The ostensibly logical reason is ‘to make my money grow faster than it would in cash, which is far too complicated to do without professional help’. The real reason is ‘to sell me certainty and appease my need to feel as though I’ve done something in the name of sorting out my finances.’ As if that weren’t hard enough, you’ve then got to work out if an adviser’s means of delivering this is worth the cost, is better than the alternatives. Because no one understands precisely what they’re paying, what they’re getting in return, or what other options there are, this is, of course, impossible. Clearing up this confusion is the subject of Parts Two and Three.