# Financial Advisory Firms



## indigo

Hi I am thinking of moving back to Dubai and would like to know if anyone has had experience of de vere & partners international financial advisers. I am very keen in joining their team in Dubai and would like to get feedback from anyone who either works for them or who has had dealings with them to gauge how easy/ difficult it is to make a living from financial services. Any views, news or comments would be gratefully appreciated.


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## Lenochka

No first hand experience. However, I heard quite some people complaining that these guys are simply sales guys who try to flock you any product in order to get their commission...basically,client interest is not taken into consideration.....


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## Ogri750

Elphaba is your woman for all matter relating to this sort of profession.

I'm sure she'll will offer some words of wisdom for you


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## Willsy1

Hi Indigo.

I'm sure Elph will reply to you also, but all I would say is do your research and look for the most suitable firm for you. There are many companies in the UAE calling themselves Financial Advisers, some very loosely. The regulation is totally diferent to the UK so you could come out here with no experience in financial services and do well. I have also sat in on a De Vere's presentation and after digging deeper decided that they were not for me! 

Get up to 5 posts and you can PM me for some additional company names.


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## Elphaba

indigo said:


> Hi I am thinking of moving back to Dubai and would like to know if anyone has had experience of de vere & partners international financial advisers. I am very keen in joining their team in Dubai and would like to get feedback from anyone who either works for them or who has had dealings with them to gauge how easy/ difficult it is to make a living from financial services. Any views, news or comments would be gratefully appreciated.



They aren't advisers, they are salesmen and that is all I can say on a public forum as they are litigious. (Wonder why??!)

I do not recommend your suggested course of action. I am an IFA with many many years expereince, several in Dubai and I will tell you that it is not as easy as it seems to make a good living here. I have seen many who have tried and failed. If you are a qualified and experienced IFA, who is a self-starter then you need to find a company with a good reputation and few have that.

Once you have made 5 posts you can activate the Personal Message function and we can 'talk' privately.

-


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## indigo

Hi everyone, many thanks for all your views and comments.

As a general question to cover all financial advisers in Dubai how can a "salesman" not include client requirements? Surely the client will only be interested in purchasing financial products that are suitable for their needs after consultation with the adviser?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.


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## Elphaba

indigo said:


> Hi everyone, many thanks for all your views and comments.
> 
> As a general question to cover all financial advisers in Dubai how can a "salesman" not include client requirements? Surely the client will only be interested in purchasing financial products that are suitable for their needs after consultation with the adviser?
> 
> Any thoughts greatly appreciated.


There is a vast difference between selling a high commission paying plan and actually advising a client on their needs. Many companies have no interest in the latter.

-


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## Willsy1

The ExPat community is pretty transient and you will find people selling 25 year+ plans to people only looking to save for half that time. When they do get around to cashing it in, it's usually worth less than they expected!! In the UK you would go to the FSA with a complaint, but it doesn't work the same in the UAE. 

As Elph suggested, there are only a few firms who will actually take into account the client's needs so chose wisely!


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## indigo

Willsy1 said:


> Hi Indigo.
> 
> I'm sure Elph will reply to you also, but all I would say is do your research and look for the most suitable firm for you. There are many companies in the UAE calling themselves Financial Advisers, some very loosely. The regulation is totally diferent to the UK so you could come out here with no experience in financial services and do well. I have also sat in on a De Vere's presentation and after digging deeper decided that they were not for me!
> 
> Get up to 5 posts and you can PM me for some additional company names.


Hi Willsy1

Been out of the loop for a while studying and taking exams in financial planning etc. Would very much like to talk to you regarding companies in Dubai re financial advisers. This may sound daft but how do I PM you?

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Indigo


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## Willsy1

Hiya.

You need to have done 5 posts and then you can send private messages.

Just reply to this one twice and you'll be able to send them.

Willsy1




indigo said:


> Hi Willsy1
> 
> Been out of the loop for a while studying and taking exams in financial planning etc. Would very much like to talk to you regarding companies in Dubai re financial advisers. This may sound daft but how do I PM you?
> 
> Look forward to hearing from you soon.
> 
> Indigo


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## indigo

Willsy1 said:


> Hiya.
> 
> You need to have done 5 posts and then you can send private messages.
> 
> Just reply to this one twice and you'll be able to send them.
> 
> Willsy1


Ok Willsy1 thanks for that!


