The chances are that as you are on this website you are thinking about your financial future. Sometimes all you need is a bit of information to help you take action. There are impartial sources of information such as the Money Advice Service. This might be a reminder that even if you find a great investment – you do need to put money into it. The first step towards a secure financial future is often to start saving.

Sometimes we need a bit more interpretation and wisdom. We are often faced with a number of options about what we do. We might be able to research them, but that doesn’t always equip us for deciding which is most suitable for us. Indeed, we may well have other draws on our time which make the research and learning unattractive. Having someone with experience and expertise ‘take care of things’ can be attractive especially if the consequences of getting it wrong are serious.

One thing many people seek advice on is retirement planning. Retirement is changing in many ways, but the key is being able to afford to choose what it is like. The International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) investigates the impact of longevity on all aspects of society. We are living longer, so our money will need to last longer too.

So how can we increase our wealth in retirement? Spend less, save more, make good decisions. ILC researched whether taking, and paying for, financial advice resulted in a better outcome overall. They concluded “that financial advice delivers real value for those who access it and has the potential to benefit a far wider groups of individuals were they to be persuaded to take it up”.

In November they published updated analysis with the latest data from the ONS Wealth & Assets Survey covering the period between 2006/8 and 2014/16. Their core findings make for interesting reading:

• Those who took professional financial advice were on average £47,700 better off, than those who chose to go it alone
• Those who felt they were ‘just getting by’ saw a 35% increase in their non-pension wealth and a 24% increase in pension wealth.
• Affluent people benefited too, with 24% and 11% uplifts.
• Those who continued to receive financial advice were around 50% better-off than those who only took advice at the start.

The ILC research uses the latest statistical methods to identify a pure ‘advice effect’ and it is strikingly large.

Talk to us about taking advice

Of course the best way to decide whether you would benefit from financial advice is to try it and see for yourself. We provide a free initial consultation, where you sit down with one of our qualified financial planners.

Either book a time that suits you here, email enquiries@eqinvestors.co.uk or call 020 7488 7171. We’re always happy to hear from you.