We have a healthy DIY culture in the UK, I happen to be a fully paid up member. I have to say though that there are some things I won’t do. I won’t get anywhere near the fuse box. I don’t mind putting the power off and installing a new socket plate or light fitting, but I’m not going to be re-wiring a house.
Similarly, I’m quite happy to replace a tap, or fill and paint a hole in a wall, but I’m not going to install a new heating system or replaster my hallway.
There are always things where we need the help of someone who knows what they are doing. Sure we can do it ourselves, but we are unlikely to get the same result.
It’s good to have a healthy understanding of how your house works. When I was a student I had to call a plumber out on a Sunday to replace a washer on a bathroom tap, because I didn’t know how to fix it myself. It was an expensive mistake. We could have bought a new tap, and sink, for the price of the callout fee. I’m not so great with my car. I know how to top up the oil (when I remember), washer fluid, change and plug a hole in a flat tire, but you won’t find me under the car doing an oil change.
Today I had the unfortunate need to go to the dentist to have a wisdom tooth removed. The dentist was excellent, despite me almost fainting twice. She was kind, caring and professional. She knew what she needed to do, how to do it, and what to look out for if something went wrong.
Being somewhat nervous of having people poking around in my mouth (it’s the fear of pain as much as the pain itself) I expressed my reluctance to go to my youngest (adult) child.
Me: “I have to go.”
Them: “You could just do it yourself with pliers.”
They aren’t wrong. I could have done it myself. With pliers. I probably would have made it worse, and I’d be writing this from a hospital bed somewhere in even more pain than I was before.
You know where this analogy is going.
We can do certain things ourselves. We don’t employ a dentist to brush our teeth every morning. We do that ourselves. But when we need something important done, we go to the professional.
Likewise with financial advice. There are certain things like managing the current account, changing credit cards etc., which can be done comfortably without the support of a financial adviser. But not everything. Assuming you are not a financial professional, could you do a pension consolidation on your own? Possibly, but not if there are safeguarded benefits. Could you do a series of targeted VCTs or a business relief portfolio on your own? Yes it’s possible, but you might not be doing the right thing or get the right blend, end up with all of your eggs in interconnected baskets and so on.
You wouldn’t pay a lawyer to read every contract and terms of service you have to sign, but if you ever needed representation in court, the old adgage of self-representation applies. Don’t be the fool.
In all things, there are times when it makes sense to bring in a professional to help. Each of us has different knowledge and experience, and capacity to do the necessary work required to achieve the best outcome.
The same thing which applies to financial planning, and law, applies to financial planning businesses themselves.
If you’re thinking of going directly authorised I’d recommend that you call in a traditional compliance consultant. We aren’t like a normal compliance firm, our approach is to do the things which you might otherwise be capable of doing, but don’t have the capacity, or you might have the capacity and experience to get to a certain level but not to the level that would give you confidence.
Unless you’re a builder you are unlikely to be the one laying the foundations of your house. Unless you’re a scaffolder you’re unlikely to be putting up scaffolding for a roof repair, even if you know how these things should work.
If you’re doing the due diligence on your CIP, CRP, products and platforms, for AI integration, and so on, then the same thing applies. Get an expert in to make sure that the outcome you get is one that enables you to use it with confidence every day with your clients, not just ‘good enough’.
If you’re building sustainability into your investment process, it’s like building an extension on your business, adding a second front door, or giving it a loft conversion. It’s not something that should be done with a five minute filling-out of a template that gives you a ‘good enough to pass’ result.
Financial planning can be ‘good enough to pass’ but at Unburdened what we really want is to help people get to ‘great enough to talk about’. So, give us a call. Let us be your scaffolder or bricklayer. The expert that helps you get the outcome you are looking for, so your clients get the ones they need. We’d be delighted to help.
Until next time
Alan