Every one of us have our own individual financial concerns, goals and plans for the future. Our advice philosophy is underpinned by a belief in having a deep understanding of your unique requirements. Only through gaining a thorough understanding of what is important to you can we provide sound financial advice. We follow a rigorous advice process to ensure we provide recommendations that are tailored to your needs and requirements.
- Working together
- Ongoing advice
- Our approach
What to expect from our first meeting
Our first meeting is all about getting to know you, your finances and your goals so we can build a plan that works for you. Whatever stage of life you're at, and whatever your needs, we'll discuss everything with you.
We'll chat about your finances in general and review any pension plans, savings or investments you already have. And then we'll chat about where you’d like to be in five or ten years time.
We'll also discuss how much risk you’d like to take, in order to achieve your goals. By understanding this, we can strike a balance between the risk and reward you’re happy with and build a plan specifically for you.
After our first meeting
We’ll develop a tailored financial plan for you based on our discussions and your individual circumstances. We’ll then provide you with a detailed personal report which explains:
- your current financial circumstances
- a full analysis of your needs
- objectives along with our recommendations on how to meet those needs and objectives
We’ll let you know how much the advice will cost and then it’s up to you to decide what you'd like to do. If you decide you'd like to go ahead we can start putting your plan in place, taking care of all the details. But if you don’t think it’s right for you, that’s as far as we need to take it.
Getting advice doesn't have to be a one-off. If you'd prefer, we can develop a long-term relationship. This means we'll regularly review your plans to make sure they're still on track to achieving your goals, and your family's goals.
If we consider it appropriate, we'll recommend regular financial checks to help ensure your plan remains on track and to address any changes to your circumstances in the future. This is an entirely optional service that comes at a cost. We can discuss the charges with you when we meet.
The importance of ongoing advice
And sometimes changes can have an impact on your financial plans.
Some examples are:
- Changes to your personal circumstances – such as retirement or family changes.
- External changes – such as tax or legislative changes, stock market fluctuations etc.
- Changes to investment options – such as new and better products becoming available or changes to the level of risk you’re willing to take.
The initial advice we give you is based on your current circumstances, as well as any future plans you are aware of at that point in time. However, every financial plan, no matter how carefully structured, can be vulnerable to the effects of change.
By taking the optional Ongoing Advice Service we offer, we can react to changes. Then recommend adjustments to take advantage of new opportunities or try to protect you from additional risks.
We will conduct a financial review for you. This involves gathering information and carrying out a review of your current financial situation, as well as discussing any plans for the future that may impact your finances. An important element of the meeting will be an assessment of the level of risk you are comfortable with and your capacity for loss, in order to achieve your goals.
With your consent, we can contact your current financial providers on your behalf to get a full picture of your holdings with them. Using this and all of the information we gathered from the review, we’ll develop a financial plan tailored to your specific situation and needs. We’ll then provide you with a detailed personal report which explains your current financial circumstances, a full analysis of your needs and objectives along with our recommendations on how to meet those needs and objectives.
We'll take you through your personal report, explaining the basis of our advice and recommendations. The rationale for our recommendations will be fully explained and you'll have the opportunity to ask any questions. We'd normally present our recommendations at a second meeting, however this will depend on the complexity of your requirements.
If you’re happy to proceed with the recommendations, we‘ll discuss the appropriate timescales to put everything in place and help set up the plan for you. We aim to minimise the administration and help with any forms you need to complete.