Business Owners Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know that Ifamax Wealth Management are regulated?
All financial advisers have to be approved or authorised by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can find any advice firm or advisor on the ‘Financial Services Register’ on the FCA website.
Are you independent?
Yes, we are totally Independent.
If you are getting advice about investing your money, you need to know there are two different types of financial advisers – independent and restricted – and this can affect the advice you are given. Independent advisers offer the full range of financial products and providers available, while restricted advisers offer restricted advice, focusing on a limited selection of products and/or providers. An adviser or firm has to tell you in writing whether they offer independent or restricted advice, but if you are not sure what they offer you should ask for more information.
Independent advisers
An adviser or firm that provides independent advice is able to consider and recommend all types of retail investment products that could meet your needs and objectives. Independent advisers will also consider products from all firms across the market, and have to give unbiased and unrestricted advice. An independent adviser may also be called an 'independent financial adviser' or 'IFA'.
Restricted advisers
A restricted adviser or firm can only recommend certain products and providers. The adviser or firm has to clearly explain the nature of the restriction. If you are not sure you should ask for further information, but some examples of restricted advice are where:
• The adviser works with one product provider and only considers products that company offers
• The adviser considers products from several – but not all – product providers
• The adviser can recommend one or some types of products, but not all retail investment products
• The adviser has chosen to focus on a particular market, such as pensions, and considers products from all providers within that market
Restricted advisers and firms cannot describe the advice they offer as 'independent'.
Other types of financial advice
If you are only given general information about one or more investment products, or have products or related terms explained to you, you may have received guidance rather than advice. This is sometimes also called an information-only or non-advice service. The main difference between guidance and advice is that you decide what product to buy without having one or more recommended to you.
Buying an investment product in this way might reduce the cost involved but it also means you may not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong. If you are not sure whether you are receiving guidance or advice, and therefore how you would be protected, you should ask the adviser or firm to explain.
Ifamax is completely independent and provides advice from the whole market.
How often, and via what medium, will you communicate?
We like to meet our clients twice a year, but our door is always open if more meetings are required. Typically in the year of someone's retirement we may well meet 3-4 times as we work through options as well. We like to call our clients when there is any significant event that we feel they need to be aware of. We also send out a newsletter once a month.
Can I see an example of a financial plan?
Yes. We often send out examples when exploring ideas around income tax or inheritance tax planning.
What happens to my money if something happens to you?
Nothing! We do not handle client money at all and client assets are completely separate from us. We have built a small team of very well qualified advisers. We take a team-based approach to our work, so while there may be one lead person dealing with you, there will be someone else who is qualified backing them up.