The FCA is the independent regulator of financial services. It requires us to give you this document when advising on some savings and investments. You may use this information to compare value for money, to shop around and to decide which firm to use.
Our first priority is to establish which areas of your finances are most important to you and your family because we understand that your personal circumstances and goals are unique. We want to ensure you have all of the facts you need to make informed decisions.
Our team of highly qualified and experienced Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) are able to provide you with access to all of the research and knowledge you'll need to make sure that you are happy with all of your important financial decisions. Your adviser will help make even the most complex financial issues easy to understand and look into the many different methods at your disposal to achieve your financial goals by explaining step by step the options and choices available to you.
Not all firms charge for advice in the same way. We will discuss your payment options with you and answer any questions you have. We will not charge you anything until you have agreed how we are to be paid. We have ticked the payment options we offer.
Paying by fee. Whether you buy a product or not, you will pay us a fee for our advice and services. If we also receive commission from the product provider when you buy a product, we will pass on the full value of that commission to you in one or more ways. For example, we could reduce our fee; or reduce your product charges; or increase your investment amount; or refund the commission to you.
Paying by commission (or product charges). If you buy a financial product, we will normally receive commission on the sale from the product provider. Although you pay nothing up front, that does not mean our service is free. You still pay us indirectly through product charges. Product charges pay for the product provider's own costs and any commission. These charges reduce the amount left for investment. If you buy direct, the product charges could be the same as when buying through an adviser, or they could be higher or lower. We will tell you how much the commission will be before you complete an investment, but you may ask for this information earlier.
Paying by a combination of commission and fee. In some circumstances, we also charge a fee on top of any commission we might receive to recognise that the commission payable does not properly reflect the work which we have undertaken in advising you and arranging the investment.
If you choose the fee option:
(a) Hourly Rate
We will agree the rate we will charge before beginning work. We will tell you if you have to pay VAT.
Our typical charges are:
You may ask us for an estimate of how much in total we might charge. You may also ask us not to exceed a given amount without checking with you first.
We will charge you a combination of fees and commission. The actual amounts will depend on the service provided to you, but will not exceed the total of the maximum fees set out above and the maximum commission set out in the tables below.
Tables 1 and 2 show examples of the amounts of commission we could receive (or the equivalent we earn through product charges) and compare those amounts with the market average (see notes 1 & 2 at the end of this section 4).
The amounts vary according to: the type of product, the amount you invest, and (sometimes) how long you invest for, or your age when you start the product. We will confirm the actual amount to you before you buy a product.
| Table 1 - Commission if you invest monthly | ||||
| Products | Example term or age | Comparison of costs | Example based on £100 per month | |
| Our maximum | Market Average | This shows the maximum costs of our sales and advice for a monthly investment or premium of £100, ignoring any changes in fund value | ||
| Savings and investments | ||||
| Collective investments (eg unit trusts) | Any | 19.5% of the first 12 months payments plus 0.25% of your fund value each year from year 5 | 21% of the first 12 months payments plus 0.25% of your fund value each year from year 5 | £234.00 spread evenly over the first 12 month(s) plus £18.00 in year 5, £21.60 in year 6, and so on (The actual amounts will vary in line with your fund value) |
| Endowments | 10 year term | 32% of the first 12 month's payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 17 | 32.4% of the first 12 month's payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 17 | £384.00 spread evenly over the first 12 month(s) plus £30.00 each year from month 17 |
| Protection | ||||
| Whole of life assurance | Age 40 | 160% of the first 12 month's payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 49 | 108.4% of the first 12 month's payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 49 | £1920.00 spread evenly over the first 12 month(s) plus £30.00 each year from month 49 |
| Saving for retirement | ||||
| Personal and Stakeholder pensions | 25 year term | 23% of the first 12 month's payments plus 1% of all payments from month 1 | 28.2% of the first 12 month's payments plus 1% of all payments from month 1 | £276.00 spread evenly over the first 12 month(s) plus £12.00 each year from month 1 |
| 10 year term | 4% of all payments | 4.3% of all payments | £48.00 each year | |
| Table 2 - Commission if you invest a lump sum | ||||
| Products | Example term or age | Comparison of costs | Example based on £10,000 lump sum | |
| Our maximum | Market average | This shows the maximum costs of our sales and advice for a lump sum investment of £10,000 ignoring any changes in fund value | ||
| Savings and investments | ||||
| Collective investments (eg unit trusts) | Any | 6.3% of the amount you invest | 4% of the amount you invest | £630.00 |
| Investment bonds | Any | 7.3% of the amount you invest | 4.3% of the amount you invest | £730.00 |
| Saving for retirement | ||||
| Personal and Stakeholder pensions | Any | 7% of the amount you invest | 5.6% of the amount you invest | £700.00 |
| At retirement | ||||
| Annuities | Any | 1.5% of the amount you invest | 1.4% of the amount you invest | £150.00 |
| Income drawdown | Any | 4% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 2.1% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £400.00 plus £50.00 each year from year 1 (The actual amount in later years will vary in line with your fund value) |
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