There are certain things we choose to do ourselves because we enjoy them, for everything else we tend to like the hard work done for us. Whilst a day with the family picking strawberries makes a welcome change, having to harvest all of your own food is less appealing. The same could be said about your home. Most of us have done the odd bit of decorating but, few of us have decided to build our own extensions.  

Dealing with your finances is no different from either of the above examples. Whilst we may think nothing of finding our own car or travel insurance on the internet, we still rely on the professionals when we are dealing with the more complex financial issues.

It can seem easy to find mortgage deals on the internet with each bank or comparison site saying their mortgage is better or cheaper than their competitors. Sadly though, how many times have you seen great deals on the internet, only to find that in the small print there are additional fee’s and charges applicable, they do not cover the things you need or having spent ages filling out the forms, you find that for some obscure reason you are not eligible at all! This maybe an acceptable risk when you’re spending a few hundred pounds on car insurance, but not when you’re buying your dream home and borrowing often over a £100,000. 

A mortgage broker is there to find you the best mortgage based on your personal needs, ensure it’s with a lender who is likely to issue you with a mortgage offer and where you apply through them to ensure everything should run smoothly. They see hundreds of clients with similar needs to yours and deal with virtually every lender. It is this experience, knowledge, service and their time you are benefiting from when you use a mortgage broker. 

In the post credit crunch market, some lenders in a drive to increase their profitability, have decided to cut out mortgage brokers and save their best mortgage rates for clients who go directly to the lender. The problem is which ones do this changes all the time, so finding the best deals can prove tricky. In addition if the best product for you is a deal only available by going direct to the bank, you need your mortgage broker to make you aware this.

A traditional commission based mortgage broker receives nothing for telling you about a better direct deal. So if the best deal is one direct from a bank, an obvious conflict of interest exists. Surprisingly the Financial Services Authority is completely fine with a mortgage broker calling themselves independent, but not telling you about any cheaper direct deals you may be eligible for.

Price comparison websites commonly have the same limitations as a traditional commission based mortgage broker. Website aside, price comparison sites are built on the same business model as their High Street mortgage broker counterparts. Although they often carry an air of impartiality, comparison sites are normally funded by the same commission system as mortgage brokers and as such the same conflict of interest often exists.

We however think differently, independent should mean the whole of the market, not just those products where commissions are payable. Our clients come to us for our knowledge and access to detailed information on all mortgages. Our clients want to be able to make an informed choice based on all the facts, not a limited selection of products on which a mortgage broker will make money. 

Our service offering is True Whole of Market Mortgage Advice and includes: 

• Telephone or face to face interview (dependent on your location)

• Research of the whole market to locate the best deal - including lenders direct deal's and exclusives only available through mortgage brokers.

• Written Recommendation report

• Copy of independent market research included with your report

• Copy of the lenders criteria included with your report (where available)

• Illustration of recommended mortgage (Key Facts Document)

• Telephone contact with us for general application enquiries through the process

• Where the lenders expect you to apply directly to them and not through a mortgage broker, you simply make an application directly to them. We will locate the nearest branch or bank contact details.

• Where the lenders are able to pay a processing fee to us, we will make the application on your behalf and track the case through to completion. Any additional fee we will receive for this service is disclosed on the illustration provided.

• Mortgage Guarantee: If your application is declined we will repeat the above process free of charge and make a second recommendation. This is not available where the mortgage was declined due to your failing to disclose material facts to us at outset which where relevant to the transaction. Only available once per property.

You only make an annuity decision once, so it is vital to make the best choice and the number of options when you are retiring can be quite daunting. We can help. 

We aim to ensure that anyone retiring ends up with the best annuity for them, having taken into account financial, individual and family circumstances.

Standard annuities are based upon the average life expectancy and the sexes differ as women, on average live longer than men. This is fair for those in good health but not necessarily for those with current or past health issues. If you have, or have had, heath issues it is vital and very much in your financial interest, to explore whether your condition qualifies for an enhanced annuity or an impaired annuity. 

