Our Service

Whether you want to spend retirement sipping cocktails by the beach or abseiling down a mountain, we will create a realistic financial plan that will help you achieve your objectives.

By getting to know you, your family and your ambitions for the future, we will use our problem-solving skills to carefully craft a plan that offers effective, achievable solutions. We take into account current financial pressures and those that may occur in the future to ensure you can maintain your lifestyle now, whilst saving for a fulfilling retirement.

We pride ourselves on the long-term relationships we build with clients and you can be assured we will be here to support you at every stage of your life. We will review and adjust your plan as circumstances change and provide current advice on pensions, savings, tax planning and estate planning, as necessary.

The service we provide is designed to reduce the stress of making financial decisions and give you peace of mind that your financial future is in safe hands. We focus on what really matters to you, giving you more time to spend on the things you enjoy!

We will:

• Learn about you, your family and your aspirations
• Always explain what we are doing in plain English
• Ensure your plan reflects changes in your life and regulations

Financial planning is not a one-off experience, it is a lifelong journey that requires constant refinement.

We will meet at least annually to discuss how your investments are performing, how your plans are progressing and if any changes are needed.

We understand life events can alter your financial needs, so we will also discuss how your plans may need to change if anything significant has taken place since we last met.

We will:

• Supplement annual planning meetings with ad hoc ones for important decisions
• Update you on tax and legislative changes
• Provide proactive, not reactive planning

You can contact us whenever you need our help, at no additional cost.

We don’t charge clients for raising queries with us – we’d much rather you asked questions if something is bothering you. We want to give you the space and opportunity to discuss your concerns and hopes for the future with someone you can trust.

As experts in our field, we can also refer to other professionals you can rely upon, should you need additional support.

We will:

• Offer unlimited access to our planners
• Provide a second opinion on money-related matters
• Be an independent sounding board

We are led by evidence – not tactics or gut feelings – and keep our approach to investing simple, so we can control and minimise costs. You can read more about our philosophy here.

It is our belief that your focus should be on the cost of investing, not chasing the next best manager or hot tip. Small differences in returns, due to fees, compound into large differences over time and these can materially affect your future lifestyle choices.

We diversify your investments using a suitable asset allocation, given your risk tolerance, the time you have to invest and personal situation. This means we can structure the percentage of your portfolio in different asset classes, such as equities and bonds, to suit you. It is proven to be the most important determinant of long-term performance.

Our portfolios are built around ultra-low-cost index tracker funds that provide access to most of the world’s publicly available equities and bonds – the type active fund managers repeatedly struggle to beat.

We will:

• Formalise your goals
• Provide asset allocation advice

We focus on minimising costs in the widest sense.

Investment fees might seem relatively small, but they all add up. The power of compounding means you not only lose the amount you pay at that moment in time, but also the growth that money might have made in years to come.

By using good value, passive strategies, we avoid the costs of an active manager’s underperformance. Thanks to our experience and size, we are also able to negotiate service provider discounts and administer investments in a tax aware manner.

All of our clients pay the same. We have created a fee structure that covers the costs of providing a first-class service (with a little profit built in), which is tiered, so the more money you entrust to us, the lower percentage you pay. We are also able to group family investments together to bring down your collective costs. 

To date, our ongoing total fees, which include our service, plus the investment management and platform costs, are approximately 1.3% per annum. This is considerably lower than the UK average.

We will:

• Be open and transparent about fees
• Seek new, cost-effective investments

Our expertise will not only give you peace of mind that your finances are running correctly and are on the right path to meet your requirements, but also the confidence to spend your money as you see fit.

We all face major family events – marriage, children, divorce, death – and each of these brings with it money worries that we can also help you manage. Whilst you may be too close to the issue to see past your emotions, we can look at your situation objectively and advise you accordingly.

We will:

• Be the voice of reason during emotional times
• Identify life transitions
• Ensure you don’t fall victim to scams

We are a family-orientated business that puts clients above profit.

Your welfare and wellbeing are important to us, and we will get to know you on a personal level, so we can ensure the advice we provide is suited to your unique needs and circumstances. We want to understand what you are going through, so we can empathise and put financial plans in place that will help you achieve your goals.

Our firm is large enough to secure attractive discounts from our providers, but still small enough to care about its clients.

We will:

• Look after your financial future
• Tell you what you need to hear, not what we think you want to hear
• Support a surviving partner

We implement withdrawal strategies that ensure all of your allowances (usually the 0% tax elements) are used each and every year. This means you keep more of your investments.

We will:

• Create a tax-efficient investment strategy
• Consider legacy planning and the tax implications for your loved ones

Using the latest software, we can give you a clear picture of what your financial future may hold. It works by simplifying a complex set of data to show if your current assets and investment strategy will produce a comfortable retirement.

We will:

• Look at various scenarios that may impact on your finances
• Apply lessons from other client scenarios

We are completely independent of any financial service provider.

Once we fully understand your requirements, we research solutions that suit your criteria and present our findings in a clear and easy to understand format.

We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach and our independence is the best possible framework for us to implement the personalised service we provide. Put simply, your best interests come first throughout the entirety of our relationship.

We will:

• Protect you from pushy product sales people
• Coordinate your professional advisers

All too often, investors let their emotions cloud the decision-making process, with dire consequences for returns.

We believe a key part of our role is to help you maintain a disciplined approach to investing, especially in extreme market conditions.

We will:

• Offer a ‘don’t do that’ service, if needed
• Provide support during volatile markets
• Help you avoid regrets

We simplify the complex world of finance that sometimes feels like it’s been designed to bamboozle you!

We have helped clients through most of life’s major events and because we know what you may encounter at some point in the future, we can plan ahead. We run scenarios and test the robustness of our plans to ensure we’re ready, should life throw you a curveball.

Collectively, our team has more than 100 years of financial planning experience and holding Chartered status demonstrates we have a wide knowledge base that will ensure your best interests are protected.

We will:

• Be accountable
• Be accessible
• Be there for you

We like to think we’re all good listeners, but we know you may find it easier to talk to someone of the same sex.

Our planning team includes women who are experienced in helping fellow females navigate the unique challenges you face. Perhaps you stopped work or reduced your hours to look after children and now face an uncertain future? Maybe you’re divorcing and are worried about the impact on your financial stability?

Our friendly, empathetic female planners are ready and willing to help. They will listen to your worries and wishes, before designing a financial plan that will meet your goals and aspirations.

Meetings can be arranged to suit you and the demands on your time. If it’s easier to speak to us at a weekend or evening, that’s OK and we’re happy to make a home visit, or welcome you to our office. We can even meet remotely, if you’d prefer.

We will:

• Put you in touch with a female planner if requested
• Find solutions to the financial challenges you face
• Arrange meetings at a time and place that suits you

We carry out regular checks on your assets to ensure they are always working to meet your objectives. If we think any changes are needed, these will be discussed with you first.

All of our staff undertake a programme of continuous professional development to keep their financial knowledge up to date and equip them with the skills to provide you with the very best possible service. This individual training is supported by monthly team meetings, at which we discuss ongoing matters and make sure we are doing our best for clients.

We also use external file checkers. They review the information we take from you to ensure we have everything we need to deliver the best outcomes and that we are meeting our profession’s ever-increasing regulatory requirements.

We will:

• Ensure our staff are highly trained
• Work as a team to support clients
• Have our files scrutinised