Our Service & Fee Structure
It is important to us that you know what to expect in terms of the services we provide, and that you understand our commitment to you in the provision of those services. You also need to be aware of the costs of the services we provide.
We trust you will find the following information of interest:
Stage 1: Exploration and Discovery
When you initially contact us we will collect some basic information about you and what services you might require, and arrange an initial planning meeting, if needed. At this point we will broadly outline to you the cost of our services.
At our initial planning meeting, which is at our expense, we spend time getting to know you. This is not just collecting data (although that’s part of it), but starting to understand what’s important to you, your current circumstances, and your aspirations, priorities and objectives.
By this point, we will have assessed your:
- Current personal and financial situation
- Financial objectives for the future
Following our initial planning meeting we will write to you setting out our understanding of your requirements, our suggested course of action to meet your requirements and our fees for providing these services. We will enclose our fee agreement at this point.
There is no obligation to proceed at this stage and any charges will be discussed and agreed before work is carried out.
Stage 2: Advice and Recommendation
Should you decide to proceed, we will ask your permission for us to commence chargeable work for you by signing and returning our fee agreement.
At this stage, we will thoroughly analyse the information we have collected from you and research potential solutions to meet your objectives. We use technology to ensure this process is as accurate and efficient as possible. We will also gather and analyse information on any existing financial products that you hold, if required. We will also assess and discuss your attitude to investment risk and your understanding of how such risks may affect you and your financial objectives.
From the picture we have created, we construct your personal financial plan utilising the expertise within our team and sophisticated research tools. We analyse funds and products, and aim to ensure tax advantages are maximised where appropriate. Once we have done this we prepare a personal report with our recommendations and discuss and agree this with you.
In producing your report, we will have:
- Established your financial objectives and requirements
- Identified any shortfall in your current arrangements
- Discussed and agreed your attitude to investment risk
- Gathered all relevant information and data
- Constructed an investment portfolio with due regard to tax efficiency
- Agreed how and when to review the plan
- Identified any further action required
Stage 3: Implementation
Once you feel able to make a fully informed decision, and have given your consent to proceed, we handle the commencement of the plan as quickly and smoothly as possible. We will assist you in completing the necessary forms and ensure your applications are processed by any relevant investment houses and providers in a timely manner.
We will:
- Help you with any necessary forms
- Answer any queries you might have
- Arrange for the paperwork to be processed efficiently
- Check information produced by the providers/investment houses
- Finalise the details and issue the contract documentation
Stage 4: Review and Ongoing Services
Financial planning goes beyond recommending a product or providing the initial advice. In fact, only through regular monitoring and review is it normally possible to ensure that your arrangements remain relevant and on track. Our systems help us to monitor clients’ individual portfolios. Our review process checks that plans continue to meet objectives and then incorporates any changes in a client’s situation. We have different ongoing service levels to suit your individual requirements.
Our review services can include:
- Contact with you to request up to date information
- Arrangement of review meeting if appropriate
- Review of your financial objectives
- Provision of Portfolio valuations
- Written review report
- Investment portfolio health check carried out
- Review of your documents to minimise paperwork
Other services are available:
- Additional meetings if required
- Access to your adviser by telephone and email
- Liaison with other professionals (accountants and solicitors)
Your Commitment to Us
To enable us to give you the best possible advice it is important that we gather as much information regarding your circumstances as we can. It is your responsibility to provide this information and to let us know if anything changes.
We will occasionally ask you to complete paperwork to keep us up to date with your financial situation, and we ask that you return this in a timely manner. Failure to return paperwork may result in us being unable to provide you with the agreed level of service.
You will always know our fees before you make a decision to proceed.
We don’t hide our costs and have a transparent charging structure, so you can be sure we are working efficiently for your benefit.
How we Charge for our Services
Our fees are based wholly upon the provision of our qualified and professional expertise; the time taken to analyse your circumstances and devise an appropriate strategy going forward; the design of an appropriate summary report to communicate this strategy to you; and also takes into account our firm’s exposure to regulatory, commercial and financial risk.
We have different fees for implementation and the different service levels we offer. Should you agree to proceed and we go ahead with the implementation of your strategy, it can be arranged for your total fees to be deducted from the investment amount at outset, via the product provider. Alternatively, you may prefer to make your payment to us by cheque or bank transfer. We will discuss the options with you and help you decide which the most appropriate payment method is.
Our Initial Fees
Our initial fees cover the advice, recommendation and implementation parts of our service to new clients or for new investments, as detailed above. We believe in a charging structure that is clear and easy to understand. We will always aim to charge you an initial fee that is relevant to the amount and complexity of the work involved.
