Room for improvement

National Savings & Investments

A balanced portfolio should include National Savings and Investments, but they do not pay commission and many of the people they benefit cannot afford to employ a financial adviser

A package of products put together for a client must be balanced and have a reasonable co-relationship, therefore in theory it should include National Savings. But there are two problems. National Savings do not pay commission, so how is the adviser to be remunerated? Advisers pay fees to accountants and solicitors, but if the public has a problem paying a financial adviser, where does it get advice? And National Savings products are least often used by the people who most need them. Individuals with low income or who do not fully use personal tax allowances may benefit, but cannot necessa...