Home Equity Line of Credit

Charles de Lastic, Managing Director of Bluebond Financial Planning, explains the benefits of paying a fixed fee for financial advice.

The way in which independent financial advisers are traditionally paid is slowly, but surely, dying out.  That’s to say on a commission basis. 

What’s wrong with commission?

Payment in this way has led to many of the major scandals, with pensions mis-selling being the best known.  Basically, if one provider pays an independent financial adviser more than another for the same work, it is in the adviser’s interest to place the business with the highest commission payer.  This may not be in the client’s best interest and isn’t truly ‘independent’.

Also, your adviser may not spend time giving you some valuable, but time consuming advice because it does not generate a commission paying product – e.g. tax planning or estate planning advice.

Finally, over the whole term of a policy, an up front and pre-agreed fee does in many cases work out much cheaper than an ongoing commission.

What’s the alternative payment method?

Companies like Bluebond Financial Planning charge a pre-agreed fixed fee for the work agreed between client and independent financial adviser and therefore avoids any conflict of interest.  In the case of mortgages where the monthly ‘premium’ cannot be reduced, the commission is refunded to you.  Sometimes this refund is larger than the fee you paid!  This makes it very cost-effective for mortgages over £200,000.

What does the Financial Services Authority say about it?

In June 2009 the Financial Services Authority announced that in order for advisers to call themselves ‘independent financial advisers’ after December 2012, they must agree an explicit charge with clients which must not be determined by the product provider.  They are therefore agreeing with us and our method of working.

What’s the best way to agree fees with my financial planner or adviser?

Some financial planners or independent financial advisers will charge you by the hour.  We believe that method is ‘an open cheque book’ which puts many people off.

Therefore, we would recommend a fixed pre-agreed fee arrangement on a project by project basis and would suggest that you find an adviser who will work in the same, or similar, way.  That way, if you are under-quoted – it’s not your loss, but theirs.  If you are quoted too much, you can and probably will, say no.  At least you will know up-front what it’s going to cost and you can make your decision.

You can visit the Bluebond Financial Planning website to contact us or for more information on working with an independent financial adviser on a fixed fee basis.  We’d be happy to hear from you.

Imagine this: You recently meet an accident and you filed a physical injury case in court.  Your present predicament may have forced you to leave from work.  Finances went out of the way due to legal expenses.  To make matters worse, the case has stayed in court for months already and you’ve exhausted all your savings and other funds.  This is not the dead end.  Legal funding companies like AM Legal Funding exist for people like you. 

Legal funding companies specialize in granting legal fund for someone who is in the middle of legal suit provided that he is eligible.  The company takes the risk of granting a certain amount determined through the nature of your case and the probability of winning the case.  This loan is considered non-recourse for the company cannot demand to get the money back in the event that the plaintiff lost the case.

Your lawyer can help you by way of suggesting a company where you can obtain a loan on the basis of your pending case.  Bear in mind that a lawyer could not become a creditor to the client as this becomes a conflict of interest.  The legal funding company is the one that will determine the probability of your case and the amount that can be won from the case.  Then they will offer you an amount and send it to your bank account within 24 hours after it is approved.  So what can this legal fund do for you?

First, it can help solve cash flow problems.  The cash advance that you can get through a legal funding company can be used for expenses and other financial needs.  You can pay your medical bills with the money from the legal funding company.  You can also use that money to pay for other expenses if you can’t work due to your physical limitations.  In this way, you don’t have to mortgage your home and other properties that you worked hard for to acquire.

Second, you can use the money to get an experienced lawyer to increase your chances of winning the case.  This can also improve the chance of settlement thereby ending the case before greater expenses are incurred.  The legal funding will also prevent you from not pursuing the case due to financial constraints. 

Third, as previously stated the fund is considered a non-recourse loan so you get to keep the cash advance whether you win or lost the lawsuit.  You don’t pay anything in return if you lost the case.  The company only gets paid if the case is won by the one who applied for it.  

You don’t have to wait for a long time for the monetary award you will probably get from the corporation you’ve filed the case against with.  It is common for big corporations to exhaust everything just to delay the decisions for years.  Receive the deserved justice for yourself now without risking any of your properties.  Shop around now to find the best available company in your area.  If you want the one that is most reliable and offers the fastest approval, AM Legal Funding is the one that is best for you.