Do I need a financial advisor?
Most people with straightforward finances — a salary, an ISA, a workplace pension, and a long time horizon — do not need ongoing paid advice. Low-cost index funds and tax wrappers can be managed yourself. A regulated adviser earns their fee around big, complex, or irreversible decisions: defined benefit pension transfers, retirement drawdown strategy, inheritance tax planning, or when your situation is genuinely complicated.
What an adviser actually charges
Independent financial advisers (IFAs) typically charge an initial fee of 1–3% of the amount invested, plus an ongoing fee of around 0.5–1% a year for continued management. On a £200,000 portfolio, an ongoing 0.75% fee is £1,500 a year — and that sits on top of platform and fund costs. Over decades, advice fees compound against your returns just like any other cost. That doesn't make them bad value, but it does mean the advice has to be worth more than it costs.
When you probably don't need one
If your situation is straightforward — you're earning, contributing to a workplace pension, filling an ISA, investing for the long term in broad index funds — the core decisions are well understood and don't require ongoing professional management. The biggest drivers of your outcome are saving enough, keeping costs low, diversifying, and not panic-selling in a downturn. None of those require an adviser.
When advice genuinely earns its fee
- Defined benefit (final salary) pension transfers — regulated advice is legally required above £30,000, and the decision is usually irreversible.
- Retirement drawdown — turning a pot into sustainable income, managing sequence-of-returns risk and tax across wrappers, is genuinely complex.
- Inheritance tax and estate planning — trusts, gifting strategy, and IHT mitigation reward specialist knowledge.
- Complex circumstances — business owners, large or sudden windfalls, divorce, or cross-border tax situations.
Advice vs guidance vs tools
There's a middle ground between paying for full regulated advice and going it completely alone. The government's free MoneyHelper and Pension Wise services offer guidance. Low-cost tools can score your portfolio, flag problems, and answer questions — without product sales or commission. Regulated advice is the only one that carries a legal recommendation and FCA protection; tools and guidance inform your own decisions.
Key takeaway: Ask not "do I need an adviser?" but "does my next decision carry enough complexity or risk to be worth the fee?" For most everyday investing it doesn't — but for a handful of big, irreversible moments, good advice is some of the best money you'll spend.
Arken scores your portfolio across fees, diversification, concentration and allocation, and includes a contextual AI advisor you can ask by text or voice — no product sales, no commission. It's built to help you handle the everyday decisions yourself, and to recognise the moments that genuinely warrant regulated advice.
