Financial Adviser Vs Wealth Manager – Which One to Get When Retiring?

Whether you are at the start of your first job or at the height of your career, retirement planning should be among your priorities. At Innes Reid, many of our clients now are starting to plan for their retirement from as early as 18 years old – we can certainly provide them strong evidence that there’s a good chance their pension pot will be worth a healthy amount in 50 years from now!

If you are at a point in your life where things look great financially, it is easier to see how you can reap the rewards of your hard work. However, retiring comes with an abundance of concerns and decisions to make, all of which can be remedied through one particular service —professional financial advice.

You have two options: a financial advisor (IFA) or a wealth manager. But how do you decide which service to seek? Here are a few things to consider:

What are you looking for exactly?

Whether you’re looking for sustainable long-term assistance from a financial expert, a major one-time piece of advice, or a “holistic” financial plan, there’s always going to be a choice for every need. Often, most concerns that retirees have are related to a combination of investment management and financial planning.

Financial planning is a process that involves a deeper understanding of your needs and goals for creating a plan that can help you achieve them. On the other hand, investment management is a process that revolves around the goal of ensuring that money is invested and managed in the right places.

The combination of financial planning and investment management is the foundation for wealth management. Wealth management is often associated with claims of expertise, heritage, prestige, and results. Wealth managers do the work for you at a certain cost but generate results and convenience that you can benefit from in the long run.

Financial advisers, on the other hand, are for retirees who aim to have stricter control on their finances, with no other hands involved except for their own. In its own namesake, financial advising typically involves a process of asking a question, addressing a need, giving the necessary guidance, and providing professional input. If you feel like you’re more than capable and disciplined with handling your own money and investments but still need a bit of professional guidance, then it’s best to opt for a financial adviser.

What matters the most to you?

Most people’s concerns when seeking the services of a financial advisor or wealth manager can be tied to four elements:

• Independence
• Brand
• Service Value
• Cost

In addition to these elements, you’ll also need to take into account that satisfactory experiences and results come about with a professional’s personality and your compatibility with them.

Entrusting your wealth with someone that isn’t you is no menial task as it entails a greater sense of mutual trust.

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing between the services of a financial adviser or a wealth manager. It is best to do the necessary research while using this guide as a reference when forming your decisions. By knowing yourself, your needs, and goals, it will be much easier to make a choice between getting the services of a financial advisor or wealth manager for greater financial security.

 If you’re looking for a financial consultant to help you make the choice, we are proud to say that [as of September 2019] we have over 145 positive reviews with an average of 4.9/5 score.

Get in touch with Innes Reid and see how we can help, our team would be over the moon to hear from you.