Independent Financial Advisors

By law, the staff at the PSPA cannot provide financial advice. Therefore if you are in any doubt about the pension or investment arrangement that will be the best one for you, you should seek Regulated financial advice. These firms are licensed and insured to give you advice and protect your consumer rights. 

The PSPA cannot refer you to a financial adviser but would encourage you to make sure you select the right adviser for your needs. Financial advisers will be either ‘whole of market' or ‘restricted'. A financial adviser who is 'whole of market' can offer a range of financial services and products, whereas a financial adviser who is ‘restricted’ can only offer the products from one, or from a selection of companies they have chosen to ‘restrict’ their advice to. It should be noted that because of the complexity of regulated financial advice, some firms may be ‘restricted’ in some specialist areas and ‘whole of market’ in others; e.g. Pensions 

Before you ask for advice, make sure you know which type of advice you are getting, and then whether it is ‘full advice’, ‘limited advice’ or ‘execution only’. All financial advisers must tell you how much they will charge for their advice and this is confirmed in writing in both £ and % terms.

Charges are made by invoice, customer agreed remuneration or by commission. If the adviser chosen charges you on a commission basis, you should ask how your investments will be affected by the charges, and be given an illustration where the commission to be paid to your adviser is clearly shown. 

For more information and advice on finding a source of regulated financial advice on the Isle of Man please visit the website of the IOM Financial Services Authority. Pension Matters page.