# Anyone used InvestrCentre for Financial Advice



## Happy Girl (2 Jun 2011)

Has anybody used InvestrCentre for financial advice and if so how have you found them. Was considering contacting them for a basic financial overhaul and how to plan for retirement.


----------



## aristotle (2 Jun 2011)

I am a subscriber to their site and have attended a number of their evening info sessions with guest speeaker etc.

Based on their investment appraoches I have invested a good few € in shares\funds and am happy with the performance. I'd recommend them no problem.

Again, I haven't had any 1-to-1 advice from them but from my experience I would recommend them.


----------



## Happy Girl (3 Jun 2011)

Thanks aristotle. Even if people have not used InvestrCentre I would also welcome any recommendations for "independent" financial advisors which anybody may have.


----------



## pinkyBear (3 Jun 2011)

Hi there,

I can recommend Frank Lenny http://www.franklenny.com/ - about 4 years ago we were interested in buying an investment property when we got our SSIA money. And we were recommended to use him as our Mortgage Broker.. He advised us against buying the property as he felt while we had the deposit, as we had just bought our own place he was concerned for us if something happened!! He advised us to pay off some of the mortgage!!  

I then referred my mum to him, as she has a lump sump with which she draws a small pension from. He advised her to put the money in to a very safe fund - and after the banks collapsed - he phoned her to say that her funds were not affected and she was fine.... 

We have found him to be very good and would have no probs using his services again.....

Just to let you know I am just a happy customer....


----------



## Pauliwalnuts (3 Jun 2011)

The InvestR center is an Authorised Advisor meaning they are independant. You pay for their advice but in fairness as with most services you pay for what you get. They are not trying to push affiliated products on you or anything like that. Their approach is one of uncovering value for the investor.

If you read the front page of their website they outline the services they offer & forgive the cliche but it literally does what it says on the tin.

They offer a wonderful service which is unique in Ireland anyway as far as I am aware. 

Again I am a subscriber to their website & have not had the 1 X 1 advisory sessions.

Rory Gillen is the main man behind it & is a highly respected financial commentator in Ireland.

I would have no hesisation in recommending them.


----------



## Happy Girl (5 Jun 2011)

As I am reluctant to pay 399euro for independent investment advice without any personal recommendations from clients of this specific service perhaps getting membership might be another option. While it wont specifically tailor make investment advice for me it will offer alternatives other than deposit accounts which is mainly what I have my funds in. Any thoughts?


----------



## Happy Girl (5 Jun 2011)

Yorky said:


> I'm also looking for a financial overhaul. I can't see any details of the €399 financial advice service offered on their website. Can anyone provide a link?
> 
> Otherwise, is there any other fee-based Authorised Advisor that anyone can recommend? Preferably one that offers a national service.


 
Hi yorky. This is the link, Price of 399 at bottom of page.
http://www.investrcentre.com/investment_advice/


----------



## Jim2007 (5 Jun 2011)

Happy Girl said:


> As I am reluctant to pay 399euro for independent investment advice without any personal recommendations from clients of this specific service perhaps getting membership might be another option. While it wont specifically tailor make investment advice for me it will offer alternatives other than deposit accounts which is mainly what I have my funds in. Any thoughts?



I agree it is a lot of money to spend without some kind of recommendation... I've  no knowledge of this firm, but from their website their main focus seems to be as an investment advisor and from your first post it seems your expectations are wider than that, since retirement planning can extend to things like taxation etc.  so perhaps you need to do a bit more looking around.

Jim


----------



## Happy Girl (5 Jun 2011)

Thanks Jim. Their *Investment Advisory Service page* states

*One-to-one Investment Advice
*When you meet with an authorised investment advisor, the major areas he/she will cover with you include;
- Completing a thorough assessment of your financial circumstances.
- Assessing your risk tolerance profile.
- Advising on an appropriate asset allocation mix between non-risk assets (mainly cash deposits and government gilts) and risk assets including equities, property, government bonds, commodities and a range of alternative risk-asset types suitable to your financial circumstances and risk tolerance profile.
- Selecting investment products (funds) from the wide range of investment products available either domestically or internationally and/or a portfolio of direct share investments.
- Providing advice on how to set up a pension plan.

