Some guidance on advice

But for other areas, such as Capital Gains Tax, pensions tax relief and Inheritance Tax (IHT), some potentially huge changes are in store. The question now is how those policies might impact your mortgage, savings or investments and where you can turn for advice.

There are just over 5,000 authorised financial advice practices in the UK. Strict rules govern how they describe themselves and what advice they can give. The body responsible for regulating financial advice, the Financial Conduct Authority, differentiates between “advice” and “guidance” and has different rules for each.

A firm or individual offering guidance cannot give you personalised recommendations. They can only give you pertinent information. It’s up to you to decide what to do based on that information. If something goes awry, you do not have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman.

An authorised financial adviser, however, will work with you to devise a personal plan to meet your financial goals and will put that plan into action for you. If you have an issue with the advice received, or actions implemented as a result, you can take your case to the ombudsman.Advisers come in different shapes and sizes.

Your adviser may be a sole trader or one of several authorised advisers in a small firm operating independently. Alternatively, they may be part of a national firm or “network” of advisers, in which case they will have access to central administration, technical, and other support.

They may be badged as “whole of market” or “restricted”, meaning they can either access the entire universe of investments or are restricted to accessing a particular subset. It is worth noting that the size of that subset varies greatly between restricted firms. A fact that’s prompted national adviser firm Foster Denovo to call for a more nuanced description to outline more clearly what they mean in practice.

Whatever model you ultimately decide is best for you, it’s worthwhile checking what access to advice your employer may offer. Many larger employers use employee benefits consultants to devise a range of valuable benefits, such a pensions, private medical insurance and death-in-service cover for their staff. The consultants can help employees understand how those benefits may apply to them, through guidance and sometimes also advice.

One consultancy working in the field is Secondsight, which has an office in Edinburgh. Its spokesperson, Patrick Horwood, says: “Your employer is a good place to start. Plus the benefits are often more keenly priced, where fees apply.“So, pause before you Google financial advisers and see if your workplace has already got you covered.”