A couple of weeks ago as the clock struck 2pm on rainy and windy October Tuesday I found myself taking a call from a prospective client which I feel obliged, dear reader, is important to share with you.

The conversation which started relatively conventionally quickly moved onto a conversation about among other things Galleons, carbon dioxide and hotel rooms in St Lucian holiday resorts.

Now there might be an assumption based on the prevalence in the conversation of ships and ‘islands of the Americas’ that we were having a conversation about ‘the pirates of the Caribbean’….

However Johnny Depp (or his character Captain Jack Sparrow) wasn’t mentioned one although we did talk about individuals of questionable moral character who steal…..let me explain.

The conversation with this particular client started when he’d heard from a friend about some of the ‘alternative’ investments available.

Over the past few years there seems to be a ever expanding market of ‘alternative’ investments. Investments which superficially seem glamorous and attractive but actually can mean you lose out in a big way.

It seems you can invest in anything nowadays from shares in holiday resorts through to a share in part of the ‘booty’ of expeditions to find lost gold (unbelievable but genuinely an ‘investment’ I’ve heard exists)

The issue with many of these complex and esoteric investment types is that at best they’re highly risky and at worst blatant scams designed to make you part with your cold hard cash.

When one of our private clients entrust us with their money they’re normally looking for a number of things.

They’re looking for a professional they can trust. They’re looking for someone to provide an independent perspective on building managing and maintaining their wealth so they can achieve their goals in life….

…They’re looking for a safe paid of hands.

If you’ve working hard to achieve financial security or have worked hard to get there our experience is that you don’t need someone who gives you the latest ‘investment opportunity’ when it arises but instead a trusted partner who guides you in the right direction.

Luckily there’s a number of ways you can ensure you’re trusting your money with a ‘safe pair of hands’ as opposed to someone who’s going to suggest investments which aren’t appropriate over the longer term.

Firstly financial services in the UK are highly regulated and the regulator (The Financial Conduct Authority) retains a record of regulated individuals. This allows you to do some initial checks on the business you’re planning to work with.

You can find details of the register here:-

https://www.fca.org.uk/register

It’s important to make this check as regulated individuals are bound by a set of rules designed to protect you.

These are rules which many of the ‘alternative’ investment providers aren’t bound by the FCA which often means they make guarantees they can’t keep and promises they can’t deliver,

It’s also worth checking out the Financial Conduct Authority pages on scams:-

http://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams

Secondly and in addition to checking the FCA register it’s worth asking the adviser you want to work with for testimonials and references from existing clients. In particular clients they’ve worked with for a number of years to confirm that the particular adviser looks after their clients for the longer term.

The advisers who are a ‘safe pair of hands’ tend to openly share testimonials and will be able to connect you with clients for a chat about their service.

Thirdly if an investment sounds like a ‘great opportunity’ and seems unusually more exciting than more conventional investments more often than not it’s worth avoiding.

Most good long term investments are conventional in nature and in style are less ‘captain Jack’ and more ‘Captain Sensible’. Therefore…

…the common sense approach is to not to pick exciting investments but to use the money to live a life which is as exciting to you as possible.

By doing this you’re way more likely to keep your ‘boring’ money on track and your ‘exciting’ life goals more achievable.