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## Willsy1

Thank me once again and you're there!


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## indigo

Willsy1 said:


> Thank me once again and you're there!


Here we go. Thank you again!!


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## indigo

Willsy1 said:


> Thank me once again and you're there!


Hi there,

Seem to be making hard work of this lol - for the life of me carn't find the PM button - is this under your profile?

Thanks


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## 88kiddo

Elphaba,

I sounds like you are the formidable member on Financial Services industry in the forum....do you have insight to pay scale?

I currently work for a LARGE US bank, running the continental European Swiss business in Geneva. I have been discussing a Regional Sales Management position based in Dubai, covering all of the ME, however have not reached the discussion point of monetary compensation. High level VP with Director status eventually after 24 months.....any thoughts or insight would be appreciated....

88


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## Max888

Max888 said:


> Hi Willsy1,
> 
> I have also been approached by the said De Vere for a position as an IFA in Dubai.
> 
> I have over 13 years experience as a UK based IFA, and am keen to make a move to pastures green.
> 
> Can you give me the low down on exactly why you rejected De Vere?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Mark


Hi Willsy1,

I have also been approached by the said De Vere for a position as an IFA in Dubai.

I have over 13 years experience as a UK based IFA, and am keen to make a move to pastures greener.

Can you give me the low down on exactly why you rejected De Vere? Feel free to PM me!!

Thanks

Mark


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## Macroen

*Caution*



indigo said:


> Hi I am thinking of moving back to Dubai and would like to know if anyone has had experience of de vere & partners international financial advisers. I am very keen in joining their team in Dubai and would like to get feedback from anyone who either works for them or who has had dealings with them to gauge how easy/ difficult it is to make a living from financial services. Any views, news or comments would be gratefully appreciated.


Avoid them like the plague. I have the "pleasure" of working in the same building as De Vere and I would never ever approach them for advice! Every month I see a new batch of glorified salesmen coming in. They only care about their commission. Somehow they managed to get my mobile number and it took me +15 calls to get them to stop calling me. Cold calls I am talking about! Cheers...


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## Canuck_Sens

It is really "sad" reading so many bad comments about "financial advisers" and actually only few companies in UAE would provide a professional top notch service. 

In developed countries we have the same thing by the way. Some will check your needs and push the most profitable product they can lol ..this reminds me the convos I had with investorsgroup in Canada 

Can any1 provide a list of those so reputable companies here in UAE?

I am not looking for services for myself anyway because I work with finance, I plan my stuff, but not all of us have that kind of background. But it would be nice to know for referral purposes for the "common guy"


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## Elphaba

Canuck_Sens said:


> It is really "sad" reading so many bad comments about "financial advisers" and actually only few companies in UAE would provide a professional top notch service.
> 
> In developed countries we have the same thing by the way. Some will check your needs and push the most profitable product they can lol ..this reminds me the convos I had with investorsgroup in Canada
> 
> Can any1 provide a list of those so reputable companies here in UAE?
> 
> I am not looking for services for myself anyway because I work with finance, I plan my stuff, but not all of us have that kind of background. But it would be nice to know for referral purposes for the "common guy"


The issue here is one of lack of compliance and regulation. I am an Independent Financial Adviser with 20 years experience and an armful of qualifications. The lack of regulation means that anyone can call themselves an adviser, withiut any qualifications, experience or proper knowledge. These people are salesmen who are only interested in selling highly profitable long-term savings plans and not in giving proper advice.

There are numerous issues that affect expats and these sales people sell a lot of unsuitable plans that are inappropriately invested with no understanding of the potential tax liabilities for their clients when they return to a home country. Frankly it's disgraceful.

Why on earth would you deal with any company that aggresively cold calls? I work with Holborn Assets LLC and all our advisers are qualiifed to at least the UK minimum standard (although many if us have considerably more qualifications) and we never cold call anyone. 

Some advisers are highly ethical and offer proper in-depth advice, but sadly there are still too many charlatans in the UAE. I do not wish to bad-mouth other firms, although many deserve their bad repuations. If anyone wants to ask a question, then best to PM me.

For more info, take a look at my links below.


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## Maz25

Canuck_Sens said:


> Can any1 provide a list of those so reputable companies here in UAE?


What would you define as 'reputable'? 

Unfortunately, where one person has a good experience with one company, the same may not be true for the next person.

