It's a no brainer?

30 April 2012 | By Philippa Gee

One client, who had his various pension plans reviewed some years ago by another financial adviser was recommended to amalgamate all of these into one plan and invest everything into a commercial property fund. You can imagine how much this has fallen in value since the point the advice was given. When I asked what had been discussed at the time, the adviser had said that to move the money and invest it in this way would be a “no brainer”.

Then there was a client who was recommended to invest his entire pension into ARM and you can imagine the current situation there – what were they told by their adviser? Yes, you got it: “it’s a no brainer”.

Then I get a call recently from an investment firm, trying to get me to agree to a meeting to discuss an investment product they think will change the world. While I don’t share their positivity and can feel my heckles rising, I try to hear them out but then they say the fateful words “it’s a no brainer”. (Gee blog continues below)

Enough. At no point have I come across an investment that is a “no brainer”. If that were the case we wouldn’t need all the qualifications and knowledge that we do, in order to provide a great service and responsible advice. So the next time someone tells me something is a no brainer, I will respond accordingly.

^{Philippa Gee is managing director of Philippa Gee Wealth Management.}

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