Who is the mystery shopper?

Mr X and his wife have two children

Here is the profile of our mystery shopper:

Mr X has just inherited £76,000 following the death of his mother in October 2002.

He wants some initial ideas as to where he should invest the inheritance money and is shopping around "tied" and independent advisors to see what is out there.

He is nervous about the current state of the stock market but equally concerned about the low interest rates offered by banks.

He is nervous rather than sceptical, and does not want to lose the money.

He has never had such a huge lump sum before and is very concerned that he gets this right.

He does not need an income from the money right now, but will in the future (growth now, income later).

Personal Details:

Age: 53 (born in 1950)

Married: Wife age 54 born in 1949

Children: Two children, both have left home & are almost free of debt. The children have also been left some money and will sort themselves out.

Job: 18 years as a commercial surveyor with one company. Qualified chartered surveyor (RICS).

Salary: £45,000 p.a.

Pension: Company pension

Retirement: Considering retiring at either 55 or 60 years. But not yet certain.

Wife: Does not work and has no pension.

Smoking: Neither man nor wife smoke.

Existing financial situation: Outstanding mortgage of £32,000. Re-mortgaged 2 years ago to a fixed rate for 5 years at 4.75%

Monthly mortgage payment: £268.

Value of home: £300,000.

Mortgage protection: Does not need any mortgage protection as it is covered by work life assurance, and wife is covered through this too.

Savings: Some savings in a building society joint account of £6-7,000. He and his wife have Peps & Isas of about £6,000. They have not used Isa allowance for a few years.

Credit card debts: None

Attitude to Risk

He is cautious, as he does not want to lose his mother's money.

If asked to define his attitude on a scale of 1-10, he sees himself just below the middle.

He is prepared to take some risk, he does have Peps and Isas but he is now wary of stock market investments as these have not performed well.

The mystery shopper was also given the following information to give to the advisors if questioned:

He has invested in the stock market before and holds some windfall shares.

Life assurance: Yes through work but cannot remember the details

Health insurance: Yes through work but cannot remember the details

Early retirement penalties: Does not think so but would have to check

Length of mortgage: It runs until he is 65 years-old

Mortgage protection: Covered by death in service though work

Sickness pension: Work sorts you out if you are sick and will pay 6 months, but you would have to check the rest of the details.

Additional Requests

At the end of each meeting Mr X asked advisers to write to him outlining their proposals.

BBC Radio 4's Money Box Investigates was broadcast on Tuesday, 22 April, 2003 at 2000 BST.