Seek advice or go it alone?

When it comes to investing your money, you face a choice.

You can either seek professional advice before making investment decisions or you can choose to select your own investments, without the benefit of advice.

Both routes to investing are equally valid and will suit different individuals.

What is right for you will depend on various factors; your experience, knowledge, time, inclination and investment objectives will all drive this decision.

With the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) on 31st December bringing the cost of advice sharply into focus, some investors will choose the DIY approach to investing in an attempt to cut costs.

Some online DIY investment options are a lower cost option than seeking investment advice from an IFA.

The cost savings tend to occur up front, with discounted initial fees, although making a clear cost comparison remains challenging due to overly complex charging structures.

As we approach the start of 2013, we will be adding an online DIY investment solution to our existing suite of advisory services.

IC Direct is currently under development and is set to launch in early 2013. We have partnered with one of the largest investment managers in the UK to create IC Direct.

The final details of the charging structure and platform functionality need to stay under wraps for a while longer, although we are confident that IC Direct will offer DIY investors the lowest available charges, an entirely transparent charging structure and an innovative range of tools designed to help them make better investment decisions.

Investors using IC Direct will also gain access to our regularly updated investment research, enabling them to make the right decisions with their money.

One of our aims with IC Direct is to introduce the same high standards being applied to advisory services, as a result of the Retail Distribution Review, to an execution-only platform.

We believe it is right and fair that investors understand precisely what they are paying for their investment platform and what they are paying for their fund management, without any convoluted charging structures including things like loyalty bonuses.

We are calling IC Direct the online investment platform that will change everything.

As we get closer the launch of IC Direct, I will write again with more details of the charging structure and site tools.