Our Fees Explained
OUR FEES EXPLAINED
What Our Expertise Will Cost
We feel it’s important you’re able to understand what you’ll pay and what you might receive in return.
The Financial Conduct Authority estimate the typical cost of advice is 2.4% of any invested money initially and then 1.9% a year thereafter. Our clients will typically pay less than these headline rates.
We believe in a simple initial fixed fee charging structure and a capped ongoing annual charge.
“In investing, you get what you don’t pay for. Costs matter.”
– Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard –
FEES
Charges & Fee Illustrations
01. Financial Plan
For a strategy and financial plan we charge £1,495.00; please note that specialist advice relating to estate planning and long term care carries a base charge of £2,995.00
To review and analyse existing pension contracts we charge £595 for the first plan and £395 thereafter.
To review and analyse existing non-pension contacts we charge £295 for the first plan and £195 thereafter.
Our initial advice charges are then capped at £4,995.00.
If we are dealing with you as a married couple, we will aggregate these fees as though you were one person unless you each wish to have individual strategies put in place.
Charges and fees are likely to be VAT exempt; we will tell you if you have to pay VAT before any work commences.
02. Other Fees
We levy an implementation charge of £500 for life assurance contracts.
We do not levy implementation fees for ISA, pension and/or general investment account recommendations unless any such recommendation is for a newly established ‘regular premium’ policy, in which case an implementation charge of £500 will apply.
The solutions we recommend will have their own costs and charges, which will vary. These typically originate from administration, investment funds and/or discretionary management.
We’re often asked what ‘fair charges’ are but there is no set %age cost we believe to be ideal in the absence of context. In a broader sense, many of the solutions we use cost no more than:
• 0.25% for administration
• 0.5% for investment funds
• 0.2% for portfolio management
These are indicative rates; many solutions are less expensive than this but some are more expensive.
As a potential client, if you’re paying more than these rates then you should be objective about why…and If you’re paying less it doesn’t mean anything in particular if your underlying plans aren’t appropriate to your strategy.
In a sizeable number of cases, we find the strategic aims are not diagnosed properly and/or that the charges are too high relative to what’s in place.
We can often enhance outcomes quite dramatically for these clients; for example, even as little as a 1.5% potential annual difference in charges/performance adds up to a 35% terminal difference over 20 years.
We have genuine expertise and independence to deliver those results; not all advisers can say the same.
03. Hourly Fees
We may charge by the hour when requested to produce one off pieces of work, for additional review meetings and/or for additional non-inclusive services. You may ask us for an estimate of how much in total we might charge and/or not to exceed a given amount without checking with you first.
Hourly fees may attract VAT where they do not lead to a recommendation of a regulated financial product. Our rates are as follows:
Director/Chartered Financial Planner: £250 per hour
Technical analyst: £150 per hour
Administration : £75 per hour
FEES
Cost Illustration
Pension & ISA
A financial plan, reviewing two existing pension contracts and one ISA account worth a combined £350,000:
Financial Planning Report: £1,495.00
Review and analysis of two pension contracts: £990.00
Review and analysis of an existing stocks and shares ISA account £295.00
Total initial fee: £2,735.00 – this equates to 0.78% of the sum concerned
If the client retained us then they would pay 0.65% a year which in year one would equate to £2,275.00
Pension, ISA & Investment Bond
A financial plan, reviewing six existing pension contracts, 5 ISA accounts and an investment bond worth a combined £1.5m
Financial Planning Report: £1,495.00
Review and analysis of six pension contracts: £2,570.00
Review and analysis of five existing stocks and shares ISAs plus an investment bond: £1,270.00
Total initial fee: £5,335.00. As this exceeds our cap, we would charge the initial cap of £4,995.00 which equates to 0.33% of the sum concerned.
If the client retained us then they would pay 0.65% a year; in year one this would be £9,750.00 but as this exceeds our cap, we would charge the capped fee of £7,500 and equate to 0.5%
Later Life Care Plan
A specialist later life/care fees plan for assets worth £700,000
Financial Planning Report: £2,995.00
Review of 3 ISAs: £685.00
Implementation of a long term care annuity costing £200,000: £500.00
Total initial fee: £4,180.00 – this equates to 0.6% of the sum concerned
If the client retained us then they would pay 0.65% a year; if they held investments of £400,000 and cash of £100,000 we would charge only against the investments. This would equate to £2,600 for the first year (we do not charge fees on personal retained cash balances)