Financial Advisors...Again.

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katy
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Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby katy » Sun Aug 04, 2019 1:43 pm

More expats have lost money through a Financial Co. in based in Denia.

This is from a post I made in 2014


There was an article in the Times yesterday. It said scammers are gearing up to part you from your cash, be on your guard. Other advice they gave that if someone claims they can help you take money from their pension pot before the age of 55 it is almost certainly a scam and not to deal with anyone who is not registered with the Financial Conduct Authority for pension transfers. Also covered the Qrops disasters. Majority were sold out of Spain from operators not licensed to do so (no suprise there!) claimed that one called Stephen Ward of Premier Pensions Solutions is still selling schemes although he denies this.The QROP s was covered in depth. I haven't posted the link as it needs a subscription.

What happened in the case of these QROPS is that eg. Out of a 100,000 pension pot the Scheme sellers took Around 10% (what :eh: ) to set up. 50% remaining half was put sometimes in dodgy, some now worthless investments such as timeshare/land etc. in other words, the Bottom line is pensioners have to pay back 55% on the whole sum which means they have lost the lot..and more :thumb down:


Another pension investment Company mentioned today alongside the one above again.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/pensi ... -scam.html

maureenscot
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby maureenscot » Sun Aug 04, 2019 11:14 pm

Words fail me

Manchesteral
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Manchesteral » Mon Aug 05, 2019 12:50 pm

I wouldn't pi55 on a so called financial advisor if I saw one on fire, Lets not forget these so called advisors first priority is to take a commission whether the investor makes a profit or not, the only people you can trust to give secure financial advice are located in old school Swiss banks !!

Beachcomber
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Beachcomber » Mon Aug 05, 2019 12:57 pm

I set up my own pension fund many years ago and do not have a financial advisor. The pension company is OK with this but every year when I get my annual status report it is accompanied by a message to the effect that I can find a financial advisor on www.blahblah and every year I have to resist the temptation to reply 'You must be bloody joking!'

Benal Pirate
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Benal Pirate » Mon Aug 05, 2019 2:39 pm

In the UK with the relatively new pension freedoms there are certain pension transactions you can't do without a financial advisor - and using one which is regulated will prevent this type of scam.

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spanish_lad
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby spanish_lad » Mon Aug 05, 2019 3:29 pm

I have my own pension plan that I started in 2014, its with my bank, and to be fair, it seems like a savings account? I put €40 a month into it on a direct debit, and I´ve got €2,500 saved up already. not alot, but it´ll be a nice bonus of around €16k when I reach 60 years old.

I think I will call into the bank and double it. or even make it a round € 100. That would give me a nice €33k to play with when I finally get there.

of course thats on top of my state pension.
Alhaurin el Grande since 99, working at the airport since 2011.

Beachcomber
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Beachcomber » Mon Aug 05, 2019 3:34 pm

Benal Pirate wrote:...using one which is regulated will prevent this type of scam.
That's what British Steel pension scheme members thought.

anyroads
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby anyroads » Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:04 pm

spanish_lad wrote: of course thats on top of my state pension.
Assuming of course that the state pension will be still around.

We live in interesting times.

anyroads

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spanish_lad
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby spanish_lad » Mon Aug 05, 2019 9:42 pm

very true, but by that time i would hopefully qualify for a spanish one :thumbup:
Alhaurin el Grande since 99, working at the airport since 2011.

Benal Pirate
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Benal Pirate » Mon Aug 05, 2019 11:01 pm

Fair point Beachcomber.... of course these were also badly let down by British Steel and many have or will get compo unlike the pensioners from the article in the original post

elusive
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby elusive » Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:41 am

Add in equitable life and heck knows how many others.

Beachcomber
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Beachcomber » Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:15 pm

I believe that if someone is trying to tell you what to do with your money whether it a financial advisor, bank, lawyer, accountant or insurance company, etc it is going to be primarily to their own advantage rather than yours.

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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Manchesteral » Tue Aug 06, 2019 2:46 pm

Absolutely correct !!

Benal Pirate
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Benal Pirate » Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:03 pm

It's sad to hear when people are scammed, defrauded or have their money mis-managed, and especially so when relating to pensions when it's too late for them to take corrective action. We only hear the bad news in the press, not about pensioners spending months in the Caribbean and Med after getting good financial and pension advice. Btw I still call my pension my "Maxwell money"!

Pamela1
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Pamela1 » Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:11 pm

Absolutely correct Benal Pirate, there are many who benefit after taking financial advice, one being my mother, she trebled her money.

katy
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby katy » Tue Aug 06, 2019 10:06 pm

Like lambs to the slaughter. How does one know if the financial advisor is honest without doing checks. The one I posted about from the Times in 2014 was still operating in Spain in 2017 so obviously many hadn't done any research as the info' was available. Friends recommendations may not be sound either as they may be being scammed and not aware.

Some years ago we were out with friends in Marbella when one guy said he had heard of this excellent advisor. A neighbour of his was about to invest a large amount through him and he had asked him to call round to see him after his appointment. I knew people were already complaining about this Advisor and told him to look it up on the web. Called me the next morning to thank me as he was amazed what he had read but why did they not think of doing it anyway?

Pamela1
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Pamela1 » Tue Aug 06, 2019 11:30 pm

Yes, anyone who is trusting someone else with their money should always do checks and never just rely on word of mouth from another person.
Scammers are in abundance and their sales pitch is well rehearsed, the old saying goes if it sounds too good to be true etc..

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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby Paddy Pumpkin » Sat Aug 10, 2019 4:15 pm

I find that people are not willing to pay for advice they want it for free. Hence the only way the adviser can make money is through commission....which leads them to give the wrong advice. Until people view financial advice in the same way they would a doctor and pay for their service then nothing will change.

I have a financial background so understand the underlying subject. I have seen a multitude (guess 15) financial advisors over the years. Only one I would trust, he arrived at the same conclusion as me. There was nothing he could do for me.

I also note how the rhetoric changes depending on which country I was living in. In Spain they have all focused on lowering my tax bill where as when I lived in low tax countries it was never mentioned. The truth is Spain is not a very high income taxing country but because it can be difficult to figure out what your tax bill can be I have found every adviser here has overstated my tax bill and then try to sell me a service to cut it. The stand out winner be a guy who wanted to charge me 2.7 times what he was telling me he could save me. Actually it was more then 10 times my real tax bill as he had overstated my tax liability by about 400%.

Above all the exam system to be registered and regulated is a joke. Tons and and tons of irrelevant information that these guys study. I took the exams in the UK many years ago. I spent time learning about share settlement times and stock exchange trading hours, none of which were in anyway relevant to my job but if I wanted my FSA registration to deal in products completely unrelated to the stock exchange.

These exams in noway prepare the adviser to do their job and are just a box ticking exercise for the regulators to say we are being watchful and regulating.

anyroads
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby anyroads » Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:05 pm

Yes, avoid financial advisors like the plague.

However, I had an email this week from a "bishop" in Nigeria who had $4.3 million to give away.

It was only to nice, charitable, Christians, who would do good with the money.

Amazed he found me !!

anyroads

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patricia
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Re: Financial Advisors...Again.

Postby patricia » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:52 pm

Hehehe :mrgreen: He obvioulsy missed me out. So please send him my email address and I will send him my bank details so he can share it with another charitable christian like yourself! :lol:
Torrox Costa "El mejor clima de Europa"


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