We hope that you will do some research on our firm prior to meeting us and we’d encourage you to do this with any adviser you are considering.
We know you’ll have lots of questions too, so don’t hesitate to call us or arrange an appointment. There’s no obligation and no cost until a Client Agreement and specific Terms of Engagement letter are agreed and in place. These documents detail the services that are to be provided, the timescale for these, the costs to you and your primary contacts at the firm.
Payment for Services
Our fees take account of all relevant factors in carrying out the required work including time spent, complexity and urgency.
Unless an alternate arrangement has been agreed in writing with you, our fees will be calculated by a percentage of the value of your investments and/or the time spent by us in providing the service at the standard hourly rates applicable to the staff required to carry out the work concerned.
Our fees do not include custodian fees charged by WRAP/platform providers or management fees charged by third parties (e.g. pension scheme providers), which are additional and charged separately by them.
Non-Discretionary Investment Management Services
Investment Establishment Fees
For acting on your behalf as an Independent Intermediary, we charge a 2 percent establishment fee for each new money investment, subject to a minimum of £1,200 which includes, but is not limited to: work to establish your current situation and future requirements; researching suitable investment opportunities/products in line with your instructions, risk attitude and capacity for loss discussions and assessments; reporting to you with our recommendations in writing and discussing them with you in detail; making any alternative suggestions as a result of your feedback; finalising proposals and then implementing any agreed investments on your behalf.
We do not offer model portfolios, rather creating and building bespoke investment portfolios to reflect each client’s personal situation.
On-Going Review Fees
Our on-going regular review service is charged on a percentage of investment value basis. For the period of the agreement we will automatically fully review your investments every six months, providing you with a bespoke report on how your investments are performing, making any proposals for changes to the portfolio and updating you on any issues or developments pertinent to your instructions. We will aim to meet or speak with you at each review to update our understanding of your situation and to discuss any issues or concerns you may have. Once agreed, we will implement any changes on your behalf.
On-going reviews can be cancelled by either party notifying the other in writing of termination.
Administration Fees
We may, by agreement, charge an annual fixed administration fee to cover administrative outlays.
General Financial and Pension Planning
Initial/Establishment Fees
This service is typically subject to an initial reporting fee in the region of £1,200 – £2,500 dependent on the complexity and extent of work involved, payable whether you accept our suggestions and proceed to implementation by us as your intermediary, or not (you may choose to implement them yourself for example). The initial fee covers, but is not limited to: work to gather information on your current situation from you and any providers; researching existing plans, policies, schemes or investments to ensure they are consistent with your stated aims, objectives and needs, are charged appropriately, provide value for money and are in line with your agreed risk profile if appropriate; researching other available appropriate financial planning solutions and making written proposals on any changes that may be required to meet your current objectives or changed circumstances. The exact fee for the initial review will be agreed with you once the scope and complexity of work has been assessed but before any chargeable work is carried out.
In addition, agreed intermediation/plan implementation fees will be charged where our financial planning and advice results in the proposal and arrangement of financial product(s).
Protection Applications not proceeding
Where an application for a Protection Policy, e.g. life assurance, critical illness or income protection, does not proceed for any reason (such as refusal of cover or late withdrawal of application by you for example), we reserve the right to charge a fee for work carried out based on time spent.
On-going Review Fees
The majority of our personal clients opt for six monthly on-going review of their investments/plans and where agreed these are carried out automatically and are charged and carried out as per the on-going investment fee example for non-discretionary investment fees given above.
On-going reviews can be cancelled by either party notifying the other in writing of termination.
Technical Advisory and Administrative Services
Technical Advisory and Administrative Services relates to instances where our advice is limited to one or more specific areas e.g. Employee Benefits Schemes, Auto-enrolment, Bespoke SSAS and SIPP arrangements, technical pension or investment work. Here, given the varied nature of the work and level of complexity that can be involved in providing each solution, our fees are based on the following hourly rates. Chartered Financial Planner and Certified Financial Planner: £300, Financial Planner: £150, Client Services Administrative Support: £90.
Fees incurred will depend upon factors such the number of employees for company pension, auto-enrolment or employee benefit schemes and/or the nature and complexity of the work being carried out for SIPP, SSAS, Personal Pension or investment work. We will provide an estimate of how much in total we might charge for any agreed work in advance of any work being carried out and you may also ask us not to exceed a given amount without checking with you first. For one-off technical work we may ask for a proportion of the agreed fee to be paid in advance.
Commission from a Financial Product or Investment
In relation to financial products such as Annuities, Term Assurance, Critical Illness, Private Medical and Income Protection Plans, commissions may be available from product providers as it is built into their product terms. We will take any commissions received into account and offset them against the agreed fees due to us by you.
Please note that SSAS, some forms of IHT planning, Auto-enrolment and Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
For further information contact us on 0131 225 4488 or email [email protected]
