Dental regional manager for Wesleyan Financial Services, Simon Cosgrove, discusses the value of financial advice.
Stereotypes are common throughout society and financial advice is no exception – there are a number of stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding financial advice and its value. One of which may be an assumption that financial advice is primarily sought by wealthy individuals for large investments, and that advisers are typically trying to sell products to make a commission.
A good financial adviser, however, is there to educate and empower you to take control of your finances and your financial future. It is a relationship built on trust. During a review, your adviser will understand your circumstances, define your goals and then, after assessing your individual situation as a whole, put you in an informed position regarding your options and look at ways to make your income and capital work harder for you.
In 2017 the International Longevity Centre (ILC) commissioned a survey into the value of financial advice. The report quantified for the first time, the value of taking financial advice for people’s overall financial outcomes. In 2019 the ILC released its updated analysis of the original survey with What it’s worth – revisiting the value of financial advice. It found that on average, financial advice can make people £47,000 better off in pensions and financial assets when they retire.* It also suggested that fostering an ongoing relationship with a financial adviser leads to better financial outcomes.
A bespoke service
Specialist financial advice is tailored to fit your individual needs and requirements. Rather like a tailored suit, you could get one off the shelf but you may find that the fit is not quite right and that it needs adjusting.
Regular reviews with your dental specialist financial adviser can help you to make informed decisions, to ensure that you fully understand exactly what you have at any one time and that you have the right things in place for the right reasons.
To better illustrate the point, you may already have protection in place for your income or your mortgage, for example, but is it right for your needs? Does it cover what you think it does? Are the terms the best terms and does it start and end at the right point for your circumstances?
Specialist financial guidance essentially provides a sense check to say that this has been done in the best way it could have been done and that it’s reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it is still fit for purpose.
A duty of care
In the UK the act of offering financial advice is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). All advisers have to be approved by the FCA, whose job is to protect consumers from harm that could be caused by poor conduct in the financial services industry.
Taking financial advice from a specialist financial adviser with a duty of care offers certainty and clarity that the advice and guidance that you receive is appropriate to your plans, your risk level, your comfort factor and your personal ethics. This helps you to avoid expensive mistakes and to make good decisions with your money. There is also the additional reassurance, when using a regulated advisory service, that if a dispute should arise, complaints can be escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
What is the value of your time?
Dentists are generally busy people, after a long day caring for patients and ensuring administrative follow up tasks such as defensive note taking are up to date, any remaining free time may well already be allocated to spending time with friends and family, exercise or practising a hobby. Sound financial planning and management, however, takes time, careful thought and a considerable amount of effort. This is something else to take into consideration when weighing up the merits of the value of taking professional advice.
Why talk to the specialists?
An adviser can offer clarity and reassurance that whatever has been put into place, be it protection or investments, is the most appropriate course of action for your individual circumstances, your risk level, your objectives and your ethics. All aspects of your life are taken into consideration, including where different aspects may impact each other along the way, and what the most appropriate course of action is.
What we typically find as advisers, is that when we talk to dentists who have set up their own investment portfolio for example, is that they don’t necessarily have a full understanding of what they’ve invested in, the level of risk, where it’s invested and why it’s invested into those areas.
When seeking professional financial advice, you are essentially passing the responsibility to another person – someone with an overview who will help you to manage your finances and reach your goals on every step of life’s journey. This spans from the start of your career as a self-employed dentist, to buying your first home, buying a practice perhaps, and all the way through to retirement.
A challenging friend
The value of financial advice is having that challenging friend along the way. This will be someone who questions your decisions and puts you in an informed position at all times so that you understand exactly what you have, what it’s doing, why it’s doing it, whether it’s in the right places, and what could be done better, rather than leaving it to you – an extremely busy dentist – to hope that you’ve done it well enough and that you’ve made the right decisions at the right times.
Bear in mind that the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Wesleyan Financial Services is a broker and insurance products are provided by a number of selected insurers.
At Wesleyan Financial Services, a team of specialists focuses solely on dental professionals and their unique financial planning needs. They are there to back you on each stage of life’s journey, from graduation to post-retirement and every step in between.
*Receiving professional financial advice between 2001 and 2006 resulted in a total boost to wealth (in pensions and financial assets) of £47,706 in 2014/16.
If you are looking for support with financial planning, you can speak to a dental specialist financial adviser at Wesleyan Financial Services by booking a no-obligation financial review here or calling 0800 316 3784.
This article is sponsored by Wesleyan Financial Services.
