Where this fits
The price is agreed before any work that is charged for begins.
Sunny Bharj
Independent Financial Adviser
Tony Springer
Independent Financial Adviser
A financial adviser is paid in one of three ways: a fee you agree, commission the provider pays, or a percentage of what is being looked after. Whichever applies, you should be told the amount in pounds before anything happens.
Ask any firm, including us, for the annual cost in pounds on the amount you hold, with the adviser charge, the platform charge and the fund charges shown separately.
Some firms do not charge for a first conversation, and some do not charge for the initial look at what you already hold. Before you agree to anything you should have the recommendation and the price in pounds.
Ongoing advice is optional and you can stop it. Ask what is included before you agree: a review meeting, rebalancing, tax-year planning, someone picking up the phone when something changes.
The first conversation and the health check are at no cost to you. Beyond that it depends on the work. Some advice is paid for by a fee. For mortgages and protection, we may be paid by the lender or insurer through commission. For some investment and pension advice, our charge may be calculated as a percentage of the amount invested or transferred. We will explain how we are paid and any fee before you proceed.
Ask us for the figure in pounds at the first conversation.
Ask any firm for the annual cost in pounds on the amount you hold.
It depends on the amount and the work. On a small portfolio a percentage is often cheaper than a fixed fee; on a large one the reverse is frequently true. Compare them in pounds.
Where there is an agreed fee for the work, yes, because the work was done. Where advice is paid for by commission, no commission arises.
The same ways apply, and on a final salary transfer the charge is the same whether or not the advice is to transfer. How much does pension advice cost?
Published figures vary by firm and by portfolio size. Ask us for ours in pounds.
Yes, and the same goes for the health check that usually follows. If anything needs doing afterwards you will be told what it is, what it costs and what it should achieve, and you are free to say no.
The price is agreed before any work that is charged for begins.
Independent Financial Adviser
Independent Financial Adviser
Your first call is with an Account Manager and is at no cost to you. Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write.