jellycat:
Seems like you've already learned one of the most important lessons. Stop paying to keep the "experts" in suits and season tickets.
Unfortunately, as you say, that leaves you out on your own. Taking responsibility (and therefore only having yourself to blame) is daunting and it changes you. It would be unethical of me to offer advice, so I'm going to anyway.
Read up. Your first investment should be an armful of books. I agree with goodlifer that Ben Graham is a good start, but there are plenty of others. I would say you're best looking for those texts that are recommended for a no-nonsense approach - the principles of investment are quite straighforward. Or they should be.
Tim Bennett at MoneyWeek has an excellent accessible series of video presentations covering everything from P/E ratios to QE, LTRO and all that jazz.
Take a Socratic approach. Be your own IFA. Ask yourself what your goals are, what your time horizon and attitude to risk are and so forth. When they say investment is different for everyone, they're not just flimflamming, it is true. You have to be clear about your objectives. You can always change your mind as you go along. There's an old chess maxim - a bad plan is better than no plan.
Tidy up what you already have before you start worrying about acquiring something else. In your situation, with 5 years to go, I would suggest you shine a hard unforgiving spotlight on your pension, debts, mortgage, etc before you do anything else.
Don't try to beat a benchmark or make a killing in underwater internet toasters. Aim to achieve what you need. Then you can have the odd punt on asteroid mining.
I'm still a believer in the conservative defensive income approach, but many others think it's getting a bit frayed round the edges, and some of the arguments are very persuasive. You have to have your own view, and that view should be strong enough that you can ruthlessly question it and flexible enough that you might be willing to change it.
Hope this helps. It's a learning experience, which should be enjoyable and stimulating. And hopefully not too painful. Best of luck.
