Jemma Walton met independent financial advisor Ash Biswas to see if he could help.

MOST of us would imagine that you need to be earning a fair few quid to have reason to see an independent financial adviser (IFA) – but in fact, they can offer anyone and everyonevaluable financial advice.

And that's handy, because although most of us have got plenty of idea on what car, handbag or skin cream to buy with our cash, things become a little more tricky when we are thinking of buying the really important things in life, such as a house or pension.


Case studies:
Sasha Branch (33)from Orton Southgate is company director of Krushr Plc, developing and launching a new product to aid recycling in kitchens (www.krushr.com).
Jan Richardson (44) from Elton is a managing director.
James Hutchinson (24) from Walton and is a professional ice hockey player..


Ash Biswas knows just what a minefield the world of finance is, as he was once sold a pup by a financial adviser. He spent 12 years working in the airforce before going to work for British Aerospace in Saudi Arabia, where he was sold several endowments.

He was told that these were rock-solid, when actually they were linked to the stock market, meaning his investments could go up a lot – but they could also go down. He hadn't been told they were linked to the stock market, and received compensation for the mis-selling.

When he came back to England he was taking a career break for a year when a bank manager friend of his, Peter Waggitt, gave him a call and a stack of books to read and recommended he train as an independent financial advisor.

"I thought about it and decided that I could do a better job than the bloke who had sold me my endowment," said Ash.

A couple of years later, he gained qualifications in financial management and went into business with Peter as IFAs. Peter is based in Ely, Ash in Orton Southgate, Peterborough, and they have about 700 clients on their books.

"I honestly just want to help people," said Ash. "I know what it feels like to be given poor financial advice, and I don't want anyone else to feel like that.

"If someone comes to me and can't afford a product such as a mortgage I will tell them to go away and start saving for a deposit, and come back in two years.

"I won't go to extreme lengths to find them a product they can just about manage because my worst nightmare would be someone coming back to me after having their house reposessed."

As for how independent IFAs actually are, Ash said that clients could either pay him a fee for advice, or he would take commission from the companies whose products he sold.

Continues on next page