Choose Fully Regulated Financial Advisors to Help with Retirement Planning
When it’s time to take care of your retirement planning, then it’s time to choose fully regulated financial advisors to take care of you. The strength of your retirement planning will dictate the kind of life you’ll have when you can finally take a permanent break from work – so it makes sense to get the best possible advice to help you.
Why do they have to be fully regulated financial advisors?
By employing the services of fully regulated financial advisors, you’re pretty much guaranteed that the advice given will be specific to you and have your interests at heart. In a world where many people claim to be something that they’re not, you want to be sure, that when it comes to your money, you’re only getting the very best advice. If you end up using a financial advisor who isn’t independent and regulated, you could be led down a path that is ultimately more beneficial for them and the bank or building society that they’re associated with, than it is for you.
Unregulated advice can leave you in a position where you haven’t had all of your options clearly explained to you. So when seeking help with your retirement planning, you may find that your options are very limited and you end up choosing a product that isn’t really right for you, just because it seems to be the only decent one on offer. This can be particularly dangerous for expats or those planning to move abroad when they retire, as they may be presented with the option of a QROPS that doesn’t offer the best tax benefits, investment opportunities or other advantages that a better QROPS could provide.
Fully regulated financial advisors must behave in the way that the authorising agency has laid out to be best practice – regulation is there to protect you, the consumer, from having your trust and rights abused. Regulated advisors must adhere to an ethical code, which when broken, can cost them their careers and sometimes financial penalties too.
Who is responsible for regulation?
Across the European Union and worldwide, regulatory bodies exist in order to ensure good practice in the financial services industry – in the UK, this is the Financial Service Authority’s domain. If you’re an expat, or live somewhere outside of the UK, you should check who the relevant organisation is in your jurisdiction. This is the place to go if you want to check whether the advisor you’re thinking of using has been awarded regulated status. Wherever you live, one thing is clear, it is absolutely essential when seeking help with retirement planning or any other financial matter, that you only employ the services of fully regulated financial advisors to help you.
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