Important Information

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules say that an IFA has to provide you with the relevant information on charges and the services they can offer. This information will be provided to you in a Key Facts document and our Client Agreement available from the next page.

At your first meeting with us you will be given clear information about the type of advice and level of service being provided and how much it will cost. You will be given details on how we are regulated by the FSA, the range of products we are authorised to advise on and sell and any other information we required to give you.

Our Clients pay for advice in three main ways...  Fees:- By paying a fee, either at an hourly rate or through a fee for the whole job. This is known as ‘fees only’ advice. Fees vary, typically from £80 to £250 an hour dependant on the type, complexity and risk to the firm for the work involved. The first half hour is free at the initial meeting where we can get to know each other.  Commission:- By paying indirectly through commission, which is deducted by the product provider from the products you may take out. Often there is not only a commission charged for setting up a plan but there may also be annual commissions on top, known as trail commission. We may decline to offer advice on a commission basis when we feel that the most appropriate course of action for you would involve you selecting a product type that does not generate a commission. Fees and Commission:- By paying a combination of fees and commission. The adviser will rebate back into the financial products or hand to you some or all of the commission or offset it against the fee.

Everyone can choose to pay by a fee rather than commission, if they want to however this may give rise to a liability for VAT which could increase the cost of advice. In the past the majority of consumers tended to opt for commission, however it is proposed that commission will not be allowed on investment products from 2013 so in the future there may well be a shift towards more people paying fees. Most importantly only an IFA has to offer a choice of payment options i.e. paying by fee or commission or a combination of the two. Tied and multi-tied agents don’t have to offer you this choice, but some may.