Expat residents of the UAE and elsewhere have been bombarded in recent times by colourful characters who are extolling the supposed ‘virtues’ of not working alongside a professional, independent financial planner.

By publishing online and printed guides and by giving seminars, they are urging people who have little or no experience in financial planning to go down the DIY-route or adopt extremely low-cost options.

This is extremely concerning and, unfortunately, could be an accident waiting to happen.

Your money and all the big lifestyle benefits it affords you and your family – including, for example, a high quality education for your children, a good home, family holidays, the ability to stop working when you choose, and the opportunity to enjoy the retirement you desire, are all too important to gamble with or take lightheartedly.  
 
Would you leave other important areas of your life, such as your health or a legal problem, to deal with yourself? Or go for the lowest of low cost options? For most people the answer would be ‘no’. They would go to a professional, a doctor or a lawyer. Therefore, why would you NOT seek professional advice on securing your financial independence, security and freedom from a financial adviser?  
 
The costs of going it alone and getting it wrong are too high and often irreversible. Is it worth putting you and your family at risk in this regard?

Dabbling in DIY financial planning is similar to a medical self-diagnosis via ‘Dr Google’.  It just isn’t accurate because it is not a tailor made diagnosis for you and could have serious negative consequences.

When our advisers sit down with clients and fully dig into their needs, wants and goals to map out a financial pathway throughout their lives; we must consider many complexes and the ever-changing world that expats live in. The wrapper or platform used is just as important as the underlying investments.
 
Advice needs to be personal, particularly when it comes to tax. Imagine this as a scenario; a U.K. domiciled investor who is living in the UAE but potentially retiring in Spain and has a non-U.K. domiciled wife. Which platform is the most tax efficient? And what happens if it’s not in the most tax efficient solution? By getting this wrong the individual could be opening themselves up to a huge tax liability. This sort of bespoke information simply isn’t readily available on the internet.

However, of course, it is critical to select the right adviser and the right advisory firm.  
 
The adviser must have the relevant and appropriate qualifications and the experience to provide the financial roadmap and the solutions for you to reach your goals.

In addition, the adviser should also be backed by the power and strength of a robust organisation. This way they are operating within a structured environment that adheres to the appropriate regulatory requirements, has adequate compliance, has access to all the latest product and market research and news, product launches, plus services and cutting edge technologies. It will also mean that the organisation will have established relationships with the top investment banks and be offering a range of products and services that cannot be accessed as retail investors or as do-it-yourself investors.

deVere clients across the world take peace of mind from and enjoy the associated benefits of our size - globally, we have more than 80,000 clients in more than 100 countries and over $12billion under advice – and our resources. These include our market-leading technologies, our comprehensive range of products – many of which are exclusive to deVere clients - and our well-established relationships with the world’s leading financial institutions.