Our Fees
We believe in fairness and transparency and how we charge for our services is no exception.
We Charge Fixed Fees
The value of financial advice goes beyond simply managing your money – it’s about ensuring your financial decisions align with your goals and giving you confidence in your future. Our fees are determined by the complexity of the services you need, not a percentage of your investment, which we believe is a fairer approach.
If an accountant or solicitor charged you based on the value of your investments, alarm bells would start ringing – we think the same should apply to financial planning. That’s why we charge fixed monthly fees for our services based on the complexity of your financial affairs and our ability to add value over the long term.
We charge at two stages: initial fee and ongoing fee, and you can find out more about both below.
Initial Fee
The first part of your journey to financial freedom is the financial planning service we provide, which involves us creating a financial plan and forecast to assess your current financial position as well as a pension and investment review.
The initial service includes:
- Gathering relevant information about your circumstances, financial position, attitude to investment risk, income and capital requirements, and objectives for the future.
- Analysing the information gathered against your objectives and researching solutions.
- Providing a financial report detailing your current financial position and our recommendations.
- Liaising with you and relevant product providers to ensure the recommendations are implemented correctly
- A financial plan and forecast to provide an assessment of your current financial position and establish what’s important to you, your goals and objectives, whether you’re on track to meet them and what actions should be taken.
- Reviewing your existing savings, pensions and investments and making recommendations.
- Implementing our recommendations.
Ongoing Fees
On the first anniversary of the date of your Client Service Agreement, our ongoing fees will begin. Our fees for our ongoing services will be paid monthly.
The ongoing service includes:
- General administration.
- Monthly newsletter.
- Access to your financial planner, client relationship manager and support team throughout the year.
- Annual forward planning meeting to discuss actions outstanding from the last 12 months, changes to your circumstances and objectives, and any changes that need to be made to your plan.
- Annual financial snapshot summary of your overall financial position.
- Annual comprehensive financial plan, including a review of your pensions and investments and the implementation of our recommendations.
- Liaison with other professional connections, such as solicitors and accountants.
- Depending on your service contract, an extra meeting to discuss areas of additional complexity, such as end of tax year planning, pension drawdown strategy, and Inheritance Tax and estate planning.
To help you understand our fees, we’ve provided four typical scenarios based on clients we commonly deal with, including those who are approaching or in retirement.
We’ve also compared our fees to the UK average for initial and ongoing adviser charges. According to the Financial Conduct Authority’s 2020 report, “Evaluation of the Impact of the Retail Distribution Review and the Financial Advice Market Review”, the average initial adviser fee is 2.4%, while the average ongoing fee is 0.8% per year. See how our fees compare below.
The Situation
An individual in his early 60s came to us with several pensions worth around £500,000. He wanted to consolidate his pensions ahead of his planned retirement at 67. He doesn’t enjoy his job, but he hasn’t considered whether he can afford to retire sooner.
How We Helped
We saved him money on his pensions, simplifying them into a single pot and showed him that he could afford to retire immediately if he wanted to. By updating his retirement plan over the next two years and continuing to add to his pension, we gave him the confidence to retire four years early and he hasn’t looked back since.
Our Fees
Initial fee: £4,500
Ongoing: £2,832 per year
Average UK Adviser Charges
Initial fee: £12,000
Ongoing: £4,000 per year
The Situation
A couple approached us after they had recently retired. They were looking to supplement their final salary pension income from their ISAs and pensions. However, they hadn’t really considered what their ideal retirement actually looked like.
How We Helped
We improved their tax efficiency and reduced pension and investment charges. After thorough discussion, we demonstrated that with more than £600,000 invested, all their goals for the next 10 years and beyond were financially achievable. This meant drawing much more from their pensions and investments than they had planned, but they would certainly agree that this is what the money is there for.
Our Fees
Initial fee: £5,500
Ongoing: £3,540 per year
Average UK Adviser Charges
Initial fee: £14,400
Ongoing: £4,800 per year
The Situation
A high-earning couple in their 50s contacted us to maximise their pension contributions and reduce their tax bill. They were also worried they weren’t saving enough for retirement, despite already having saved £600,000 in pensions between them.
How We Helped
We showed them that by carefully tailoring the pension contributions they made each year around their earnings and allowances; we could maximise the tax relief on offer and make their contributions go further. We also showed them that with savings in fees and charges, they were on track for the retirement they desired while also being able to treat themselves more often right away.
Our Fees
Initial fee: £6,500
Ongoing: £4,248 per year
Average UK Adviser Charges
Initial fee: £14,400
Ongoing: £4,800 per year
The Situation
A retired couple in their late 60s were seeking advice on how to tax-efficiently drawdown from £1.5 million in pensions and ISAs and reduce future Inheritance Tax liabilities. Their major worries centred around their two sons and their young families.
How We Helped
While we could improve the longevity of their pensions and investments by reducing charges and minimising taxes, it became apparent that their wealth could do much more for them. We showed them they could afford to help their sons financially, allowing them both to move house. They also spent more time with their grandchildren by paying for the whole family to go on holiday each year.
Our Fees
Initial fee: £7,500
Ongoing: £6,372 per year
Average UK Adviser Charges
Initial fee: £36,000
Ongoing: £12,000 per year
What our clients say about us.
