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Unsure about whose financial advice to trust? Check out Peter’s tips in today’s post. Thanks, Peter, for another helpful article!

3 Ways to Identify Trustworthy Financial Advice

As with most forms of advice, reliable tips on how to spend and save money are often hard to find.

In fact, financial information sources both on and offline can sometimes confuse people looking to manage their money even more. A lot of the time, we are left with more questions than we already had.

Who should we look to for support and advice in this area? And where and how can we find them? Here are three ways to locate reliable and expert money advice.

1. Establish Your Aims

Knowing exactly what you want to do with your money can help to identify what kind of advice you require, which can narrow down your possibilities of places to go and services to use. If seeking tips on your pension and you are employed, for example, then the best place to visit first can often be the Human Resources department at your agency, whose knowledge and understanding on the subject will be immense.

In addition, they are bound by law to provide advice and information on any issue that could affect employees. Whether enquiring about benefits or simply in need of some money management advice, HR Departments are consistently striving to improve the ways in which they support employees with financial advice. So, an employer is often the best place for a first port of call when looking for financial solutions.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to find advice independently, HMRC provides a range of guidance on this subject. Once able to envisage your desired outcome clearly, knowing which services to look for can help you find an effective solution quickly.

2. Identify Where to Find Useful Advice

When planning important investments, it can be easy to take advice from family, friends, and people that we already know without reaching out for tips from professionals. It is worth remembering, however, that there are companies and advisers that prioritize maximum saving and spending potential for all customers.

So, looking for services that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and offer transparent, ongoing support for financial growth of clients like Downing may save prospective clients huge amounts of time and energy that would otherwise be spent on perusing comparison websites.

These sources are required to provide impartial, expert support – and in order to adhere to regulations, must reflect this is their website. Because of this, customers can be assured that all the advice that they receive is of the highest quality.

3. Ask the Right Questions

If exploring the financial adviser route, once you have a company in mind, creating a checklist bespoke to your requirements before then arranging a face-to-face meeting with a representative can be really helpful in identifying the right person for financial advice. Interacting in person can help you as a potential customer gauge your compatibility with an adviser, while using this time to state what you want means that questions cannot be as easily avoided, as would be the case via email or over the phone.

As Telegraph contributor Katie Morley highlights, enquiring about how the company is run and asking about fees upfront can help potential customers solidify their understanding of what they want and how much they are willing to pay for it. Arranging a meeting also illustrates the commitment of the adviser to provide reliable and trustworthy advice.

Expert financial management can influence our sense of wellbeing and control over our lives. And when we are uncertain about how to gain complete control over our money, dependable guidance from experts can be hugely comforting. Knowing where to find advice bespoke to your needs, as well as how to obtain it, can enable you to explore new projects, whilst feeling reassured that you are managing your money successfully.