Are you tired of the hit-or-miss financial advice from traditional advisers? It's time to take control of your financial future with the right information and techniques.

Our platform offers a step-by-step guide to help you define your financial needs and develop a personalised plan to achieve your goals. We pride ourselves on empowering our clients to run their own finances, and we help demystify the financial services industry.

With our unique financial planning app, financial education library, unlimited email Q&A support, a subscription to "Which?" Money and the book "How to Fund the Life You Want," you'll have all the tools you need to manage your finances confidently. We're not personal financial advisers, but we aim to empower you with the resources and support to take charge of your financial future. Our generic financial planning services are especially useful for underserved communities that want to avoid people tapping into assets for fees.

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Watch this video, on why you should be wary of financial advisers who tap into your financial assets for fees.

We learned the hard way from personal experience!

Today, I wanted to share a personal experience that I had with an "asset-based fee" financial adviser. It left me feeling uneasy and I don't want you to fall into the same trap.

To be transparent, our company specialises in fixed-fee generic financial planning. We are generic, meaning we don't make investment decisions for you; instead, we support you in making your own investment decisions. However, I'm not here to promote our services over others. Instead, I want to bring attention to a potential risk that I think everyone should be aware of.

Financial advisers are for clients who wish to delegate decisions on which particular investments to buy or sell. We want to work with you to ensure you are self-directed, tech-savvy, and able to manage your own well-diversified, low-cost investments. In this respect, our clients compete with financial advisers, not us. We sell plans, not products.

I urge you to be aware of the pitfalls of asset-based fees and research direct-to-consumer investment platforms. "Which Money Magazine" is a great resource to help identify the best platforms for your needs.

At the end of the day, our goal is to help you make informed financial decisions. We want to be a trusted partner in your financial journey and hope to continue serving you well.

Here's the lesson.

Did you know that 9 out of 10 financial advisers take a fee based on a percentage of the financial assets they manage on your behalf? While this may seem like a convenient and straightforward option, it can create a transaction bias.

Transaction bias occurs when your best interests are not aligned with your adviser's recommendations. Unfortunately, some advisers may prioritise their own interests over yours, leading to potential financial losses.

For example, if you were to consider buying or selling an asset such as property, occupational pension schemes, businesses, savings, investments, or collectables, your asset-based fee adviser may only get paid when you buy their investment. As a result, they may be more likely to recommend their investment over other options, even if it's not the best fit for your financial goals.

Here's My Story:

Not since my cash-strapped university days have I been a victim of a commission-hungry salesman. On that occasion, an Endsleigh insurance salesman who advised me that I needed a savings plan to help me get through University, from grant cheque to grant cheque, then sold me a without-profits whole-of-life policy! It took me twelve months to figure it out… by then, I had to drop out of Uni due to my poor financial decisions. I returned to Manchester (my hometown) the following year and completed my degree with zero surrender value on my (now lapsed) policy, and this was pre-regulation, no redress.

That was a harsh reality check for me at the time. One that taught me to be wary of financial advisers and their fees from then on.

That was then; this is now. But indirectly, it happened again recently. And until we ban asset-based fees for financial advisers, it will keep happening.

Unfortunately, through the pandemic, I lost both of my parents to cancer. I see it a lot in parents of my boomer generation. My family is settling the estates, and it is a complex and challenging time for all of us. If it’s happening to you, too, you have my sympathy.

My mother’s estate requires that we sell her property. We listed it on the market at the weekend. There was much interest. We had viewings straight away. But here is an email I received from the estate agent yesterday.

“Good Afternoon, All, 

To follow up on my conversation earlier today, I'd like to let everyone know about the current asking price offer we received from a keen viewer over the weekend. 

The viewer owns property in Sale and is looking to downsize to an Apartment in Altrincham and is very interested in the property. At the point of my initial conversation with her on Saturday afternoon, she made an asking price offer of £425,000 to be paid entirely with cash. However, as discussed with you, she didn’t provide any proof of funds and informed me that she would speak with her financial adviser today to acquire proof of funds for our reference to verify her offer.

It has since transpired today that after speaking with her financial adviser, he advised against her cashing in her investments in the current climate as they are not performing well. Therefore, she cannot purchase cash and needs to sell her family home in Sale…”

Now. Is there an adviser in the land who doesn’t understand that crystal balls are unreliable when making financial recommendations? Statistically speaking and supported by data, it is next to impossible to outperform the market consistently through active stock picking and market timing. The longer an individual participates in trying to outfox the market, the less likely he is to succeed in his dreams of outperforming the market.

What do you think? Did this adviser have the keys to investment success? Or was his recommendation influenced by a potential loss of £4,250 per annum in ongoing adviser charges?

Personally, I think the latter, and I find it despicable. Sad, but I have to say it, financial advisers can’t be trusted to deliver good customer outcomes while such incentives remain. That’s why AUM-based fees should play no part in the future of the financial advice industry.

The industry might today be regulated, but what true protection do consumers have against unscrupulous advisers while these remuneration structures remain?

At Generic Financial Planner, we are committed to providing the right support for you to take care of your own finances without paying asset-based fees to financial intermediaries. Our goal is to empower you to be your own financial adviser, and be available to support you as planners in times of stress or change.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We're always here to help.