Choosing the right investment or pension can be one of the most important decisions a person can make during their lifetime. Getting it wrong can be disastrous and can have a long term impact on both the persons wealth and their health.

Unfortunately history tells us that if an investment sounds too good to be true it normally is, and this mixed with unscrupulous companies peddling investments that are doomed to fail leaves a lot of victims with nothing and no recourse.
Investment and pensions scams have continued to hit the headlines and this is true both in the UK and in Spain where companies see rich pickings, often taking advantage of retirees that have left the UK with funds available to invest. This may be as a result of selling their UK property in order to purchase a cheaper one here or through taking their pensions or selling investments that they didn’t feel were suitable for their new lives overseas.

It’s hard to know the good advisors from the bad, as many will splash the cash with big adverts in the newspapers or continuous adverts on local radio, promoting the next big opportunity. Then a very nice advisor will come to visit pulling out a flashy brochure with excellent past performance figures which easily beat the measly sum that the banks are presently paying.
But stop and think! What if this investment goes wrong? What if the advisor closes their offices or turns off their phone? Who and where do I go? Unfortunately many of those that have experienced this scenario soon realise that there is nowhere to go. There is no recourse, no compensation scheme, no ombudsman and no chance of seeing any of those hard earned funds again.
So how can you protect yourself from this scenario? The answer is fairly simple, check how the company that you are doing business with is regulated. With regulation comes protection and recourse should the very worse happen, the failure of the investment or company that provided the advice.

Our recommendation would be to use a UK FCA Regulated Advisor, one that appears on the FCA register, that reports directly to the FCA . If they do then they will not only have to ensure that their advice is within the strict rules that the FCA ensure they adhere to but also that they hold the correct level of Professional Indemnity Insurance and that they have the backing of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It really is as simple as FCA. Ensure you ask the right questions before handing over your life savings.

If you would like further information on Wealth Management, please call Emma on 966 493 082 for expert advice and a free consultation or email info@goldenleavesinternational.com