Enhanced annuities pay a higher income because an allowance is made for any medical conditions which might reduce life expectancy. These include smoking -10 cigarettes (or the equivalent cigars or tobacco) a day for the last 10 years, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and many others.

Impaired health annuities pay an even higher income for those who have significantly lower life expectancy. The impaired annuity provider will require a medical report from your doctor (there is no need for you to have a medical examination). Medical conditions such as; heart attacks, heart surgery or angina, life threatening cancers, major organ diseases e.g. liver or kidney and other life threatening illnesses such as Parkinson's and strokes will be considered. 

The income from an enhanced annuity can be up to 30% higher than that offered from a standard annuity.

The income from an impaired health annuity can be 50% or more above the income from a standard annuity.

It is estimated that 40% of retirees qualify for an enhanced or impaired annuity but only 6% apply for one.

If you can answer yes to one or more of the medical questions below, you could qualify for an enhanced annuity or an impaired annuity.

1.                  Do you smoke?
2.                  Do you, or have you ever, taken prescription medicine?
3.                  Have you ever been hospitalised for a medical condition?
4.                  Do you have any permanent medical condition?  

Please note, the information provided does not constitute advice. You should contact us to arrange a financial review should you require any further information. 20/05/2008.

Which is best for you - Fee or Commission based financial advice? 

As with any goods or services, somewhere along the line you will pay for them - financial advice is no different. Your financial adviser should make it clear to you that you can decide how to pay for any advice/services you receive. The options are commission based, fee based or a combination of the 2. 

Commission based financial advice 

Here your adviser is only paid when a financial product has been implemented. So if no new financial product is taken out, your adviser has taken on the risk of not being paid for the work involved and advice given.  As a result, commissions paid to your adviser can be higher than the fees paid. Commissions paid on products between different providers are now more or less the same, so the risk of an adviser picking one product simply on the grounds that it pays more commission than another is less likely. 

The advantages of Commission based advice are:- 

• It suits you if you like the advice costs to be absorbed within the transaction.
• It suits you if you do not want to be sent a bill if you decide not to follow the advice given.
• If you are undertaking a small financial transaction you tend to benefit from the commission route as the commissions may well be lower than the fee’s your adviser would have charged.

The disadvantages of Commission based advice are:- 

• You may not be able to get advice in areas where commissions are low or are not available.

Fee based financial advice 

Where you choose to pay by fee, your adviser will work either on a pre agreed hourly rate or fixed fee basis. You can agree to pay the fee up front or at pre agreed stages in the advice process.  Payment for financial advice is not directly linked to a new product being recommended or implemented. Should a financial product be required any commissions that may have been payable to your adviser will either be, used to offset the cost of any agreed fee, rebated to you or put back into the financial product to improve its terms.  

The advantages of Fee based advice are:- 

• Advice is not restricted to those areas where your adviser would be paid a commission.
• Any potential commission bias on your adviser’s part is removed.   
• If you are undertaking a large transaction, you often benefit as fees tend to be lower than commissions on such cases.
• If you have elected for any commission to be put back into the financial product(s) you will ultimately receive higher returns.

The disadvantages of Fee based advice are:- 

• The agreed fees are payable regardless of you following the advice received.
• Fee based advice is generally more expensive if you are conducting smaller transactions.

The truth is, it has always been - “horses for courses”. Commission based advice may be more appropriate for you on one occasion, fee based advice on another. You should ask your adviser to help you decide which one to adopt.

A "momentous budget" - perhaps, but may be more for the events surrounding it, than for the contents. The budget and more importantly, the wider context will have immense consequences which are more appropriately considered at individual planning meetings. However, here is a brief summary of budget measures together with their impact and our view where relevant.

