Let’s consider a scenario: If you are looking for the best credit card terms or car insurance deal what is the best solution?

Well, chances are that most of you will scour a number of comparison websites that list out ‘n’ number of credit cards offered by different banks with their crazy offers.

But have you ever thought of comparing financial advisers?

Financial advisers? Eh! Did you say?

Well, could be forgiven for thinking so, as you are not alone.

Product comparison websites, such as comparison of credit cards, insurance, loans, etc have been around for years in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf region.

However, surprisingly, there hasn’t been a comparison website for financial advisers, up until the birth of www.whichfinancialadviser.com – which was recently launched by UAE-based consultancy Insight Discovery, in partnership with the law firm Pinsent Masons.

“When you have an attorney giving you advice, it would be nice to know what their financial relationship is to the advice.” – Lowell Bergman (investigative reporter, and a former producer for CBS’s “60 Minutes”)

But why I need to compare financial advisers?

If you are an expats in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf, you, like elsewhere, must have taken help of financial advisers, at some point of time in your life, for a variety of reasons.

Some of you may have already worked with advisers for years but aren’t satisfied with the relationship or the services.

Likewise, many of the expats might never have a financial adviser before but would like get a better grasp of their investment needs.Either way,such expats continue to harbor bitter memories when it comes to financial advice.

But the key question is – could you be investing better if you had compared financial advisers?

It is worth bearing in mind that those who do not typically think of comparing financial advisers could get deluded by the financial adviser they trust the most.

Look at this way! If you’re an online shopper, don’t you compare prices and products first before shopping on the web?

In the same vein, before approaching a financial adviser and handling all your investment needs to him, doesn’t it make sense to see which financial adviser is best suited to fulfil your investment needs?

This coupled with a string of mis-selling scandals involving financial advisers, investments and commission-driven products have left many expats skeptical about the wisdom of approaching financial advisers.

The long and the short of it is: ignorance is no bliss when it comes to investment. If you don’t know which financial adviser is best for your investment needs, it could not only stifle the ROI, but it could also jeopardize your wealth!

So, where does that leave financial advisers?

Realistically speaking, expats living in the UAE and the wider Gulf region can still get the most out of financial advisers, but only if they examine and do proper research.

This is exactly the point where the crucial task of comparing financial advisers comes into the picture.

Answer this question honestly:If you are seeking financial advice, but don’t bother to compare a number of financial advisers that are regulated by local authorities in the UAE, would you ever come to know who is the most competent enough to help you in meeting your financial goals in a fair and transparent manner?

If your answer is yes, you are on right track.

Compare and invest 

So next time, if someone tells you ‘I don’t need to compare a financial adviser’ and wonders it is a waste of money,just tell him to hang on!

In a perfect world, no one would need to compare financial advisers with whom one could check in the most suitable investment avenues.

The reality is that, we all live in an imperfect world (Pun intended!).

And, therefore, there comes a time when paying for comparing financial advice becomes a solid investment in your future, and not just a waste of money.

That’s why www.whichfinancialadviser.com or WFA, the UAE’s first financial adviser aggregator website, has done the pioneering effort of putting together regulated financial advisers. The unrivalled website features those financial advisers who hold qualifications such as CII, CISI, and the CFA, or the equivalent in their home country, and are also regulated by authorities in the UAE.

A flagship venture of the award-winning consultancy firm Insight Discovery, the purpose of WFA is to bring in greater transparency in the UAE’s financial services sector.

So far so good!

Seems, the golden words of Lowell Bergman will forever remain relevant in the world of financial advice too!