FAQs

Meetings can be held either at our office in Bolton or your home or workplace. We often travel to our clients’ homes or offices if it’s more convenient to do so. We also have the option of meeting remotely via webcam if you wish. You can find details about how to get to us on our contact page.

We do. There are two spaces directly in front of the building which are normally reserved for clients and 23 spaces at the rear should these be taken. Please find a map of our office and available parking here.

It is our usual practice to offer a free no-obligation meeting at the start of our relationship with any prospective new client. We will always ensure a client knows any costs they face before they are committed to these.

An initial meeting is all about getting to know each other and is a chance for us to see if we can add value to your circumstance. Having some details about your existing plans can be helpful but is not necessary.

Most initial meetings last about an hour.

No, we would not expect anyone to sign up to anything at an initial meeting. We may decide by the end of the meeting that we will take the relationship to the next stage, and we will provide you with some documentation to take away, read and complete. You will know in advance of any charges.

Please contact the office by telephone and we would be happy to arrange a meeting with you.

Yes, we are. We believe being independent is important when providing financial advice, as it means that we’re able to recommend the best products from the whole of the market to suit you and your objectives.

Due to the regulatory environment that persists around this area of business, we have decided to remove our permissions to provide advice on defined benefit pensions, and therefore we will not be able to provide any advice related to potentially transferring this type of arrangement to a money purchase pension.

We are able to provide advice on drawing benefits from defined benefit arrangements as well as other types of pension arrangements and can advise on all other types of pension transfers as appropriate.

We would hope nothing urgent comes up while your adviser is away, but we are fully prepared should that event happen. We are a team of 12, including another adviser and two paraplanners capable of answering your questions and providing updates.

This is very much dependent upon your circumstances and requirements. We would expect to hold an initial meeting at our cost with no obligation. We would always make clear any costs that you may face and gain your agreement to these before you are committed.

Our typical charges include an initial fee to provide a review report which is based upon the complexity and time that it will take. The typical fee is between £750 to £2,000 but may be outside this range depending upon complexity. We will potentially charge an installation fee, which is dependent upon the advice provided and is once again agreed in advance.

We then have a range of options depending upon the level of service required, including no further costs or charges, if our ongoing advice and reviews are not required. Our proactive, ongoing service typically involves a charge equivalent to 0.5% of the funds we advise upon, with a minimum charge of £1,250 per annum, once again these will be agreed upon with you before commit to proceed.

We can only receive commission on arranging protection policies. Although in line with our transparent approach, before you are committed, we will discuss with you the level of commission available and how you would prefer to meet our costs of advice. If you would prefer to pay by settling a fee, then we are happy to accommodate this.

We are VAT registered and therefore where we provide VATable services we are required to charge VAT. Some services, typically those which involve the establishment of an insurance company product do not require VAT to be charged and therefore where the service is not subject to VAT, we will not include VAT within our costs.