Every client is different and we’re very flexible about how we meet you and how many conversations and meetings are needed at each stage. We’re very proud of our flexible approach to accommodating neurodiverse needs and preferences.
But it may be useful to know, in general, what our process looks like for new clients, from enquiry and information gathering through to advice delivery and reviews.
We think having a consistent contact who knows your situation well is key to a productive long-term relationship. We don’t think people want to appoint an adviser they never see again, then have to explain things all over again to someone else further down the line.
So, we don’t have work winners and work do-ers, business developers and fee earners, hunters and farmers (yuck). If you engage us, you’ll work closely with your Chartered Financial Planner all the way through the process, from first meeting and initial engagement through to ongoing reviews.
Personal finance is an undemocratic space. There’s a lot of information asymmetry which, historically, the financial services industry has taken advantage of. It has been poor at delivering a fair share of market returns to individual investors, and our approach is designed to help change this.
We are passionate about democratising finance through our work for clients, which is built on transparency, on equipping you with the knowledge you need to make good decisions about money, and on overseeing an investment approach which really works for you, the investor.
We think it’s important that every investor understands the principles behind how we invest, and that they are comfortable with the choices they are making about their money and the trade-offs involved. Nobody should make a financial decision without fully understanding all their options, and the consequences of each. Of course, our clients all have different levels of interest in and knowledge of, the world of finance, but we always spend a lot of time explaining our recommendations and making sure they are well understood.
Too much investment advice is given in knowledge vacuum, and doesn’t properly relate to the investor’s needs and objectives. If your goals aren’t fully quantified, and risk properly assessed, it’s impossible to get the strategy right.
We put a lot of emphasis on making sure we fully understand our clients’ lifetime cashflow needs before we provide any investment advice. We think you can only understand the relationship between decisions made now and your future options by really exploring and understanding the bigger picture. So, all our clients have their own cashflow projections, using industry leading cashflow modelling software. This allows us to put proper science and rigour behind investment questions like your required rate of return, capacity for loss, and risk tolerance.Only then, and only if it’s actually necessary, do we get into advice on the right products and investment approach to help you on the way towards meeting your goals.
Your capital is at risk. The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.
The information contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and therefore restricted to consumers based in the UK. The Financial Ombudsman Service is available to sort out individual complaints that clients and financial services business aren’t able to resolve themselves. To contact the Financial Ombudsman Service, please visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
