Where does one go for advice.

S

sprokit

Guest
If a complete novice to the world of large amounts of money suddenly becomes rich, where would that person go?
Pick an advisor who is accredited by the financial regulator and go with them?
How do you know you are getting someone you can trust?
 
I would say get a good authorised advisor or multi-agency intermediary based on recommendations from trusted third parties.
 
Well lucky you ! I think you would be wise to put it on a high interest deposit a/c a.s.a.p until you can (1) read some books which explain the nature of finance and investments (which some financial wizards on this site may recommend ) (2) when your satisfied you know and understand any investments advised to you ,you can then decide what amount of risk your willing to trade off against security of your lump sum. also read alot of this site and you may find alot of the questions you may have will already have been discussed here.
 
I assumed that it was an academic/hypothetical question. Maybe the original poster can clarify?
 
Congratulations. At least you are clever enough to seek an opinion in the first instance. Pick a Private Bank in the first instance - Bank of Ireland / AIB / Anglo / and Ulster Bank are about to start the RBS brand in this country names Coutts - the oldest private bank in the world. They ahve no contact details yet but if you want I know the person that is setting it up and will get their number for you.

The problem is that in many cases alot of products these Banks are offering are applicable to the Bank's profits. Hence it is their interest to get clients on board so to speak. For example the Anglo Private Bank offered me a Property Fund to invest in before Xmas in the Uk and Dublin, when at the time it was fairly obvious that the proeprty markets were going down. I left it thanks very much.

Be careful of persons working form financial instituions seling others products. In most cases they are on commission.

I went to a very large investment bank in London in 1993 and for many years when I questioned their investment policy they doubted me and advised that my queries were imaginary. Last year at a meeting I had enough Bull being offered to me I told them to sell up and I was off. Forget the current market problems, I am better off in the 18 months with Irish funds than if I was with them.

I must only assume that you interested in the Long term - make investment decisions on this basis and keep enough cash on hand in case of emergency. That is in mormal cases about three years spending money.
Also check your interest rates on deposits. It doesn't matter if a Bank tells you that a rate is the best rate it actually is. Shop around and check.

And finally find a decent large accountant - the right one is worth their weight in Gold.

Best of Luck to you.
 
Nope - Years. It all depends on the personal circumstances. However in many cases Investments are not able to be cashed in for long periods of time. What about family needs, property and home renovations etc. etc. If a person comes into a large amount of money, the last thing they should need is the undue hassle of their money tied up.
 
I would feel the opportunity cost of having three years money on deposit would be sizeable. I have always kept 2-3 months but suppose it is up to individual circumstances.
Property and home renovations are not really an issue as surely one could out perform the cost of finance/equity release via one's long term investments?
 
Surely if one has substantial funds, the last thing they would require is expensive short term loans. What about Holidays /New Cars etc. Most investments look at time frames of minimum of 5 years and normally up to 10 years.
 
I know of somebody living in the country who sold land for redevelopment for many millions and he got bad advice and was advised to put the bulk of it into a Pension Plan. This he did and now can't touch the money for approx another 20 years and now he is short of cash, but the sales man thought all his Christmases came at once.
 
Pick a tied agent? Great advice. Not.
 
The question is academic for me but not for close relatives of mine. They are risk averse and have no trusted third parties to turn to for advice.
Could you please tell me where i would search for an authorised adviser?
They have already put a large sum of money into a 6 year tracker bond. An even larger amount is sitting in a popular Irish bank earning 4.8%. I think it can be put to much better use.
 
The Authorised advisers are working on a commission as well. As we have all read 'Past Performance is not a Guide to the future etc', some cognisance has to be taken on board. For large deposits, the Bank of Scotland at Head Office on Stephens Green have the best rates. But long term money on deposit is the worst route. Putting large amounts into a Tracker is equally as bad. Have they gone to a Private Bank yet ?
 
There is a list of regulated financial advisors on [broken link removed].

However, they should simply approach their accountant and ask for wealth management advice. If they do not have an accountant already then the phonebook should provide someone local. Most advisors would offer a free consultation and if they do not like what is offered, walk away.
 
However, they should simply approach their accountant and ask for wealth management advice.
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accountants are too busy keeping revenue happy to devote time to wealth management and tax advice and when you really need them coming up to end of tax year they have not time to breathe never mind tax advice!
If they do not have an accountant already then the phonebook should provide someone local. Most advisors would offer a free consultation
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Using this rationale the guy with the flashiest ad in phonebook and is local is your man??
If someone had to advertise that they were giving me a free consult to get me in it would worry me somewhat. Would they be more likely to product push me for commissions to make up for the "free" consultation?
 
I should clarify
My whole point is to first seek advice from someone with whom they already have a trusting relationship, and failing that, they should seek someone knowledgable and local as he/she should be easier to vet if friends/neighbours etc have previous dealings.
I'm not sure where the flashy ads came into this but I would guess that if they do not find someone local, then their choice would be largely based on the flashy-ad-index-of-trustworthiness.
If advisor will not provide first meeting free, then they should pay €100 to €200 per hour. Not major point but was simply looking to minimise costs in case they need to meet several people before choosing one.
 
Anyone have experience with the private banks? Any good experiences? I am interested because the limited meetings I had turned me off. They were very quick to offer their own products for all investment amounts. I got the sense that they wanted to "close the deal" for all my funds ASAP all wrapped up in a neat bow.

Everyone you meet under these circumstances - working for a bank, broker or an independent adviser is on commission. The stock brokers are good if you want a huge amount of detail and a variety of products but they are also very good at charging for their services. The advantage of an independent adviser is that they have a wider range of products to offer than an individual insurance company or private bank. They Will get the same commission no matter what you buy. If they feel you will place the majority of funds through them they might be more relaxed. An independent adviser will probably spend more time considering your individual circumstances. The above is by far the most important aspect of advise. Others will go very quickly to try to sell you something. No matter who you talk to their primary role is sales and your role in all these circumstances is to work with them but ask tough questions and be skeptical.

Be very aware in every circumstance how much the people you talk to are charging. The typical commission for an investment product is 3% initially to the seller with an ongoing annual fee paid also. This is all generally negotiable when you have large sums - so do negotiate. 3% means that if you walk into a adviser with 1,000,000 he sees a 30k commission cheque opportunity. Ask the adviser if he can offer you a better rate for the product he is offering, if you don't ask you won't get. If you can work with an adviser on an hourly rates only then do. Make sure that he is listening to what you need for your future and gives you enough time to go through your concerns/issues. Don't pay hourly rates and full commission.

The first thing to do now is put the money on deposit - If you have a lot (> 800,000) don't look at the web or adverts for accounts - ring the banks head office ask for someone to discuss a large personal deposit with, tell them want you have and ask them for the best rate they can offer. They will give you a better rate or wave restrictions on some of their higher yielding accounts to try to get your funds.

Best of luck
 
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