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Investors Planning Associates Ltd |
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
 Investors Planning Associates Ltd was founded over 30 years ago. Our Head Office is based in Rickmansworth, with nearly 30 sales offices around the country, some maintained by the Company, others being maintained by individual Associates.
The majority of our Associates and staff have been with the Company for over 10 years and some of the founding fathers remain with us today. IPA is a private limited company and our shares are owned by the Associates and staff.
The Financial Services Mystery
At all stages of our adult lives, we have to think about our financial situation.
When we are young, financially independent but living at home, our priority is short term saving for a deposit for a car &/or our first home.
We find a partner and want a mortgage. We need to protect ourselves financially should one of us die early or suffer long term illness. We may consider pension planning.
As parents, our priorities change again. We need to protect our children in case of illness or premature death. We may need to save for schooling and further education. At the back of our minds, we know that we need to build up our personal pension funds, particularly if we want to retire early. On the other hand, we may run our own business and be required to make pension and life cover provisions for our employees. We may well need to save for a rainy day such as redundancy.
When our children leave home or become financially independent, we start to think seriously about putting enough away for retirement. We become concerned with protection of our health both before and after retirement. We may now have accumulated or inherited savings and want to invest for growth.
We reach retirement and income becomes a priority. Protection of our assets and inheritance tax advice become of concern. Time passes and we have to consider our health and long term care provisions.
The financial issues that confront us in our lives are, at best, complex and for some, even overwhelming. We have all grown up with the concept of a welfare state that will look after us in sickness and old age. Increasingly, we are having to realise that this is not going to be the future for the majority of us. We know that we need help, but where from? Scores of insurance and investment groups try to attract your custom in a myriad of ways.
Go into your bank, go online, open your newspaper, switch on your television or radio – you will be assailed by someone encouraging you to purchase some sort of financial product.
With this kind of overload, it is not hard to understand why people are confused or maybe even apathetic about finding a reliable source of financial advice.
Why Seek Independent Financial Advice?
There is no simple answer to the financial services mystery – one size does not fit all.
We all have different circumstances and the issues we face alter as those circumstances change.
You may choose to manage your own affairs, but this will require a considerable amount of time in research and analysis and will have to be an ongoing project for you.
You may just ask your bank – or more often, your bank will ask you when you simply wanted to pay a cheque in. However, their representative is likely to be only able to offer you a limited range of products or companies.
Since the Financial Services Act 1986 (& now under the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000) independent financial advisers are required to give you advice on a range of products chosen from all of the possible providers having gained an in depth understanding of your own personal financial situation.
Money security:
Ensuring a secure financial future for yourself and your family is not something that can be left to chance. Proper planning is essential, as are regular reviews. This section will introduce many different areas of finances: from savings to investments, from personal loans to writing a Will.
Although the Internet can be an amazing source of information, it can sometimes be difficult to find the correct web site to meet your specific needs. Many sites that claim to offer the consumer 'impartial' advice have the simple objective of trying to sell you a product. Our site and our services are different.
This section has been designed to provide you with a broad spread of financial information. It allows you to compare different products and, where suitable, to request further information online.
As Independent Financial Advisers, we are subject to firm financial regulations, which require us to match your needs to the products we arrange for you. This means that many of your needs cannot be fully satisfied by using only the content of this web site. We are always happy to meet with you to discuss your needs. We are equally happy to discuss with you any aspect of this web site that you may not understand.
Paying for Our Financial Planning Service
We offer a free initial consultation without any obligation.
There are then two ways of paying for the financial planning service you receive from our Associate, either by commission or by fees
Commission is the most common and popular way to pay for financial planning. When a policy is sold the Company will receive commission paid by the product provider.
For policies into which you are paying regular premiums, the commission will normally be a percentage of the first year’s premiums plus a small service charge each year. For lump sum investments, the commission will be a percentage of the investment and there is sometimes a yearly charge based on the fund value.
However, it is important to realise that this commission is included in the total charges of the policy as outlined in the illustration. It is paid to us by the provider out of their charges. It is not an extra cost to you.
Some people prefer to pay a fee for our financial planning service and have the commission element reinvested into their policy. In these circumstances, a fee paying arrangement will be agreed with you and our service will normally be provided on the basis of an hourly rate for all work undertaken, in the same way as your accountant or solicitor charges you.
This fee will be in addition to your premiums or investment.
Our Procedures
Before making a recommendation, your Associate will ask you to complete a Client Financial Information Form. This will help to establish and record your circumstances and needs at that point in time. It will help your Associate understand your long term aims and your attitude towards risk.
Your Associate will then research companies whose products could meet your needs.
They will then advise on the most suitable course of action with the relevant product/s and make their recommendations.
You will receive an illustration from your Associate following their recommendation before you make a final decision. This illustration will include the overall charges of the plan, all relevant terms and conditions of the plan and the commission to be paid to our Company (if applicable).
Specialist advice
In a similar way as the medical profession, there are differences between the manner in which our Associates operate. Most can be viewed as general practitioners, whilst some choose to specialise on certain areas of advice.
Listed below are the areas of specialist advice that each Associate provides and details of how to contact them.
Contact :
Head Office Address
Cardinal Point
Park Road
Rickmansworth
Herts
WD3 1RE
For details : Investors Planning Associates Ltd |
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