover should you currently be unprotected. The advisers at Whateley can help you manoeuvre your way around the different products available in order to ensure that you and your family have adequate protection against loss of income due to accident, illness or injury, critical illness, mortgage protection and whole of life assurance.
Investments
Successfully investing your money with the just the right level of risk is a highly complex area that requires both skill and experience. The advisers at Whateley can successfully guide you through asset-backed investments, deposit based investments, and ISAs to give you the best possible returns in order to achieve your goals and ambitions.
Mazars enjoy the prestigious accolade of being recognised as one of the top five firms in the UK for Financial Planning by the FT Adviser. Their highly qualified experts can help you identify exactly what it is you want from your future and then build a plan to get you there. They work with you, offering a completely bespoke service at a time and place that suits you so you can take full advantage of their award winning service.
Cash Flow Modelling
With proper cash flow modelling you can visualise and achieve your aspirations. The advisers at Mazars can walk you through your unique lifetime projected finances, built on the foundations of your current position, and taking into account adaptations to allow for life’s uncertainties, so you can get a clear picture of how decisions you take now, can affect where you will stand financially in the future.
Wealth Management
Mazars employ highly skilled in-house analysts who constantly study economic and market developments in order to ensure that you are completely protected when risks arise in the marketplace, and also so you are in a position to take advantage of any potential opportunities that arise. They build your portfolio in line with your aspirations in order to achieve optimal returns to help you achieve your goals, taking into account your appetite for risk.
Retirement Planning
Due to rising life expectancy, many of us can now expect to spend around 30 years in retirement, an amount of time that requires careful planning if we are to enjoy our retirement years in relative comfort. Changes in pensions legislation have provided pension holders with a greater scope of flexibility on how your pensions assets can be used. To really take advantage of this flexibility you are best served consulting with a professional who can guide you through the various complexities.
If you are one of the many people who have accumulated various pension pots throughout your career then a complete review could help consolidate your pensions and give you an insight into what is achievable for you both now and in the future.
Central Wealth Planning
Address:1 Dairy Barns, Nuthurst Grange Lane, Hockey Heath, Solihull, West Midlands, B94 5NL Find an Advisor
At Central Wealth Planning they will only take on a limited number of clients so they can ensure that each individual client is receiving a completely personal and bespoke service. As independent advisers they are able to offer advice and recommend products from across the entire market without bias to any one provider. They believe in building long term relationships with their clients so they can review and amend plans in accordance with changes to the market and to their clients circumstances in order to ensure that the plan they put in place meets all of their clients objectives.
Wealth Management
As part of their wealth management process, the advisers at Central Wealth offer a complete review of all your current finances as well as your attitude to risk in order to put a portfolio in place that can work towards achieving your goals. They offer complete reporting of all your options including any funds held and will implement and manage the options you choose.
Pensions and Retirement Planning
Whatever your stage in life it is crucial to take the appropriate steps to ensure that you have adequate provision for your retirement. A regular review of your pension arrangements can help you stay on top of changes to legislation and the marketplace and ensure you remain on track to the retirement you aspire to. Complete cash flow modeling can not only demonstrate how steps that you take now can dramatically affect your future, but also illustrate what input is required from your income. When taking advice from Central Wealth you will effectively be accessing expertise and experience in the following schemes:
- Annuity Purchase
- Impaired Life/Enhanced/Smoker Rate Annuities
- Investment Linked Annuities
- Pension Fund Withdrawal (Drawdown)
- Phased Retirement
- Pension Lump Sum Investment/Portfolio Planning
- ISA Investment
- Income Producing Investments
Family Protection
Protecting yourself against the unexpected can help provide a guarantee that you will achieve your goals, despite what life throws at you. Protection can also help ensure that your family are provided for in the event of your death. There are many different options to choose from but the advisers at Central Wealth can help guide you through the various options so you can be sure you have just the right level of cover for you and your family.
Southcote Financial Limited
Address:
30a The Green, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B38 8SD Find an Advisor
At Southcote they put their valued clients at the heart of everything they do, building bespoke plans in order to add real value to their clients finances. They aim to build long lasting relationships with their clients that facilitate the continued support of the comprehensive plans they have put in place in order to ensure that they continue to perform well. Clients are invited to attend an initial consultation completely free of charge whereby they will take the time to completely get to know your unique situation.
Mortgages
At Southcote they will assess the whole of the market, as well your current situation, in order to find the exact right mortgage for you. Regardless of your requirements, the specialist advisers can offer experience and guidance on the following products:
- First time buyers
- Purchasers/Home movers
- Remortgages
- Buy to Let
They also offer visitors to their website the opportunity to obtain a free initial mortgage quotation free from obligation.
Protection
At Southcote they take the appropriate steps to ensure that you and your family have adequate protection in the following critical areas:
- Mortgage protection to prevent your house being repossessed should you have a period where you are unable to keep up your payments due to illness or death.
- Family and lifestyle protection against critical illness, accident, unemployment and death.
- Life cover to ensure you and your family are provided for in the event of your death or terminal illness.
- Critical illness cover in order to receive a lump sum should you become critically ill with one of the illnesses included in your policy.
- Income protection should you become unable to work due to illness or accident.
Savings Management
Regardless of whether you are looking to build short or long term savings, the advisers at Southcote can review any savings you currently have in place to ensure that you are fully tax efficient and utilising all wrappers available in order to mitigate your tax liability. They also offer a comprehensive wealth management service using advanced risk profiling technology and back this up with ongoing reviews in order to identify any changes that are required along the way.
