DTUK1210

23Money MattersMay 3-9, 2010United Kingdom Edition LittleSister Enjoy Complete Confidence With an unsurpassed range of infection control products including our new Decon360 LDU cabinetry, Little Sister lets you comply with HTM 01-05 with complete confidence. And, when you buy your new Little Sister autoclave or washer disinfector direct from Eschmann, CarePlan warranty and service cover, including HTM 01-05 validation and testing, is included in the price. Little Sister, why take a chance with anyone else? Call Eschmann Direct on: 01903 875787 360 ECOND Eschmann’s one-stop-shop for a fully compliant decontamination room. • Advice & information • Design & planning • Manufacturing & installation • Turnkey solutions To reserve your copy of the new Decon360 guide, call: 01903 875787 F rom 2012, new rules from the Financial Serv- ices Authority (FSA) mean financial advisers will be required to provide their clients with clearer guide- lines on the cost of their ad- vice and how charges affect pension and investment prod- ucts. The FSA will implement a wide range of changes inte- nded to remove ‘commission bias’ to ensure recommenda- tions are not influenced by prod- uct providers and to raise the bar on adviser qualifications. Independent financial advice is available from firms who of- fer fee-based advice comparing financial products from the en- tire financial market. Firms who offer products from a limited range of products without fee- based options, can’t call them- selves independent. A preferred route The distinction between differ- ent types of financial adviser already exists. Good-quality firms already promote fee-based advice and their experience is that fee-based planning is fast becoming the preferred route for dentists. While fee-based ad- vice will have you to reaching for your chequebook, invest- ment charges are usually re- duced making this potentially cost-effective over the medium to long-term. Our example compares fee- based and commission-based advice for a dentist making a pension contribution of £500 per month. The figures speak for themselves. If your adviser is not in- dependent, they may not offer you this saving. They may also impose limitations on fund and pension provider choice, so the case for non-independ- ent advice is difficult to under- stand. This is especially true for dentists who often make larger than average personal pension contributions while requiring specialist advice. If you have received advice from a bank or building soci- ety, it is possible that your ad- viser was not independent, or perhaps experienced in advis- ing dentists. This may deny you access to fee-based advice and specialist knowledge on areas such as the NHS Pension. Even some national firms which offer dental-specific financial advice, do not offer independent financial advice. If you are cur- rently taking advice from one of these firms, make sure you ask hard questions of the adviser relating to investment charges, commission and their very lim- ited product range. Dentists should settle for nothing less than independent financial advice from a firm spe- cialising in financial planning. DT Jon Drysdale explains how dentists can benefit from fee-based financial planning Are you getting the right advice? About the author Jon Drysdale is an independent finan- cial adviser and director of Practice Financial Management Ltd (PFM), a leading provider of financial and busi- ness services to the dental profession. PFM is regulated by the Financial Services Authority. PFM offers indi- vidual financial review meetings with dentists and professional fee-based fi- nancial planning options. Visit www. pfmdental.co.uk to arrange this or call us on 01904 670820. Contribution Final fund value Pension income Fee based route £500 per month net £408,000 £23,900 Commission route £500 per month net £381,000 £22,300 * 35-year-old male, £625 gross contribution, growth of seven per cent pa, retirement at age 60 Fee vs commission based advice*