Frequently Asked Questions

Firms that are authorised by the FCA are protected from poor advice. If you think you have been wrongly sold a product or plan you can complain to the firm directly, and if you are unhappy with their resolve, you can then take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. The Financial Ombudsman is an unbiased appointed official who will investigate your claim.

Financial Planners holding the Chartered qualification demonstrate the highest standard of knowledge, technical competence and quality of service

Holistic financial planning is ‘bigger picture’ planning. It involves in-depth exploration of an individual’s life goals and aspirations, and formulating and implementing a plan to make it all happen.

These phone calls serve several purposes. They allow you to speak to the adviser you seeing before meeting them so you can both get to know each other a little bit. You can discuss what’s on your mind, and they can share how we work with our clients to help them achieve their goals. There’s no time limit on a phone call – they take as long as they take.

Your adviser will use this time to find out what your goals and objectives are and what’s most important to you about money. We recommend that you bring any relevant financial files and statements. We will often take copies to refer back to when putting together a recommendation. Once the adviser has an idea of what will get you moving in the right direction, they’ll prepare a bespoke financial plan, tailored to help you achieve your goals or ideal lifestyle. It’s also helpful if you bring ID with you (passport and driving licence is best).

Our office is officially open from 9am-5pm, but in special circumstances we can arrange earlier/later appointments. We can occasionally facilitate home visits, dependent on how far away you live.

We don’t have a maximum distance within the UK. We have clients all over the country – some in Aberdeen and some in Plymouth!

We communicate with our clients through a number of different means. We try to accommodate all viable options. The most common are face-to-face, telephone, letter or email but we do offer Skype meetings for those who would prefer video-chat meetings/conversations. We are also actively trying to reduce paper waste.

This is a really difficult question to answer. Our fees depend on the bespoke plan we formulate for you. We offer our initial telephone conversations and initial meetings at our own expense, so you’re not committing to anything before we are able to give you a more certain answer.

Our fees are based on the amount you are investing and what plan you are investing into. They can be a percentage or an agreed set fee. We do also offer the option for you to pay out of a plan you may be transferring or with a cheque from a personal account if that suits you better. Most people choose for their fees to be paid monthly directly from their investments. In any event, our fees will be clearly communicated with you before we commence any work on your behalf.

Your annual fees entitle you to the following:

• Regular meetings with your Adviser
• Unlimited access to support from the Servicing Team
• Access to the PenLife Model Portfolios
• Annual Tax and Risk Reviews (Income & Capital)
• A copy of our monthly newsletter ‘In The Know’ & Email Updates on Topical Issues

All of our initial meetings are without obligation – so you can walk away with no commitment. If you decide you would like to take a recommendation but change your mind further down the line, you can cancel our agreement and transfer any plans away from us. Generally, there are no additional fees involved at that stage.

A few years ago we realised that the majority of our new business was coming from existing clients. To acknowledge this huge compliment, we decided to rewarding those clients for their loyalty with a crisp £50 note. Not only were they helping our company grow, they were helping their friends and family gain access to proper financial advice to help them achieve their goals!

We pride ourselves on being the first Independent Financial Advisers in North Yorkshire to hold both Chartered Status and the British Kitemark BS8577. We worked hard to gain these accreditations to demonstrate we go the extra mile for our clients. We won’t recommend anything until we are confident that it’s right for you. And we can’t be sure of this until we have looked at your financial plan as a whole. This means we will look into each aspect of your financial plan and really try to get to the bottom of what it is you want to do with your money. We don’t sell plans or products. We arrange bespoke plans to get you what you want from life.

It’s unlikely we can offer a value-for-money service to clients who have less than £125,000. It’s always best to speak to one of our advisers and they can assess your position personally to see if it could be a mutually beneficial relationship.

After the first meeting it can take another couple of meetings to hash out all of the details and get any paperwork signed, depending on the complexity of the recommendation. Some clients prefer more meetings before making a decision, which is also fine.