As an example, the first company I worked for recommended a financial advisor, who the directors felt offered really good service. We (employees) spoke to the same person and we concluded that he was no more than a legal con artist, who was out to make a fast buck at our expense! If you told the guy that you did not want x, y & z, that's exactly what he would bring you and he would try to convince you that you did not have enough knowledge of the market and that his so called insider knowledge led him to the conclusion that you should sign up to for a product that you had explicitly told him that you did not want!

The last company who contacted me (guess who!) tried to convince me that they could help me invest in property back home. They'd overlooked the fact that every company needs a license to practice in any country. Funnily enough, without me mentioning who I was on the phone to, my colleagues guessed who I was talking to. Seems that this company has cemented their reputation as being a bit of a nuisance!


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## Maz25

Elphaba said:


> The issue here is one of lack of compliance and regulation. I am an Independent Financial Adviser with 20 years experience and an armful of qualifications. The lack of regulation means that anyone can call themselves an adviser, withiut any qualifications, experience or proper knowledge. These people are salesmen who are only interested in selling highly profitable long-term savings plans and not in giving proper advice.
> 
> There are numerous issues that affect expats and these sales people sell a lot of unsuitable plans that are inappropriately invested with no understanding of the potential tax liabilities for their clients when they return to a home country. Frankly it's disgraceful.
> 
> Why on earth would you deal with any company that aggresively cold calls? I work with Holborn Assets LLC and all our advisers are qualiifed to at least the UK minimum standard (although many if us have considerably more qualifications) and we never cold call anyone.
> 
> Some advisers are highly ethical and offer proper in-depth advice, but sadly there are still too many charlatans in the UAE. I do not wish to bad-mouth other firms, although many deserve their bad repuations. If anyone wants to ask a question, then best to PM me.
> 
> For more info, take a look at my links below.


Couldn't agree more. The first FA that my colleague and I came across loved to tell us that he was qualified, unlike other FAs, and he loved to tell this story about an ice-cream vendor who moved to Dubai and became an FA, just to reinforce his point that he was different. After about 2 meetings with him, we were completely convinced that he was the ice-cream vendor! The advice he gave us was absolutely shocking and did not even take into account our long and short terms plans! He was just out to sell as many plans as he possibly could!


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## g11king

Just read through this and seems the same in any country to be honest,

there are very few companies out here who are good, and even regulated, the liscences here are not worth the paper they are written on in my opinion...

I work in this industry and not going to say who I work for but it has made life difficult the companies who hire salesman to be financial advisors....

THe company I work with are similar to yours Elphaba, only fully qualified UK advisors, and we give consumer protection on all business we do, it is frustrating though as we work 10 times harder than these people in nice suits and fancy ties and do not make as much money!! But I suppose morals are the main thing, if you can do it great, go make lots of money but unfortunately its not for me.....

Highly charged off-shore bonds and Regular savings Plans are not the best way to plan for your future, and there are very very few people that these products actually suit. Also the amount of Notes being sold by companies at the moment is terrible as they are rarely properly explained and have huge tax charges on return to the UK.


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## GlabrousD

Elphaba said:


> They aren't advisers, they are salesmen -


Quite correct and once they get hold of your number (on a "recommendation" from a friend) you'll have to be quite abrupt to get rid of them.

IMHO they're shysters and a major PITA!


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## marc

Very true, I have several friends who work for DeVere and a lot that have left, first of all the company is a revolving door when it comes to employment and I doubt your visa will be processed quickly. 

Elph is right, they sell high commission paying packages and don't give a s*** what the client wants or what his/her needs are. They sell what suits them.


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## g11king

marc said:


> Very true, I have several friends who work for DeVere and a lot that have left, first of all the company is a revolving door when it comes to employment and I doubt your visa will be processed quickly.
> 
> Elph is right, they sell high commission paying packages and don't give a s*** what the client wants or what his/her needs are. They sell what suits them.


Got it in one, and what is really surprising is so many of the people doing it do not realise the stuff they are selling is so unbeneficial as they have been sold the plans and have no financial background!


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## Nicko1281

Having recently moved to dubai,i am in need of a decent experienced ifa to manage my investments can anyone recommend a few including names and numbers.
Thanks in Advance


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## dizzyizzy

Nicko1281 said:


> Having recently moved to dubai,i am in need of a decent experienced ifa to manage my investments can anyone recommend a few including names and numbers.
> Thanks in Advance


Contact the forum user Elphaba, she'll sort you out.


