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Financial advisors, ****** & partners - good or bad?

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  1. #1

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    Aug 2008
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    Financial advisors, ****** & partners - good or bad?

    Hello

    I have been approached by a financial advisor for ****** re qrops pension schemes. On the Internet, they seem to have a lot of negative views..?


    Does anyone have any real experiences to share??

    Last edited by hk4; 05-08-2012 at 01:15 PM. Reason: Word change

  2. #2

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    As a basic rule of thumb, all "independent financial advisers" are a bunch of shysters. They're doing hard-sell commission-only sales to any sucker they can find. They will advise you to do whatever earns the greatest commission for them, and nothing else. A good way to lose a lot of friends in the expat community in HK is to give their contact details to one of these people. If they can't make money any other way they'll do it by selling your details on to other similar people.

    These people (generally) were the bane of my life My first 4-5 years in HK - in a moment of weakness I did actually sign up for some of their stuff and it cost me a substantial amount of money (a load of which the shysters involved got as their personal commission).

    And if the specific one you're referring to starts with a "D" they they are some of the most tenacious and annoying of them all. Avoid them at all costs. Once they have your phone number you may need to threaten legal action to stop them pestering you.

    And for QROPS, I've looked at it more than once, and it really doesn't seem to make sense - the fees which the people arranging it for you take will more than offset any likely benefits. And if the pension concerned is "defined benefits" then absolutely do not even think about extracting your money via QROPS - that would be utter madness.

    drumbrake, dear giant, pin and 3 others like this.

  3. #3

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    Ditto the above. Pretty much a similar story with me. Am exploring if I can pull out now (probably not). Am tied in for a long term commitment. Luckily the the monthly outlay isn't too too bad.


  4. #4

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    Why would you ever trust anyone who is on commission to give impartial financial advice? Stupid tax.

    bookblogger likes this.

  5. #5

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    Valid points on the above.
    But it isn't because any given person is independent or not. It is really going to boil down to the individual. The implications above are that anybody working in a corporate house will be more trustworthy than somebody who is working independently, or that said corporate house person won't screw you, or said corporate house doesn't have some sort of commission element (variable % based bonus is just as incentivising as commissions). Frankly, that just isn't true. There are a lot of crooks out there, period. A good adviser will look out for his interests, yes, but in so doing will look after your own (happier you = happier them). That is how it is with anybody, though.

    Frankly, you just have to find the right person or company that has a product that is suitable to your needs and that you feel personally comfortable with (and no, I'm not an FA. I'm a business development/market strategy guy).


  6. #6

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    Don't buy into something you don't understand just because someone 'trustworthy' advises you to.

    shri and Mat like this.

  7. #7

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    I've had recently HSBC provide a pension plan for me which I politely declined. I then reviewed the return which is mightily low compared to schemes I can get in Australia.


  8. #8

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    Ditto the above and if the FA starts with a "D" indeed they are hard to cut.

    They have called me numerous times (mobile, my office number, going thru my PA, the receptionnist....- and always declined to tell me how thye got my numbers) and it took me about a year to get rid of them. Bunch of #$%#%!!!

    bookblogger likes this.

  9. #9

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    "D" Seem to be growing rather rapidly, opening new offices in a different country every other week it seems.


  10. #10

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    OK, now I am really curious, who's this "D" company?

    P.s, in India, "D" company refers to this Dawood Ibrahim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia's organisation.


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