Clear Solutions Wealth and Tax Management
Address:
114 The Argent Centre, 60 Frederick Street, Birmingham, B1 3HSFind an Advisor
Clear Solutions are a multi-award winning financial advisory firm who only work with a limited number of clients in order to deliver a truly personal, bespoke service. They take the time to really listen to you, your concerns, your lifestyle, your business and your retirement goals and work with you to add real value to your situation in order to achieve your aspirations.
Financial Planning
If you are in a position whereby you are in any doubt as to whether you can manage your money more efficiently then it is almost certainly worth giving the advisers at Clear Solutions a call. They can help structure your finances in such a way as to generate a greater return on your savings and investments, reduce your tax liabilities and effectively manage your investments. Their core principles consist of:
- Create Wealth
- Protect Wealth
- Manage Wealth
- Preserve Wealth
- Retain Wealth
Wealth Management
At Clear Solutions no two clients are ever treated the same, and you can therefore be guaranteed that the investment strategy that they put in place for you will be completely tailored to your unique situation and goals. The expert advisers can guide you through the process to ensure you are invested in the right areas, in a controlled way which takes your attitude to risk into consideration, whilst also meeting your objectives.
Tax Planning
Effectively mitigating tax liability takes time, experience and expertise. At Clear Solutions they employ a specialist team of tax planning experts to effectively and legitimately reduce your tax so you get to keep as much of your hard earned money as possible. They stay one step ahead of all the latest procedures and regulations to ensure you are fully compliant at all times leaving you to focus on your business and family.
Retirement Planning
Helping you effectively plan for the retirement you aspire to is one of the core services offered by Clear Solutions. They can review and consolidate all your existing pension provisions in order to ensure that you have the best possible product for your retirement as well as guiding you through changes to legislations and pension benefits that may be applicable to your situation.
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Most common question Peter and the team get from investors in Birmingham
I see adverts for Financial Advisors Birmingham and Financial Planners in Birmingham, what is the difference?
A financial adviser has the primary ambition of helping you to manage your money including:
Investment management
Estate planning
Retirement planning
Insurance
Debt repayment
Tax planning
Financial planners however are one type of adviser who specialises in creating a plan to help companies and individuals achieve their long term financial goals and can include entities such as:
Retirement planning
Education funding planning
It is important to note that whilst a financial adviser will possess qualifications and credentials to help them achieve their purpose, just about anyone can call themselves a financial planner without possession of any qualifications.
If I choose a local IFA in Birmingham what is it they will do?
Some of the typical tasks undertaken by a financial adviser can include the following:
Recommend investments, select investments, and research investment opportunities.
Provide clients with tax advice.
Assist clients with insurance decisions and select the best products available.
Help clients prepare for specific circumstances such as education expenses or retirement.
Monitor client accounts and make appropriate changes to improve account performance.
How much should you pay a Birmingham financial adviser?
An hourly rate, which in the UK will average at around £150 an hour although you can expect to be charged anywhere from between £75 to £350.
A set fee. This can be the case should you wish to engage the skills of a financial adviser for a specific job.
A monthly fee is often agreed for ongoing financial advice such as managing investment portfolios. This can be done in one of two ways, either via a percentage of the amount of money you are investing with them or alternatively as a flat fee.
There are many elements that will affect the fees that you are charged for financial advice, including the level of qualifications that the adviser is in possession of, the location of the adviser, the complexity of your situation, and how the service is delivered.
Many financial advisors will offer a free consultation in order to discuss their expertise and the fees. This is a great way to establish whether they are the right service for your needs.
What is the difference between independent financial advisors in Birmingham and a financial adviser in Birmingham?
Conversely, independent financial advisers in Birmingham have access to the entire market and can therefore match the best product for your situation. An independent adviser in Birmingham has extensive knowledge of all monetary areas including investments, savings, insurance, pensions, tax and family estate management and should be authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in order to ensure ethical practice and advice in line with your best interests.
How do I choose an independent financial adviser in Birmingham?
Firstly, you should ascertain what your needs are so you don’t get drawn into paying for a full service that you don’t actually need. The most common areas of financial planning are usually advice for paying off debts, building savings, mortgage advice, pension schemes and employer protection benefits.
If you are facing a big decision that requires a fair bit of cash, then you could certainly benefit from the advice of a professional. Decide if you need one-off advice or if you would benefit from an ongoing service.
It is also prudent to determine if you would like face to face advice, in which case you will need to employ the support of a company with offices local to you in Birmingham. Face to face advice can help build a trusting relationship with your adviser should you require ongoing support.
Whilst an independent adviser in Birmingham may initially incur a greater cost for their expertise, they can offer you any products from across the market rather than being limited to expensive or poor performing products that benefit the adviser financially. Bear this in mind when you are deciding whether to employ an IFA or a restricted adviser.
The last thing to take into consideration are the fees charged. You may need to meet with a few advisors in Birmingham to discuss their payment structure and find an arrangement that suits you and your individual needs.
Always remember to check the company privacy policy before handing over information such as your phone number or email address and check the reviews of financial advisors you are considering. Leeds financial advisor reviews can give you an insight into the experiences of other clients both positive and negative. It is also prudent to check that any independent financial adviser you consider has been authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered in England and Wales.
How do I find a good IFA in Birmingham?
Alternatively, you can find details of trusted IFA’s in Birmingham using our reviews, alternatively you can speak directly to Peter and the team here who will help you for free
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