what is a financial broker

What is a Financial Broker?
An expert in financial matters, a Financial Broker provides services including: personal financial planning, life cover, serious illness cover, income insurance, health insurance, savings, investments, pensions, retirement planning, tax and inheritance planning, mortgages and commercial finance.

What can I expect from a Financial Broker?
A Financial Broker will take time to get to know you and your financial goals and help you come up with a plan. They will research products that match your needs from the range of companies they deal with, providing a "fair analysis" of the relevant market.

How much will it cost to engage a Financial Broker?
When a Financial Broker is paid by commission, there is generally no extra charge compared to dealing directly with the provider.

How expert are Financial Brokers?
Financial Brokers are obliged to have a qualification or be accredited by experience. They are full time professionals, who constantly study all relevant markets and receive regular briefings from various product providers.

How can I be sure my Financial Broker will put my interests first?
A Financial Broker's best customers are repeat, so it is in their interest to put your needs first. By law they must put your interests above commissions in their recommendations. Brokers are subject to rigorous enforcement rules by the Central Bank of Ireland and may face fines, revocation or disqualification if they do not follow those rules.

How secure am I when dealing with Financial Brokers?
Financial Brokers offer an advisory service and will never ask for monies to be made payable to them. Instead you pay the insurer or product provider in full, or by direct debit directly to these institutions. This means there is no solvency risk in dealing with Financial Brokers.

What are the benefits of dealing with a Financial Broker?

Solid financial plans and strategy:
Your Financial Broker will analyse your resources and develop a strategy to minimise your risks and get the most out of your money over time.

Matching strategy with your risk tolerance:
Your attitude to risk is critical when making forward-looking financial decisions. Your Financial Broker will work with you to assess your risk tolerance and create a suitable plan with that in mind.

Making the best choice for you:
Everyone is different. Your age and stage in life, your current circumstances and your future plans will all effect what will work best for you. Your Financial Broker is experienced in creating customised plans for each individual.

Finding the right price for you:
Your Financial Broker operates on a fair comparison basis. When there are multiple products that match your requirements they will find the lowest cost option on the market.

Charges can be complex and may include policy fees, allocation rates, bid offer spreads and fund management charges. The role of your Financial Broker is to assess this information and explain it to you in simple terms.

Assessing investment performance:
Future performance is not something that can be accurately predicted, and there are many factors that can affect investment results. Your Financial Broker will advise you in developing a well researched and structured investment that is compatible with your risk tolerance and is designed to achieve your goals.

Guiding you through product features:
Financial products such as life assurance, serious illness cover, investment bonds and pensions can be complicated. Your Financial Broker will guide you through the maze of technical features, highlighting relevant issues.

High level of personal service:
With a Financial Broker, you can expect a high level of personal service that may not be available from a large organisation. A Financial Broker's aim is to directly serve your interests over a long term as a client rather than a once-off customer.

Arranging the policy and implementing the plans:
There can often be considerable amounts of paperwork involved in implementing financial products. Your Financial Broker will be familiar with this and ensure your policies and investments are set up correctly.

Providing long-term guidance:
Research * shows that people with long-term financial advisers typically have higher savings and assets than those who do it themselves, irrespective of income, starting net assets and other factors. A Financial Broker is the perfect fit for such a long-term adviser and can help you to stay on course with your financial planning through all of life's (and the market's) ups and downs.
* KPMG Econtech report – Value Proposition of Financial Advisory Networks October 2009