Independent Financial Advice

Financial Advisers have to clearly state the type of service they are providing. This is important as you need to know how much of the market your financial adviser can advise on (and offer to you).     

 Independent advisers:

To be able to call themselves independent, advisers must:

• be able to offer advice on the full range of investment products, and from the full range of providers
• make a fair and comprehensive analysis of the relevant products available and recommend a suitable one for you in the light of your circumstances and needs
• be free from any influence that could stop them recommending the best product for you

Investment products include:

• unit trusts, OEICs and other types of managed fund
• investment linked life policies
• pensions
• annuities

If you’re looking for general advice about your financial situation, an independent adviser would probably be best for you as they will have access to the full range of products across the market.

Restricted advisers:

A restricted adviser is one who:

• only recommends certain types of investment product, and/or
• only recommends products from a limited number of providers.

In practice, this means they may:

• specialise in a particular type of product (for example, pensions or ethical investments), or
• cover a wider range of product types but only recommend products from a limited number of providers, or
• offer a limited number of product types from a limited number of providers or just one provider

Restricted firms must inform you of their restricted status and the nature of the restriction and cannot use the word ‘independent’ to describe the advice they offer.