If you are looking for someone to help advise you on what best to do with your money, chances are that you’ve considered using an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA). However it is important that you choose a good IFA that can advise you well on your financial situation to ensure that your money works best for you and your circumstances.

But how do you go about finding out which IFA will advise you best? The team at MoneyTowers.com have put together five questions you should ask when meeting your IFA for the first time.

What Sort of Financial Advisor Are You?
There are three main flavours of financial advisor.

• Independent Financial Advisors: These have to offer financial products from the whole market. They should offer balanced, unbiased advice
• Tied Advisor: These only sell the products of a single company and won’t offer financial products across the whole market. However they must operate under the same rules as IFAs therefore should only sell products that suit a client’s needs and circumstances.
• Multi-tie Adviser: These offer financial products from a limited range of companies

IFA Fee Structure
There are two main types of ways that IFAs make their money – commission or fee. On the commission structure, you shouldn’t have to pay the IFA any money. The IFA will typically take a percentage of the amount you invest.

Some IFAs will charge a fee but won’t take a commission on where you invest.

So which is better? The choice is really up to you. Many people believe that paying a fee is better as it means the IFA will really work to find where your money will be best invested whereas some commission IFAs will be tempted to recommend products with a better commission rate if they are on the commission-only structure.

Business Structure
Is the IFA advising as part of a company or is he self-employed? It is worth finding out a little about how your IFA operates so if the IFA quits his job or you have some problem, you know who to contact.

It is also worth knowing how long they have been advising for, and how many clients they have advised.

IFA Qualifications
All IFAs should have their Certificate in Financial Planning (or an equivalent). Advisors may also have further qualifications specific to particular areas of finance, for example pensions or long-term care. Once three of these further qualifications have been gained, IFAs will then qualify for their Advanced Financial Planning Certificate (AFPC). Top-grade IFAs will also have the Chartered Financial Planner qualification.

IFA Specialisms
As per the qualifications, there may be particular areas that an IFA is a specialist in, for example they may be a specialist in ethical investments. If you are looking for something very particular, it may be worth seeking out the top IFAs who are specialists in their area and will therefore know their area’s products inside-out.

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