Just a quick note - the expansion continues apace. My dad was looking for a company to invest his (Q)ROPS money into, looked on a few wealth management websites (without filling anything in) and got a phone call from Chase Buchanan within an hour.
No idea how they got his number or identity, but they did and were like a rat up a drainpipe.
They wanted him to fill out a load of forms detailing his entire holdings, investment profile etc etc and meet him for a lunch chat. They gave him a spiel about how his wrapper fees were probably too high at around 7% and that theirs is much better. Obviously, they neglect to tell you about their massive up-front cut.
Shower of barstewards, trying to prey on ex-pat pensioners.
Has anybody actually tried to threaten one of these callers? As in: "I ́ll find you "Clive" if you or your company trouble me again, it ́s what I do for a living, and when I have found you and make no mistake I will, I hold you responsible and you PERSONALLY will bear the weight of my wrath..." Something like that.
Yes, but not threatened personally. A few years ago I'd had quite a few calls from them over a six month period, each time I got more and more angry when I had to repeat not to ever call me again.
The last time they called I told them if they did call once more I would come round to their offices with my 2 Rottweilers and make them cr@p all over their reception area. They never called me again.
Has anyone been approached by W1 investment group? A quick Google reveals contact numbers in Qatar and Belgium. Just wondering if they fall in the same category as Devere.
"The company [W1 investment group] was set up three years ago by a group of former UK independent financial advisers (IFAs), specialising in providing advice to the expat community in Qatar."
"UK independent financial advisers (IFAs)" makes it sound as if they'd be approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK (which has no jurisdiction over advisers/advice provided outside the UK), but it could just be that they're British and calling themselves IFAs.
Some recent news about deVere's activities in the USA:
I get a call from DeVere on average once a month, usually from what sounds like junior or trainee wealth managers. They always open with 'have you had a good weekend' or 'how's your week going', it must be what they train them to say. It doesn't matter if they tell you you're not interested, they keep calling.
Thank you for the suggestion, great idea. I have tried that with several of the so-called "wealth managers" but it doesn't seem to help, they keep calling. I hear that cold calling is not prevented by GDPR but it imposes some restrictions/responsibilities...any GDPR experts out there?