Financial Adviser

A professional person qualified to give advice to clients regarding investments such as life insurance, pensions, mutual funds/unit trusts and taxation etc.

A financial adviser may charge a fee and/or receive a commission on a product recommended. In the UK a financial adviser is either independent - an independent financial adviser (IFA), or a company representative (tied agent) or, since depolarisation in December 2004, a multi-tied agent selling products from a panel of selected providers.

An IFA is free to recommend products from a number of companies and his selection will be based on which company and product best suits the needs of the client.

A company representative recommends only the products of the company he represents, so will offer only limited advice. In between comes the multi-tied agent, who offers more choice. The reforms also insisted on better disclosure of commissions and other charges.