Personal Taxes

• New top income tax rate of 50% introduced from April 2010 for those with earnings of £150,000 or more.
• 42.5% tax rate on dividends.
• Personal allowance reduced or eliminated for those earning over £100,000.
• The Capital Gains Tax annual exemption increased to £10,100.

Investwise's comment: Consider transferring income or gains to reduce tax and ensure maximise investment into any tax sheltered investments. Year ending April will be the last where income above £150,000 can be taken at the current 40% top rate.

Inheritance Tax

The IHT nil rate band has been increased to £325,000. The rates of IHT will remain the same. No changes are proposed to any of the IHT exemptions currently available.

Stamp Duty

The stamp duty holiday on properties sold for less than £175,000 will be extended until the end of this year.

Investwise's comment : A valuable benefit, and certainly if you are looking to buy at property in the region of £175,000, sound motivation to complete the process sooner rather than later. It is not in itself a sufficient reason to enter into a purchase you would no have otherwise been making.

Savings

ISA limit increased to £10,200 a year from 6 October 2009 for over 50s - from April 2010 for everyone else.Cash element increased to £5,100.

Investwise's comment: The increase to the cash component of ISAs may particularly encourage those who are nervous about investing in stocks and shares. Expect offers to emerge over the next 6/12 months as providers compete for new money.

The basic state pension is to increase by 2.5%, regardless of the Retail Rice Index.

Pensions tax relief restricted for those earning over £150,000

• Basic rate relief only from April 2010 for those earnings £180,000 or more
• Tapered rate of relief for those earning £150,000-£180,000
• Immediate special annual allowance of £20,000 for those earning £150,000 or more.

Investwise's comment: Pensions remain one of the most cost effective ways of investing for the long term, even with tax relief limited to "20%" for income over £180.000. Those affected, should consider taking full advantage of the capped allowance in tax year 09/10.

Business

The Chancellor is extending help allowing loss-making companies to reclaim taxes on profits made in the last three years to November 2010. 

Please note, the information provided does not constitute advice. You should contact us to arrange a financial review should you require any further information. 23/04/2008.

The "wait and see" approach of our Autumn newsletter has stood the test of time and over the Winter months, there have been many significant developments: 

• Equity markets saw a brief "Bear Rally", before falling to new lows.
• A clearer picture has emerged of how just how deep and far reaching this Crisis is and the focus has expanded from the financial sector to the whole economy.
• The whole financial and economic landscape has changed, bringing new challenges (opportunities?) even for experienced professionals.
• Inflation fears have eased to be replaced (temporarily?) by fears of deflation.
• There has been a raft of government measures, the latest being "quantitative easing" - governments creating money to buy assets (gilts, bonds etc.).
• Interest rates and therefore cash returns have dropped to near zero.

What should you consider doing now? 

This is amongst the worst bear markets ever, with further falls being possible, but we are closer to the bottom and recently, market reaction to bad news appears to be improving. Markets often recover long before the economy does. 

Nevertheless, everyone is struggling to call this market and significant participation now is only for the adventurous, or those with very long horizons. For the adventurous, many asset prices may be considered a "bargain". 

For those with a more moderate approach to risk and with cash returns falling, then some increased participation may be considered. However, timing for a single sum is always difficult, let alone in this market, so a gradual move over several months (or years) is always recommended. 

For the cautious and those with short horizons, then the markets still represents a significant risk and, whilst cash now offers little return, safety, not return, has been the main virtue of cash, so cash remains the safest way to preserve capital. 

For all investors: 

• Reassess you risk tolerance and investment needs.
• Consider tactical repositioning of your portfolio to take advantage of the asset classes that are expected to lead the recovery when it comes.
• Active management of the cash element of your portfolio, savings accounts or ISA's, should be a priority. Interest rates range from below 0.5% to above 3.5% - so chasing the best rate is particularly worthwhile. 

Please note, the information provided does not constitute advice. You should contact us to arrange a financial review should you require any further information. 21/03/2009.