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1. The Financial Services Authority (FSA)
The FSA 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.
2. Our Services
We offer an
initial discussion (without charge) when we will describe our services
more fully and explain the payment options. If you decide to go ahead,
we will:
- gather and analyse personal information about you, your finances, your needs and objectives; and
- recommend and discuss any action we think you should take and, with your agreement, arrange relevant investments for you.
We subscribe to a large marketing group which provides us with enhancements not just on the amount of commission we can receive but also to some of the product terms we can offer our customers.
3. What are your payment options?
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.
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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. |
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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. |
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Paying by a combination of commission and fee. In some circumstances, we also charge a fee on top of any commission we might receive. |
4. How much might our services cost?
If you choose the fee option
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:
- £175 per hour for the time spent by the Principal subject to a minimum fee of £175;
- £45 per hour for the time spent by the Administrator subject to a minimum fee of £45;
- £45 per hour for the time spent by the PA subject to a minimum fee of £45;
- £45 per hour for the time spent by the Secretary subject to a minimum fee of £45; and
- £75 per hour for Technical Support subject to a minimum fee of £75.
If you choose the combination of commission and fee option
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.
If you choose the commission option
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 cost of our sales and advice for a monthly investment or premium of £100, ignoring any changes in fund value | |||
| Savings and investments | |||||
| Collective investments (e.g. unit trusts) | Any | 4.5% of all payments plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 2.3% of all payments plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £54.00 each year plus £6.00 in year 1, £12.00 in year 2, and so on (the actual amount in later years will vary in line with your fund value) | |
| Endowments | 10 Year Term | 5.7% of all payments plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 5.5% of all payments plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £68.40 each year plus £6.00 in year 1, £12.00 in year 2, and so on (The actual amount in later years will vary in line with your fund value) | |
| Protection | |||||
| Whole of life assurance | Age 40 | 135.0% of the first 12 month's payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 49 | 104.3% of the first 12 month's payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 49 | £1620.00 initially plus £30.00 each year from month 49 | |
| Saving for retirement | |||||
| Personal and Stakeholder pensions | 25 year term | 53.4% of the first 12 month's payments | 33.4% of the first 12 month's payments | £640.80 initially | |
| 10 year term | 18.8% of the first 12 month's payments | 21.8% of the first 12 month's payments | £225.60 initially | ||
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Personal Pension Schemes |
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| 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 cost of our sales and advice for a lump sum investment of £10,000, ignoring any changes in fund value | ||
| Savings and investments | ||||
| Collective investments (e.g. unit trusts) | Any | 4.5% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 1.4% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £450.00 plus £50.00 each year from year 1 (The actual amount in later years will vary in line with your fund value) |
| Investment bond | Any | 5.5% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 2.5% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £550.00 plus £50.00 each year from year 1 (The actual amount in later years will vary in line with your fund value) |
| Saving for retirement | ||||
| Personal and Stakeholder pensions | Any | 4.6% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 1.4% of the amount you invest plus 0.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £460.00 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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Personal Pension Schemes |
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| At retirement | ||||
| Annuities | Any | 2.5% of the amount you invest | 1.3% of the amount you invest | £250.00 |
| Income drawdown | Any | 4% of the amount you invest plus 1.5% of your fund value each year from year 1 | 0.8% of your fund value each year from year 1 | £400.00 plus £150.00 each year from year 1 (The actual amount in later years will vary in line with your fund value) |
Notes:
1. The market average figures are calculated by the FSA using actual data from a representative sample of regulated firms and are shown in a way that you may compare with our own maximum rates. The market average figures will be updated by the FSA from time to time based on new data.
2. Where a firm sells its own products it must calculate its figures according to FSA guidelines.
5. Further information
» ask your adviser; or
» visit www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer.