Immediately after commencing work at the newly opened office in Lisbon, I encountered minor differences in what was delivered in training in Malta and what was the real detail about the products we were to sell, work requirements and the professionalism of the firm.
I have to say that the size of the company did reassure me regards its seriousness, I have worked for global companies and although companies are made of people, I felt that given its size, there would would be some adherence to work practices, that it would be well structured and more importantly that it did what was advocated by its CEO Nigel Green.
It cant be further from the truth.
The deVere group, self proclaimed the largest independent financial consultancy in the world, is in fact a group of opportunistic franchisees, who go round advocating their expertise in finance, as if they in fact understood it or could control it. The background of the majority of the consultants is sales, not necessarily financial sales, most could not work in England as they are not qualified. The office managers do not care one bit as long as the sales are forthcoming. The local support to the consultants when they get on site, meaning when they arrive in their chosen country, will vary depending on the capabilities of the manager and there is no standard.
The company is expanding as I write his, hundreds of consultants are being hired and will be sent to the four corners of the world. These consultants have very basic training and knowledge, yet they are supposed to manage and give advice on individuals finances, savings and pensions and investments.
deVere franchise managers if you want to call them that, are now investing a great deal of money in seminars, invitees come along to very nice surroundings, where a brilliant speaker will deliver a presentation on the doom and gloom of the financial world culminating with an obvious solution provided by a deVere consultant, a solution which will deliver them from the uncertainties and pitfalls of the financial markets. I experienced one of those deliveries, where the Iberian senior managing partner simply omitted a detail on a product, a detail that could mean an investor would stand to loose 50% of his total investment and more importantly not make a cent of the promised 10.6% per year.
One thing deVere consultants tell prospects during the sales pitch is, that you can get the same product from the same company, paying the same and gaining the same. I suggest you do it, because once you signed, your consultant moves on to the next prospect, and the benefit of using deVere ceases. There was never one.
If you have a financial need, don't be lazy, it is your money so you find the best option, do the research on the web, go direct and avoid the middle man.
And if you are thinking of becoming a consultant, understand that deVere do not follow any work ethic, workers rights, fair and equal policies and even though they say they are a British firm, the are in fact a Dubai firm, managed from Malta, whilst it suits them. They do what they can, where ever they can.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
The so called financial advisors who work for this company have no financial expertise. And sell only products which pay highest commissions!
Absolutely true. I dealt with a Senior Partner in Frankfurt - he has very limited knowledge of financial products and not only omitted key facts - he actually purchased complex financial products from my funds without even telling me. They get customers to sign blank forms, telling them its standard procedure, not to worry, they will talk to you first before they commit - not so - they make multiple copies of a form with customer signature on it and use it without customer consent. Extremely unethical company.
100% true
I disagree i recently had a Devere consultant work on my offshore mortgage, They were very professional and worked above and beyond the call of duty. Its interesting the majority of the complaints you hear about are from staff... cant imagine its a an easy place to work then no job is.
From a clients perspective they were great...
I was aproached by a devere consultant a year ago. He asked me for authorisation to view my pension in the UK. I signed an authorisation to view my pension only. I never saw him again. They dont reply to my emails. I am now having to find out if they have stolen my pension. I am very concerned. If they aproach you, never sign anything.
Utterly ridiculous to think anyone can steal your pension from a valuation authorisation form. Try calling on the phone - your emails might have gone into junk. That said someone should have got back to you.