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## gyanjourney

I am in financial advisory space as well and one of my clients calls some of these private bankers/wealth managers as "pirates in a 3 piece suit". The problem is that these relationship managers are out there to meet their steep targets and end up selling products that would meet their revenue targets. However, they lose a client in this process.



Maz25 said:


> What would you define as 'reputable'?
> 
> Unfortunately, where one person has a good experience with one company, the same may not be true for the next person.
> 
> As an example, the first company I worked for recommended a financial advisor, who the directors felt offered really good service. We (employees) spoke to the same person and we concluded that he was no more than a legal con artist, who was out to make a fast buck at our expense! If you told the guy that you did not want x, y & z, that's exactly what he would bring you and he would try to convince you that you did not have enough knowledge of the market and that his so called insider knowledge led him to the conclusion that you should sign up to for a product that you had explicitly told him that you did not want!
> 
> The last company who contacted me (guess who!) tried to convince me that they could help me invest in property back home. They'd overlooked the fact that every company needs a license to practice in any country. Funnily enough, without me mentioning who I was on the phone to, my colleagues guessed who I was talking to. Seems that this company has cemented their reputation as being a bit of a nuisance!


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## gyanjourney

Hi Elph,

I am in financial advisory space and would like to have a word with a veteran like you in the same industry. Since I am new to the site the Pm option is not working. Can I send you an e-mail or something? I did look through the link in your signature and must say it is indeed informative. 



Elphaba said:


> The issue here is one of lack of compliance and regulation. I am an Independent Financial Adviser with 20 years experience and an armful of qualifications. The lack of regulation means that anyone can call themselves an adviser, withiut any qualifications, experience or proper knowledge. These people are salesmen who are only interested in selling highly profitable long-term savings plans and not in giving proper advice.
> 
> There are numerous issues that affect expats and these sales people sell a lot of unsuitable plans that are inappropriately invested with no understanding of the potential tax liabilities for their clients when they return to a home country. Frankly it's disgraceful.
> 
> Why on earth would you deal with any company that aggresively cold calls? I work with Holborn Assets LLC and all our advisers are qualiifed to at least the UK minimum standard (although many if us have considerably more qualifications) and we never cold call anyone.
> 
> Some advisers are highly ethical and offer proper in-depth advice, but sadly there are still too many charlatans in the UAE. I do not wish to bad-mouth other firms, although many deserve their bad repuations. If anyone wants to ask a question, then best to PM me.
> 
> For more info, take a look at my links below.


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## Laowei

Agree with all the points, i used to be hounded by De Vere's when i was in Shanghai those and other cold calling companies. A drinking pal of mine worked for them in the capacity of Senior Advisor' his qualification was that he trained as a baker, but came to shanghai to teach english(not proper teacher) . He got the job with De vere's, and struggled to make ends meet due to the fact that De Vere's reputation was sulled by them constantly calling people and as a much smaller expat community people tend to share good and bad experiences much more quickly. For reference he left them and went back to making pies and selling them around pubs to eek out a meagre living.

Myself for recommendations, i had a UK pension, which i invested with the help of Elphaba,through Holborn. no pushiness just good honest advise about the best option for my pension. Never once tried me to sign up to a 20 year savings plan as others seem to want to do! Also took out life insurance through her recommendations which is something i wanted and needed. Highly recommended, she will even buy you a coffee ;-)

BTW Elph dont worry about bad mouthing certain companies i was cleverly accosted in a bar the other night by a "advisor' from Global eye who when i told her that i was fine for investments and i was safely and happliy using Holborn, she then preceeded to tell me what a fool i was. She seemed so convincing for a 23 year old!!


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## Bigjimbo

marc said:


> Very true, I have several friends who work for DeVere and a lot that have left, first of all the company is a revolving door when it comes to employment and I doubt your visa will be processed quickly.
> 
> Elph is right, they sell high commission paying packages and don't give a s*** what the client wants or what his/her needs are. They sell what suits them.


Thats right Marc, nothing worse then a company that is slow to process visa's and treat staff so badly that they leave as quickly as they come!


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## SunnyDevon

You could try Acuma Wealth Management - I have a friend who has recently moved there - they are I believe one of the only companies with government approved 3 state licenses and will only take on UK qualified advisors & don't cold call. **** if you want any advice on anything...


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