After an initial client meeting, ongoing advice is provided either through further one-on-one meetings, by email or by conference call.

I hear what you're saying re retirement planning. What we're looking for really is somebody to have a look at where we have our funds (mostly deposit accs in non Irish banks in the Republic) & Quinn Freeway Funds & see how we might make it work better for us. We have pension plans in place already but again just want someone to hv a look at them to see if we could be putting our contributions to work better for us. Neither of us are familiar with the stock exchange scene or have a great interest in learning about it so really wanted recommendations as to where we might put funds for 10-15yrs and get best return without having to scour business section of newspaper every day.


----------



## Happy Girl (5 Jun 2011)

Yorky said:


> Thanks. Has anyone used myadviser.ie? Their fee is €1000 according to [broken link removed]
> 
> What extra do they provide than investrcentre?


 
€1000


----------



## Dave Vanian (20 Jun 2011)

Black Rock said:


> *An Authorised Advisor* is obliged to recommend the most suitable investment product available in the market, regardless of whether or not it holds an appointment from the relevant product producer.
> 
> Authorised Advisors are regulated by the Central Bank / Financial Regulator and you can view their register at http://registers.financialregulator.ie/DownloadsPage.aspx.
> 
> ...


 
Within that register, a percentage are terrible at what they do.  A percentage are mediocre.  A percentage are good.  A percentage are excellent.  

Posting a link to a register is of no use to someone who is seeking a recommendation.  They might as well look up a phone book.


----------



## MyAdviser (21 Jun 2011)

*Advice Fees- Benefits - Finding an Adviser*

Hi Happy Girl, as far as I am concerned the key to getting any advice is transparency. You need to know what you are getting and at what cost.

A fee based advisers results can be measured in terms of euros saved as well as knowing the best way forward for your finances. An example of the value for money is say you have 200,000 to invest (pension or investments) then the normal commission can be between 6.5k for investments and 10k for pensions. It is possible for the commission to be higher including ongoing commission. Obviously paying 1k and getting solutions with much lower commission is better value than going with no fee and just commission. 

If you think a zero fee adviser is the best way forward then ask yourself how is this adviser being paid for their time? Fees do not ensure quality of advice but they do in my opinion allow the adviser to focus on advice rather than selling something. 

Obviously the example I have chosen is a large case and small amounts to invest can make a fee based approach look expensive compared to just commission. That said the points beloiw may help you find an honest broker who may be able to help and actually provide advice rather than a sales process. 

It is hard to select an adviser and personal recommendations is a good starting point. Ask them if they charge fees and or commission for advice and what typically do they charge to execute solutions. Do they analyse your financial health and present you with a plain English report on what you should do and why you should do it? Are they willing to show you a typical report? Are they willing to show you the providers they searched (Authorised Advisers have to show that they searched the whole market)? See how willing they are to talk about your costs and send you samples of typical solutions? 

Never believe that the provider/insurance company is paying the adviser, because it is more accurate that you are paying the bill and it is usually possible to add back commission so that you get better terms. That said when an adviser is transparent about the costs and you understand them then you have to make a judgement about whether their advice and service is worth that cost. Ask for a nil commission quote, which in most cases will show you what you get if you just paid fees i.e. no commission. This might make the fee you are being asked for look like great value for money. Be prepared to pay for quality advice and service - looking to cut costs at every turn can result in bad results which won't look like such a bargin.

There are probably many other things you should consider but I hope this helps. 

Michael Kiernan


----------



## Happy Girl (21 Jun 2011)

Michael,
Thank you so much for taking the time to put together the above post. It is very useful and informative and at least gives me a guide as to what I should be seeking in an independent financial advisor.


----------

