| DeVere Group |
| Unfair expectations and criticisms of DeVere |
| 6th of Aug, 2011 by fenix |
Well I had the opportunity to work for De Vere in their PIC office's in Abu Dhabi back in 2004.I worked as a Coordinator, basically the guy who contacts potential clients Ex-pats mostly, on behalf of Consultant (Wannabe Financial Advisor - actually I think he had passed all his exams, so was a proper financial advisor). He paid for half my accommodation and gave me a 20% cut on any commission he earned from clients I brought to him. I worked there for about 8months I was well taken care off, I kind of cleared about a 800-1000 Pounds sterling after expenses etc. It was a great opportunity to check out the country the lifestyle and culture, more importantly it was a great insight into the Financial Services World.
I also had the opportunity to meet Nigel Green, a few times, and was impressed with the guy, perhaps a bit overawed by the company he's managed to build up. The guy has a photographic memory - after asking me about what was my favourite book, I answered a biography I had read on a well known billionaire, he managed to quote verbatim whole paragraphs. The impression I got was that Nigel Green was a guy who lived and breathed his business, a true entrepreneur and I guess he did look a bit like Mr Burns from the Simpsons lol.
As for my insight into the business model- well yeah, a lot of the guy's at the office were just sales people from various backgrounds, most certainly not as illustrious as some of the clients they were trying to bag, working either as "cold calling co-ordinators" , or as "confident consultants" Yes in essence they were acting as brokers for the likes of the great Billion pound Life assurance companies who had thousands of different funds under their management and who were happy to pay for the clients introduced by these guys,
The new Consultants although they tried to apply themselves to gain some kind of discernment on behalf of their clients, with respect to choosing funds and gaining an insight into the financial trends of the various macroeconomic factors affecting them.
However the truth is these were not guys that would be employed by the likes of Merrill Lynch or Goldman Sachs for there financial analysis - I'm sure they would never have given me a job with my lower second degree in Law. But the point is they did assist in one of the first fundamentals of Wealth management - help people put money away that could not be got at for a while, and got them into the habit of saving a percentage of their gross income. So that when the expats did eventually retire, move home etc., they had something to show for their careers and lower tax living-pretty simple.
I learnt how to handle my money and investments very early - because I was interested in that area, making my first share purchase whilst only 14 - OK my mother bought them on my behalf, but by the time I was 18 my Next shares were worth 10 times what I had invested. But most ex pats were too busy working hard for their careers and money to ever have an interest in savings and investments, most just wanted to relax and enjoy themselves when they clocked off, fair enough they were probably earning 50 -80% more than they would have at home. But the nature of money is that it gets spent, especially when people are so unhappy with their jobs and too preoccupied chasing the dream of a lifestyle and merely end up casualties of the capitalist consumer conundrum or bamboozled by the banks. Truth is if you earn 2k or 20k a month most ex pats (and wage slaves in general) 80%, will still be in an overdraft situation. So when these guys (DeVere/PIC/IFAs) bend your arms to save, they're doing you a favour as well as themselves. When I saw statements of people who had saved for at least 5yrs - they had something to look forward to. Even if the consultants had chosen the funds on their behalf with the aid of a coin toss and or wherever the point of a pin landed -lol -Sorry its the truth.
I left because I had integrity issues - I did not think it was right that people should have to use middlemen that were primarily motivated by the commission they could earn and the lack of financial savvy shown by a lot of these consultants - especially considering how most of these consultants had no investments of their own and would never in their right minds ever do so in the products they were selling.
But if you havent read the financial pages for years and dont know about the stock markets and dont want to invest in your nephews new dotcom. What do you do?
I suggest you read some books If you can be bothered.
Simple books like Rich Dad Poor Dad series of books by Robert Kyosaki or The Richest man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason -, If you have time read the Financial Times or Investors Chronicle.
Or Get an IFA who walks the talk. Someone who has got some investments of his own, Plus A Good IFA an established guy in a foreign country where you have started to work will probably have a network of local contacts who trust him and insights into social and cultural contacts to put the average Facebook teenager to shame. And yeah the truth is the really successful ones probably earn 10 times your average expats salary.
An IFA can be a great asset in more ways than one, but dont for gods sake get suckered in by all the bull shit they say, take some real responsibility for your financial lives and check them out properly first. And the truth is every firm has good ones and bad ones.
Peace and prosperity to all and take care. |
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"And the truth is every firm has good ones and bad ones."
And some only have bad ones because they're paid on a commission-only basis and made to pay all their costs themselves, which makes them so desperate to to earn commission on the commission-heavy, high-fee products the firm sells that they'll say anything to sell them. Great way to create con artists. |
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