How we are paid
On receiving your enquiry we invite you to come to our offices (or if this is not possible, at your place of work or home) for a preliminary meeting. The purpose of this meeting is firstly to establish whether we are able to assist with your needs and help you meet your objectives, and secondly to discuss how we would be paid for our counsel and services once you have instructed us to proceed.
There is no charge for this preliminary one-hour meeting, and no obligation on either side.
We work on a fee basis, usually a fixed fee for an agreed plan of work. At all times, we will ensure that you are fully aware of any costs involved, before a commitment is made. Fees will usually be based on time spent and evaluated at a rate per hour calculated to recover our costs. Fees may attract an additional VAT charge.
Where we move on to implement the financial plan by arranging, for instance, a life policy or pension plan, we can be paid commission by the provider, usually an insurance company or an investment house for the successful placing of business.We will explain the disadvantage of this but will allow this approach, where preferred by a client. We will always tell you about any commission we earn, and it will be taken into account in working out our fee.
On going fees will be explained to you, for example our fees for regular investment advice, before proceeding.