You may be perfectly comfortable planning your investments without help from someone else but there is no guarantee that you will end up with the best choice. Also, choosing and watching your investments can be a surprisingly time-consuming business and impartial, independent help is well worth having. We show you how to get it.

IFAs

An independent financial adviser will check your entire financial situation, suggest a suitable strategy and comb the market for the best financial products. You will have to fill in some forms and will be asked a lot of questions about your hopes and dreams, existing investments, and your plans for your retirement. Only with that sort of information - called a 'factfind' - can an adviser get the full picture.

'Tied' advisers

The advice on the High Street is very different. Tied advisers are basically sales staff for banks with stiff targets to meet - people can therefore be pressured into buying the wrong products. So the mortgage adviser at your bank will offer advice only on mortgages offered by that bank. They claim to be financial advisers and as long as they do not claim to be independent financial advisers they are within their rights.

'Multi-tied' advisers

Confusingly, an additional type of adviser was created by the law-makers at the end of 2004. Mult-tied advisers will be a hybrid of an IFA and a tied agent. Rather than search the whole market, a multi-tied adviser will limit himself to certain companies. They will be able to sell a small range of products from other providers, but only if you fully understand you are not being given the full range. For example, HSBC might recommend funds from a series of fund managers, such as JP Morgan, Gartmore and Fidelity.

More choice

• An IFA would tick the box stating: 'We offer products from the whole market'
• A multi-tied adviser would tick the box saying: 'We offer products from only a limited number of companies - ask us for a list of companies and products we offer'
• A tied agent would state: 'We can offer only products from x (x being the single company the adviser works for).'

The cost of an adviser

IFAs can get paid commission on whatever they recommend - and this ultimately comes out of your money. But while this commission shouldn't influence their advice, it does mean that some IFAs may be more independent than others. For example, some IFAs may not recommend companies which don't pay commission, such as in the case of National Savings & Investment products and investment trusts.

Many IFAs, however, will now operate on a fee basis instead, so removing the nagging doubt that judgment could be biased by commission. This means that there is a charge upfront - an hourly fee which can be anything between £80 and £200 - and any commission is rebated to you. You have to pay every time you take advice, even if you don't buy the product. But there are times when the best advice really is to do nothing.

Exectuion-only brokers give no advice but you have to sign a declaration that you received no advice at all. The adviser - sometimes known as a discount broker - then carries out your instructions and rebates much of his commission to your account. It makes sense for people who know their way around the investment business, but not for those who don't.

Finding an IFA

This is Money offers a "www.thisismoney.co.uk/find-an-adviser" Find an adviser service, which helps to put you in contact with advisers in your area.

The Institute of Financial Planning provides a list of its fee-charging members (Tel: 0117 945 2470). There is also a Central Register of Advisers available from the FSA consumer helpline on 0845 606 1234. The FSA will tell you if an IFA is registered.
As with most things it's best to ask family and friends if they can recommend someone.
You could arrange to meet two or three advisers for an initial discussion, before deciding which is best for you. Ask the following questions:

You should then consider: Are your questions answered clearly and sufficiently? Do you have confidence in your adviser in general? Are you made to feel silly? If so, find another one. This may be no reflection on the adviser's skill and competence, but in something as sensitive as this, you want someone with whom you are happy dealing, just as with a doctor or solicitor.

Spotting a good adviser

They will recommend products, such as tax-free Isas, which do not pay him or her a commission. Be sceptical if the adviser recommends that you buy an investment bond issued by insurance companies as they may have no real benefit for you. But the adviser gets more commission than if they sold you a unit trust investing in essentially the same thing.

Alternatives to IFAs include solicitors, accountants and stockbrokers. But they will choose from their expertise. So stockbrokers will steer your towards shares, while an accountant will be mainly concerned with the tax implications.

How to complain

Complaints can be only about bad advice not bad investment performance. First take your complaint to the adviser. If you can't resolve it complain to a regulator. Advisers, stockbrokers and investment managers must be regulated by the Financial Ombudsman and the FSA. If you are unhappy with the regulator's decision, complain to the relevant ombudsman.