Why Choose OpesFidelio

Optimising your investment performance hinges on the quality of both your advisor and their firm

We Aim to Make it Easier for You to Avoid a Mistake When You Pick Your Adviser or Wealth Manager

With everyone claiming to be “wealth managers”, what do you need to know to avoid a nasty surprise from an unregulated or unauthorised firm or adviser?

Our focus is on leveraging our strengths to offer comprehensive solutions tailored to the diverse financial challenges our clients may encounter.

Our team of over 40 advisers, strategically positioned in 20 countries across Europe and the US, specialises in addressing the unique needs and requirements of our clients. Our extensive expertise as investment advisers and financial planners, coupled with our in-depth tax knowledge and regulatory licenses, equips us to provide expert guidance throughout the cross-border EU landscape for expatriates.

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The 3 Types of Advice Firms

Every financial institution must obtain registration, accreditation, and licensing solely for the products permitted by their respective regulations. Consequently, the advice they provide is restricted to products that align with their accreditation as follows:

IDD (insurance-only) firms exclusively market insurance-based products. For insurance bonds, also known as “tax-wrapper” investment bonds, neither the firms nor their advisors require any investment qualifications.
MiFID (investment advisory) firms specialise in the sale of investment products, which encompasses insurance bonds and pensions. They are in the UK and the US often called “wealth management” or “independent investment planners”.
MiFID (securities trader or discretionary manager) firms do not engage in product sales. They specialise in investments and securities and operate independently.

IDD firms (type 1) are therefore not investment “wealth managers” and yet in Europe they often advertise themselves as such. Even an IDD firm that refers business to a MiFID firm is still just an insurance firm. (Check their status on the local register and do not be fooled – they are not a wealth management company)

The 4 Types of Advisers

Regulations are intended to safeguard you against unqualified advisors who fail to meet minimum regulatory standards and often give advice on investment products and pensions where they lack training and certification. Therefore, it’s imperative for you to be aware of what criteria to look for:

Surprisingly, many IDD-only firms require their advisors to have just 15 hours of recent insurance product knowledge, no recent investment or insurance qualifications, and there is no requirement for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in investments or pensions.
Level 3 qualified advisers – While this is the minimum standard met by many European advisors, it’s considered basic and hasn’t been accepted in the UK or the US for over a decade. Again limited CPD is required with often no investment or pension specialisation.
Level 4 investment qualification – This is the minimum requirement for OpesFidelio advisors, who must also complete 25 hours of CPD and possess a specialised investment qualification.
Level 6 qualifications such as Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager, or Certified Financial Planner – These are highly esteemed qualifications representing both knowledge and experience, and we have OpesFidelio advisors who have attained this level of expertise.

Award-Winning Experience

OpesFidelio are the only EU network that has a MiFID (securities trader or discretionary manager) licence alongside IDD as a tertiary licence, whilst insisting ALL our advisers are qualified to the highest 2 international standards (3 & 4 above).

Aisa Group which started OpesFidelio has been operating for 25 years and has £750 million assets under management, over 50 advisers and was the first setup in the EU with transparent fees at its heart.

With over 50 Finalist awards across Aisa Group spanning 20 years including twice as top individual adviser in the UK by the Financial Times (FT) why waste time with an IDD only firm?

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