Once you have identified your goals, it is time to find out how to best go about achieving those goals. The financial services industry is a complex business, and there are few of us who could be expected to navigate its murky waters without help.
Perhaps the most important decision you can make when considering buying any financial product or service is the decision on the kind of advice you will seek out.
This is an area where some care is required. As complex as the financial services industry is, so too are the relationships of those who work within it, and you must be sure you understand the relationship between the person giving you advice and the product they are advising you on.
Always remember that the primary purpose of such advice is to help identify what your needs are, not to encourage you to purchase specific products. It may be that the best advice is to do nothing. Sometimes, an advisor will appear to go to a great deal of trouble on your behalf, in the hopes of encouraging you to feel obliged to stick with them - always remember you can say NO.
The rights you are entitled to in receiving advice vary according to the type of product. Check with the appropriate independent authority (as defined in various places in this guide, and in the Useful Information section) as to what your rights are with regard to a given product.
If you choose to buy a product without seeking advice, your rights are often less than they might be otherwise. In some cases, the attitude is 'you didn't seek advice, so it's your own fault'. While it may be appropriate in some cases to go it alone, getting good advice is always worth the investment.
What may seem like advice may not be - do not mistake information for advice! If you buy from a direct mail shot, through a website or from a 'direct' company, you may be considered to have not taken advice, as far as your rights go. Marketing material is not objective and impartial - an obvious point, but worth restating.
Broadly, the kind of advice you can get falls into two categories: independent and tied. Both have their advantages and potential pitfalls.
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