Our standard initial fees are detailed in the table below:
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Initial meeting | At our expense |
| Analysis, research, recommendation and implementation of advice | 3% of assets being reviewed or invested. Example 1: The initial fee for an investment of £85,000 will be £2,550. Example 2: The initial fee for an investment of £30,000 will be £900. An additional fee may be charged when the initial remuneration does not accurately reflect the firm's/adviser's time and the complexity of the work involved. In such circumstances we will provide you with an estimate of how many hours we expect this to take and will not exceed this without checking with you first. |
Non-investment insurance contracts
For non-investment insurance contracts such as life assurance, it may be possible for us to receive commission from the product provider.
Our Ongoing Fees
We provide a range of ongoing services designed to maintain and monitor your portfolio and to ensure that your objectives and attitude to risk are correctly aligned with your holdings over an extended period of time. In addition, on-going advice services ensure that developing and future financial objectives are taken into account.
Reviews are important as aspects of your financial arrangements can change over time, including your goals and risk profile as well as the underlying asset’s risk characteristics. Ongoing service can help adapt and position your arrangements to manage such changes and influencing factors.
Examples of typical ongoing fees are shown below:
| Service charge 0.5% per annum | |
| Example 1: | for a portfolio valued at £215,000, the annual cost of ongoing management would be £1,074 |
| Example 2: | for a portfolio valued at £80,000, the annual cost of ongoing management would be £400 |
| An additional fee may be charged where the annual remuneration received from the ongoing service charge does not accurately reflect the time and complexity of the work involved. In such circumstances we will provide you with an estimate of how many hours we will expect this to take and will not exceed this without checking with you first. | |
Where we have agreed that you will pay the ongoing fee directly, by standing order or cheque, the yearly fee will be calculated based on the value of your assets under management at the anniversary date.
Service Levels
Different clients require different levels of service and we have two options to meet your individual requirements:
- Our Wealth Management Service.
- Self-select / Transactional (no ongoing service).
If the annual ongoing fee does not cover the cost of providing your service level, we reserve the right to charge a minimum fee to provide these services but we will advise and agree with you in advance.
If you are an existing client we will discuss and agree with you which service level is most appropriate to meet your ongoing requirements. We will look at the current remuneration we receive in respect of the products we manage for you and agree with you how the service level you require can be paid for going forward.
What is included
| Service offered | Wealth Management service | Transactional |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | 0.5% of the value of funds under management | No ongoing service |
| Additional fees | By prior agreement, dependent on the value and complexity of assets under management | N/A |
| Comprehensive Financial Health Check | Annually, if requested by the client | N/A |
| Review and update attitude to investment risk | Annually | N/A |
| Review and update client's circumstances | Annually | N/A |
| Update of personal and financial information | Annually | N/A |
| Investment valuation and plan summary | Available online daily | N/A |
| Valuations | On request | N/A |
| Telephone and email contact with Financial Adviser | As required, during office hours | N/A |
Transactional service, please note
Should you decide that you do not require ongoing management and choose the Transactional service, please take note of the following:
- If your financial circumstances, objectives and attitude to risk change over time, the structure of your investment portfolio may no longer be suitable for your needs.
- As financial markets fluctuate, the way your assets are allocated in your portfolio may become unbalanced and ultimately expose you to more or less equity risk than you wish to accept.
How You Can Pay Us
There are a variety of ways by which we can be remunerated for our services. As part of the overall financial planning process we will also take into account how best to charge for our service.
In some cases it is best if the fee is taken from your contracts, which either obtain tax relief on creation or are taxed on exit, because this effectively saves you this percentage in tax. For example, if our fee to manage your pension investments was £1,000 and this was taken via the pension itself, the net cost to you may be as low as £600. In other cases it may be in your best interest to pay us directly from your own bank account by cheque, standing order or direct credit.
We will discuss the various payment options with you and answer any questions you may have.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
As we act on your behalf as an intermediary, with a view to arranging an investment product, our fees are currently exempt from VAT. This means we do not usually have to make an additional charge of 20%.
If we do have to charge you for a service which is subject to VAT we will inform you in advance.
Invoice Procedure
Invoices are issued within 10 days of either an advice service being finalised and/or a report being issued.
We expect all invoices to be settled within 28 days.
Refunds & Cancellation Policy
Fees are payable subsequent to our advice services being provided, and therefore refunds are not available in normal circumstances. Fees paid in respect of regular or annual services are not refundable; however, any on-going services may be cancelled upon request subject to 30 days notice.
Please also refer to your the section on Cancellation Rights in our Terms of Business in respect of cancelling individual products or policies, within the given cancellation period.
Hourly Rates
Where we use or refer to hourly rates the current rates are as follows:
Financial Planner: £250 per hour
Para-planner: £150 per hour
Administration (Senior): £90 per hour
Administration (General): £50 per hour
We will provide you with an estimate of how many hours we expect to take and we will not exceed this without checking with you first.
We intend to be professional, clear and fair in our dealings with you, and will always ensure that any service or advice provided is in your best interests.
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