The study shows there are 20,000 more finance jobs than five years ago. London and the south east of England lost 21,000 over the same period.

Jobs in life insurance and pension funds in Scotland fell by 4,000, but new banking jobs rose by 24,000.

Business and financial services employ 107,000 Scots or 4.7% of the workforce.

Average wage

Scotland’s two biggest companies the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland employ about 35,000 people between them.

The report said that the average full-time financial sector worker in the UK earns, on average, 699 per week.

This is the most of any major industry group and almost 200 more than the average UK wage.

Across the UK there are 30 local authority areas where more than 25% of the workforce are employed in the broader business and finance sector.

Twenty-five of these are in London and the south east of England, four are in the east of England and one is in Scotland.

More recently significant growth in banking jobs in Scotland has more than offset job losses in insurance and pension funds Tim Crawford Bank of Scotland

The study said that 26% of people living in Edinburgh work in business and financial services.

The next highest local authority areas were East Lothian and East Dunbartonshire (19%), followed by Midlothian (18%) and West Lothian (17%). Glasgow was 14%.

Tim Crawford, group economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “Scotland has delivered the automobile finance insurance
percentage growth in financial services employment in Great Britain on a five, 10 and 20 year time frame.

“Good pay levels and the sector’s ability to generate new jobs in ancillary areas such as IT and the law have made a real finance gambling insurance internet pharmacy
to Scotland.

“More recently significant growth in banking jobs in Scotland has more than offset job losses in insurance and pension funds.”

There are a number of reasons why people first turn to a financial adviser for help.

You may be looking for the best way to save for retirement, a mortgage, advice on how to invest for the future or protect you and your family with a life insurance policy.

Perhaps you are just looking to make the most of the 5 April tax deadline.

Whatever your motivation for seeking it, getting unbiased financial advice is not as simple as it sounds; being forewarned is forearmed.

Different advisers

Multi-tied agents are allowed to recommend the products of a selection of providers, rather than just one

Until recently, there were two main ways of seeking financial advice for products such as life assurance, pensions and investments: either through an independent financial adviser (IFA) or a tied agent.

An IFA is required to act on your behalf, applied event extremal finance insurance modeling modeling probability stochastic
the whole market to find you the most suitable products.

Tied agents can only advise on the products provided by their employer, usually a bank, building society or insurer.

However, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), recently decided that there should be a third way to obtain financial advice; through a multi-tied agent.

Multi-tied agents are allowed to recommend the products of a selection of providers, rather than just one.

They can choose how many companies’ products they offer advice on, based on commercial finance or insurance or real estate with those companies.

Multi-tied advice was introduced to increase choice for people who would otherwise have taken tied advice.

All advisers are required by the new rules to produce a key facts document up-front, explaining what type of advice they offer.

You should check out the breadth of products and providers on offer and decide if this is good enough for you, or whether independent advice across the whole market of financial products would suit you best.

What to look for

Whether you choose an IFA or a tied or multi-tied adviser, you next have to ensure that they have the right knowledge and experience.

Personal impressions are important when selecting the right adviser, as are finance insurance tourist zurich from friends and colleagues

Ask how long the adviser and firm have been practicing, and check their credentials by asking them what qualifications they have.

All advisers have to pass the Financial Planning Certificate (FPC) before they are authorised and regulated by the FSA to give advice.

However, many IFAs have chosen to take further exams, either in general financial planning or specific product areas, to improve and demonstrate their professionalism to clients.

Some people will feel more at ease with a female adviser, or one that specialises in advice on particular product areas like retirement planning or mortgages.

You can find IFAs that match your preferred criteria, quickly and without pressure, online.

However, like choosing an accountant or dentist, you are looking for someone that you can forge a trusting export finance and insurance
with.

Personal impressions are important when selecting the right adviser, as are recommendations from friends and colleagues.

Advice costs

Once you have made a choice, your first meeting will be a getting to know you session, where you will be asked about your priorities and plans.

As part of the recent rule changes, all types of financial adviser are required to give you a second key facts document containing a “menu” of charges at the start of this first meeting, to enable you to compare costs, see what you are getting for your money and shop around.

An IFA must offer you the option of paying by a fee, as well as the option of paying by commission, ultimately added to the cost of any financial product bought from the adviser, or a combination of the two.

Tied and multi-tied agents don’t have to offer you this choice, but some may.

In the past the majority of consumers tended to opt to pay for their advice by commission.

In the future there may well be a shift towards more people paying fees, as the cost and value of advice becomes clearer through these new disclosure documents.

Fees for advice vary widely, but are typically between 50 and 200 an hour.

Do not be afraid to negotiate on costs with your adviser; he or she may well be prepared to reduce their fee or rebate more commission, especially if they want you as a long-term customer.

Financial planning and adapting to changing circumstances is a lifelong commitment, so taking a little time now to find the most suitable type of advice from someone you are comfortable with could save you a great deal of money in future.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general finance banking insurance only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

The programme will be repeated on Sunday, 23 January, 2005, at 2102 GMT.

A 1.1m fine imposed on Legal & General in 2003 is to be cut after a tribunal found the regulator had mis-judged the extent of endowment mis-selling by the insurer.

The Financial Services and Markets Tribunal decided mis-selling could only be proved in eight cases, not the 15,990 that the Financial Services Authority originally claimed.

But it did say that defects in the insurer’s procedures “would have caused or contributed to mis-sales”.

To discuss the insurance agent finance career change
of the ruling, we speak to Janet Walford, Editor of Money Management magazine, and Mick McAteer, Which? Chief Policy Adviser.

Further zuerich insurance finance
:

HSBC increases business charges

Four years ago, the big UK banks were slammed for their poor treatment of small businesses.

There has been surprisingly little change since then. And now, one of these banks, HSBC, has sharply increased some of its charges.

Samantha Washington reports.

Further information:

Pensioners to receive NICs offer

The government is writing to almost half a million pensioners to give them the opportunity to boost their state pension by paying extra National Insurance contributions.

Strict rules governing NI contributions determine the level of pension a person can receive.

By making voluntary National Insurance payments to cover the years for which they have incomplete contributions, pensioners may be entitled to a higher weekly pension in the future and a back-dated lump-sum.

We speak to one listener facing the dilemma; her local MP, Liberal Democrat pensions spokesman Steve Webb, and Gary Vaux of Hertfordshire County Council’s Money Advice Unit.

Further information:

Anger at BT late payment fine

British Telecom customers have been expressing their anger over a new policy of fining people 5 for late payment.

BT has defended its move, saying it is standard practice across other utilities companies, and prevents customers who pay on time from export finance and insurance
those who do not.

We hear from angry customers and put their complaints to Gavin Patterson, Managing Director of BT’s Consumer Division.

Further information:

Death certificates for UK missing

Families of British tsunami victims will get death certificates even if no body is found, the Foreign Office has announced.

Further information:

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Jessica Dunbar
Reporter: Samantha Washington