When choosing a financial adviser, it is important to be conversant with the services you are entitled to as a prospective investor and whether the adviser will handle your money with utmost care. Whether you choose independent financial services and advice providers, whole market advisers, or even tied or multi-tied advisers, there are a few questions you will need to ask them to ascertain their credibility and their familiarity with the market products.

You will need to check how long the potential financial adviser has been in business. This will help you gauge their expertise in providing services to would- be investors. Based on their track-record, you should be able to measure financial advisers’ capabilities. Most independent financial services and advice providers, the multi-tied or tied advisers will have a client portfolio and will be willing put you in touch with their satisfied customers. You may also need to check their qualifications to see their relevance training and experience. The point of reference for qualifications in the financial advisers’ field is the Financial Planning Certificate, which includes of three modules, and a proficient financial adviser will hold all these. As you will be entrusting your money to these institutions, it is important to make sure that you have asked questions that will give you confidence in their performance background.

It is crucial to find out what charges are accrued while using a financial adviser’s service. Unlike the independent financial services and advice providers who take charge a fee for services offered on top of the commission they receive from the company whose products they offer, the Whole market financial advisers will only get the commission from the product owners. All these should be explained to you, the prospective client, before signing a contract of service with the financial institution.

It is important to confirm that the financial adviser you choose, be it an independent financial services and advice provider or tied advisers, you will be offered a person-to-person communication channel, to facilitate updates or questions that you might have in regards to your account.

If you have a lot of tied up debts in many different locations then you may want to consider asking about a loan that will pay off all these debts, you will then be left with a one off payment each month making it much easier for you to organise your funds. A good financial advisor will know which type of loan will suit you the best and where to get it from. However if you feel that paying a financial advisor is not necessary then you can search online for a loan with many companies competing to offer cheap interest rates. One of the most competitive interest rates we have found online is the aa personal loan who offer a typical APR of 8.3%.