Financial advisers can play a vital part in helping guide us through the financial and investment decisions in our lives. Whether it's helping with the day-to-day financial dilemmas, or the more important milestones - from arranging your first mortgage to saving for a child's education - advisers are there to help sort the good from the bad in an increasingly crowded marketplace of investment products and providers.

Just as the number of investment products has grown at a bewildering rate over recent years, so too the choice of investment advice on offer has expanded, making it even more important to find the right investment adviser, whatever the need.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of investment advisers offering financial guidance in the UK: independent financial advisers (or IFAs as they are known); tied advisers and multi-tied advisers.

• Tied advisers are only able to advise and sell investment products provided by one company, for example a bank or building society.
• Multi-tied advisers are able to sell a limited number of investment products from a panel of companies, chosen by them.
• IFAs, on the other hand, are not contractually tied to any financial product provider and can therefore offer financial advice on investment products from any company in the market.

Some IFAs describe themselves as financial planners, preferring to give what is often called ‘holistic’ investment advice – essentially providing financial guidance rather than advising on a specific investment product.

All three types of investment adviser have one thing in common: if they are involved in selling or advising on products which are regulated by the government (for example, pensions, investments and general insurance), they must be authorised and adequately qualified. Some investment advisers may hold qualifications in specific areas, helping demonstrate their areas of expertise.

What can vary between the different investment advisers is how they make their money. IFAs can charge a mixture of commission or fees, but some will only advise on a fee basis. Commission is typically paid by the investment product provider, while fees are paid by clients, much as they are for say a lawyer or accountant, and are often open to negotiation.

Of course cost is not everything. With some 25,000 independent financial advisers currently operating in the UK, impartial investment advice is available on most financial products. So once you have matched the adviser to the need, make sure you also feel entirely comfortable with them. Search by anything from location to area of expertise to find the right investment adviser for you.

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