Why use a Financial Broker over a Bank or Credit Union?

A large percentage of people head straight to a bank or a credit union (as more credit unions start offering “financial services”) when they want advice on the following products:

• Investments or Savings
• Pensions
• Life Insurance
• Serious Illness Cover
• Mortgages
• Income Protection

If this is your strategy, then you may be missing out on some very significant benefits.

A Survey carried out by Standard Life and Brokers Ireland in February 2016 shows that those who have used a Financial Broker:

• Have nearly three times the savings and investments than those who don’t;
• Are more than twice as likely to have a pension;
• Are more financially protected as a result of holding more financial products;
• Feel more financially confident; and
• Also feel more confident about their financial future

There are countless reasons why it pays to use a Financial Broker when shopping for financial products but here are some of the main ones:

1. Choice

The biggest advantage of a Financial Broker over a bank/credit union is choice. When you sit in front of a Financial Broker you have access to a choice of product providers versus visiting the bank/credit union who only have access to one provider’s products and is tied to that provider in giving you “independent” advice. This is important when looking for advice on any financial product and gives you much more options on product choice, provider choice, and cost.

2. Experience / Relationship

Ask your representative in the bank/credit union how long they have been helping people with their financial advice. Financial Brokers own their own businesses and are committed to their clients in the long-term, with many years of industry experience. Banks are large institutions that move their staff around so you cannot be guaranteed to have the ongoing advisor relationship that a Financial Broker can provide. Credit Unions have only just entered the financial services world. So really how much experience will they have?

3. Specialisation

If you’re looking for specialised assistance with your financial products, it pays to talk to a specialised broker. For example, if you’re starting a pension, look for a broker who specialises in pensions. Many brokers will have specialists in different services, like ourselves. When dealing with bank/credit union staff, you cannot be guaranteed that they have specific experience in areas such as pensions, investments etc. Are you simply serviced by whoever happens to be in the branch?

4. Convenience

Financial Brokers are not tied to branch opening hours and can see you whenever and wherever is convenient for you. Typically this will also mean you don’t need to book 6 weeks in advance which seems to be the case with all other products you need from banks these days.

5. Ongoing Reviews

Once your policy is up and running you need to know what you have, who you have it with, and what it is supposed to do for you. Not surprisingly with everything else we have to remember we sometimes forget what we set up and why! With a Financial Broker, you can always just give us a call and we can reassure you of the product you put in place. With a bank or credit union, the person in the branch most likely has no clue about who has your policy.

So remember, if you are in need of financial advice, talk to those in the know. Contact us today on 025-30588 or book a chat with us here. Also, feel free to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter below.