How We Work

Our process and pricing

Investments, Pensions, Mortgages and Protection

We will have an initial meeting with you, either face to face, online or by telephone. This meeting is free from charge or obligation and is designed to discuss and assess how we can be of assistance.  

We will research the whole market for you to find the best solution as we are true Independent Financial Advisers. We will provide you with a detailed written report explaining our recommendations.

We are very keen to be transparent in our charges, but it is difficult to accurately price work without knowing exactly what it entails. One of the main reasons for this is that every piece of work is unique.

We did have a full tariff of charges published here but our initial feedback was that it was confusing – so I’m addressing this with some brief examples:

• Mortgages – £250 initially for research and a further £250 on application

• For Equity Release we refer to a Third Party Equity Release Specialist

• Life Assurance & Protection – We do not charge you a fee as we receive commission from the Provider organisation which we will disclose to you.

• Setting up a brand new Personal Pension – £600

• Review of an existing Pension plan – c. £750

   

• Inheritance Tax & Estate Planning – Full Initial Review in conjunction with Accountant – £3,500 

• Consolidating combined DC (‘Defined Contribution’ or ‘Money Purchase’) pensions

–   Consolidating a £100,000 fund would cost c. £2,000
–   Consolidating a £300,000 fund would cost c. £6,000

• Moving existing Pensions & Investments has an Implementation Fee of 2%, which reduces to 1.5% over £1.25M

   

• Complex SSAS Pension Advice and Estate Planning would be more expensive and would be priced on a case by case basis in terms of the wider project.

• “Ethicalising” your current pension plan (moving your existing pension funds into appropriate Responsible Investment Funds more aligned with your values) – From around £1,250, depending on complexity.

Please note that these are guidelines to help you make a decision. We will always give you a price on request based on our actual initial discussions with you.

Please also note that you are usually able to facilitate advisory fees via your investments. This means that you don’t necessarily have to “use your chequebook”, if you would prefer to do things that way. Clearly it will have an impact on your short term investment performance, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the size of your investments.

Some of these advice areas (and fees) are included within your service package if you are an existing client signed up to either our Full or Comprehensive Advice Service.

Depending on your investment portfolio or other invested assets, you may require us to provide you with an ongoing review service to ensure that your plans remain appropriate. Maintaining your plans, both for your values, objectives and also for the prevailing economic climate and changing legislation landscape is a major part of ensuring their long-term success.

About Our Ongoing Service

We offer three options in terms of ongoing service:

• Essential Review Service: This incorporates everything in the Custodian service plus access to your adviser on an ad hoc basis. We will provide you with a full and thorough financial review each year, face to face (or online if preferred) providing a written report on your objectives and the ongoing suitability of your plans.

   

• Full Advice service: This incorporates everything in the Essential Review service plus annual portfolio rebalancing, investments switching, ISA top-ups and “Bed & ISA” transactions and an update on the tax status of your situation. We will review your income and expenditure, provide a state benefits check, and you will have access to your information via our client portal.

   

• Comprehensive: This incorporates everything in the Full Advice service but with two meetings per annum, six monthly statements of holdings, six monthly portfolio rebalancing, a comprehensive financial health check across the board, CGT planning, IHT assessment, cashflow plans updated and liaising with your accountant or solicitor as required.

The pricing of these services is set out below: 

* An Advice fee, as detailed in our Client Agreement, may apply where new policies are recommended and implemented.

** Comprehensive Review Service applies where the calculated annual fee exceeds £3.500.

*** Full Advice Service applies where the calculated annual fee exceeds £1,600.