專業(yè)養(yǎng)老金顧問

所屬教程:金融時報原文閱讀

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2020年07月18日

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掃描二維碼方便學習和分享

專業(yè)養(yǎng)老金顧問

英國的養(yǎng)老系統(tǒng)在較為完善的同時，也因為其復雜程度而催生了對養(yǎng)老金顧問的需求。許多人在退休后不得不尋找顧問來幫助解決養(yǎng)老金問題，但又因為找到合適的人的難度而想盡辦法拖延尋找顧問的期限。今天，金融速讀帶大家來看一看在英國，找養(yǎng)老金顧問到底有多難。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

keen 愿意，希望

daunting 使氣餒

rogue 無良的，欺詐的

閱讀即將開始，建議您計算一下閱讀整篇文章所用時間，并對照我們在文章最后給出的參考值來估算您的閱讀速度。

UK pensions: how to hire an adviser（590 words）

By Judith Evans

* * *

As retirement looms, you resolve to take professional advice — only to discover a quandary: from which of the vast array of 30,000 UK registered advisers keen to take your custom?

This puzzle has been faced by growing numbers of savers since the government reformed the pensions market by removing the requirement to turn savings into a secure income, offering a far greater choice in how to deploy a nest egg.

That choice has driven up demand for advice. Unbiased.co.uk, an online directory, has seen a 20 per cent increase in searches for financial advisers compared with last year, according to Karen Barrett, chief executive.

But choosing an adviser can be daunting. Jane Vass, head of public policy at Age UK, says: “We know that people often put off using an adviser, even if they think they need one.

“They’re worried about being charged commission, they feel they won’t understand the charges, they won’t feel able to negotiate or they don’t know how to compare advisers.”

Those in need of advice may take some reassurance from the Retail Distribution Review reforms that took effect in 2013, increasing the qualifications required to register as an adviser — now equivalent to a certificate of higher education. They must regularly obtain a “statement of professional standing”, which certifies that they have kept their qualifications up-to-date and signed up for an ethics code.

Under the changes, all advisers were banned from taking commissions on most financial products, removing the incentive to sell products that a customer may not need.

Experts say this has led to significant progress in improving standards and rooting out rogue operators, after a spate of overly risky products were sold to retail investors in the early 2000s. A series of advisers have been banned and fined, and others investigated for exposing clients to high-risk investments in areas such as overseas property and biofuels.

“The industry is clearly in a very different place from where it was 10 years ago,” says Ms Vass.

Among the first decisions to be taken is whether to opt for an “independent” or “restricted” adviser. The latter will only offer products from a limited panel of providers, although their charging structures and qualifications are similar to their independent counterparts.

Both types of advisers charge fees to the investor, not commissions. But regulatory and insurance requirements are more onerous for independent advisers — such as proving that they really do survey the entire market when choosing products. Some smaller operations with limited resources opt for restricted status.

Advisers may also be restricted in a different way, offering advice on just one type of financial product, such as mortgages. This can enable them to develop specialist knowledge while saving on costs — but make sure you clarify in what way an adviser is restricted.

Beyond the minimum standards, advisers may also have extra qualifications in specialist areas, such as pensions advice or long-term care, a bonus if one of these is your focus.

“Ring up and go to see at least three or four advisers,” Ms Barrett says. “Ask them who’s going to be working with me, what experience do they have, where have they worked before, what types of clients are they especially able to help?”

Many advisers will offer an initial free face-to-face consultation, which gives you a chance to brandish a checklist of questions, including on the vexed question of fees; you can also ask how the adviser expects to make or save you money that will make the fees worth your while.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內容，完成以下自測題目：

1. What is the trend for the amount of people that saves their pension?

a. Increasing

b. Decreasing

c. Reaching zero

d. Don't know

2. Beginning 2013, what changed if you want to become an adviser?

a. Lower educationdegreerequired

b. There is an annual fee if you want to be an adviser

c. More qualifications required

d. Nothing changed

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards restricting the adviser’s expertise to one field?