Independent Vs. Restricted Financial Advisor
When choosing your financial advisor, you may want to consider whether an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) or a Restricted Financial Advisor would be better suited to your needs and objectives.
Restricted Advisors are limited in the type of products they can recommend, e.g. pensions only, and/or the number of providers they can choose from, usually determined by those available on a panel they are permitted to use. Consequently, this places limitations on the advice they can provide and could mean there are alternative options available to the client that may be more suitable, but are not within the Restricted Advisor’s remit and therefore they cannot recommend them.
Comparatively, IFAs can source products across the whole of the market without any ties or restrictions to any provider or product type. This means impartial and unbiased advice with a broader range of options and solutions available to choose from.
Conclusion
The suitability and quality of advice should not be affected regardless of whether your advisor is independent or restricted. However, it is important to understand the difference and note that with an unrestricted approach, a more appropriate solution may be identified. All financial advisors are obligated to disclose at outset whether the advice they offer is independent or restricted.
