Welcome to this month’s blog of 1-2-1 sessions with our members. This is an opportunity to expand on a member’s profile and give some personal insight into what they do and why.

This month is Mike Rutter of Best4Advice – an independent financial adviser (IFA), based in Leigh-on-Sea.

Mike started in the financial world back in 1996, working for one of the big High Street banks, providing advice on investments to customers. Over time, Mike felt tied in – only really able to sell his bank’s products, which were not necessarily the best for the customers. So, in 2005 he set up Best4Advice, in order to provide financial advice best suited to clients. He was now able to research and offer the best products, regardless of which financial institution was offering them.

Today, Mike has a wide range of clients working on pensions, mortgages, inheritance planning and investments. Some clients simply need initial advice, others have it all managed and reviewed by Mike.

But why go to an IFA, such as Mike, when it’s so easy to go direct to a bank?

“Firstly, there’s the personal touch,” says Mike. “We meet and I fact-find, I determine your needs and your situation to find the product that best suits you. I look at affordability, how long you’ve been employed and so on. I can look across the market – not just one bank as it was before I went independent. Some clients have no experience and I can help them through the process, something you may not get at the bank. It is a complicated market and different banks do things differently.

“Secondly, I know which places will offer what you need. You may well go to your usual bank for investments, but what they offer may not be what you need.

“Thirdly, if you want the advice, why traipse up and down the High Street (even if doing it online) going to lots of different places when you can come to me and do it one go! I can most likely find you a better deal for no extra cost – and if I can’t I’ll say.

“Fourthly, I can regularly review your portfolio and advise if I think the market may change and have a negative impact.”

The bulk of Mike’s work is in pension planning and investments.

“I find this rewarding – helping people be financially secure once retired. There’s a lot of rules around pensions which people can fall foul of. Also, people think they have to get their pension  from their pension fund provider. This isn’t the case and you can miss out on a better pension or a different option if you don’t look around. Investment wise, many keep their cash in the bank – with the base rate at 0.1% there’s little point doing this. Yes, it is safe but you could get more with relatively little extra risk. I can help you get the best out of your cash.”

When you’re new to Mike’s services, he’ll meet with you and go through your needs. He’ll then provide a detailed report of the deals/products available to you. He will recommend one based on your needs but ultimately, it’s your decision.

Mike continues, “I provide everything and make it clear that the best deal isn’t necessarily the cheapest. For example, someone who needs to be sure of cash flows may be happier paying slightly more with a fixed rate mortgage. You choose which product you want. It makes no difference to me personally – my fees come from the provider but they’re the same regardless.”

Many may feel you have to have lots of cash for an IFA to be interested. Some may well have a minimum they’d expect for investments but they can help with mortgages and any financial planning. You may want to consider your finances for inheritance purposes, get the most tax efficient arrangements in place for yourself and your family. An IFA is unlikely to turn someone away.

“There’s no typical client, really,” adds Mike. “I have some affluent, former city workers and some local people. I’ll talk to anyone – it could just be a 15-minute phone call offering advice, for which I earn nothing other than knowing that the person is more informed than they were and will avoid mistakes. Most of my work comes from personal recommendations. If I can help one person out in 15 minutes that may well provide further work in the future. The hardest client is probably the one that has come to me after the process has started.

“I have had people come to me for mortgages after being declined by two or three of the High Street banks. For example, people with County Court Judgements against them. If they had come to me first, I could have targeted the banks that would have accepted them. I can still do that, but now with two or three rejections on their credit record.”

Overall, Mike offers a tailored service with ongoing support. He can be there as a sounding board and to provide reassurance.

“When COVID-19 hit the markets, I had a number of clients contact me saying they wanted to sell investments. I was able to chat to them and reassure them that it was a blip and investments would recover. The bigger risk was to sell whilst the market was low and lose out on any future gains.”

By going to Mike first you can avoid any costly mistakes whilst trying to navigate the world of finance and, in most cases, it won’t cost you anything extra. So why not get in touch?