An IFA has some qualifications which mean he is permitted to "give" financial "advice"
Some accountants may be similarly qualified, especially if they deal with the personal affairs of their clients, not just business accounts (many small businessmen like to use the same accountant for both).
My "quotes" are because most of them are on commission and make a living out of persuading their clients to invest in schemes that pay lots of commission. You might as well consult for advice a used-car salesman who calls himself an Independent Transport Advisor. He will never recommend you go by bus, as he makes his living out of selling cars. For this reason I believe you are better off going to a fee-charging advisor who undertakes to rebate any and all commission (initial and trail) to you. Then his advice will not be tainted by his greed for commission.
the "downside" is that he will give you a bill for his time.
the upside is that instead of paying e.g. £10,000 in commission over ten years, which you may not be conscious of, you might pay him £1,000 in a one-off charge instead.
Once you stop thinking that commission is "free" I think you will prefer the fee based approach.
BTW if an investment returns 3% p.a. real growth (after inflation) which is not unusual, a scheme which takes 5% off you in the first year and 1.5% p.a. thereafter will not be able to give you such good returns as a scheme that doesn't. Always find out all the charges and expenses of a scheme you are going into. All other things being equal, pick the one with the lowest charges. Be aware that, in the long run, most schemes perform less well than the index, so don't believe anyone who tells you that their high charges are to enable them to employ top quality fund managers who will outperform all the others. Most of the charges go to enrich the directors and shareholders. So if you are looking at equity investments (shares and most Unit Trusts) there is a lot to be said for putting most of it into a low-cost Tracker fund or general Investment Trust. But don't invest it all in one lump or you may be unlucky and buy when prices are on a spike just before they drop. Dribble it in with monthly installments over a year or so. Be sure to maximise your tax advantages by maximising your pension contributions (to a low-cost scheme) and cash ISA. And be sure to pay off all loans, credit cards and mortgages which are costing you more than the 5% p.a. net of tax that you will get from your Building Society cash deposits.
What sort of product are you thinking of buying? Pension? Life assurance? Savings & Investment?
