Fees and commission
The fees we charge are ordinarily in line with the value we add. We aim to make reasonable profits, so that we can continue to provide our services into the future.
The services we will provide to you, and the fees we charge, will be documented in our service and fee agreement and presented to you for prior approval.
Financial planning
Please click here see our client agreement for further guidance.
Transactional advice
Our fee for individual projects will be agreed in advance and the fee will be 3% of the sums under advice.
Time-based fees
We have found that charging for time alone can present a barrier to productive communication. However, where it does make sense we charge:
- director: £270 per hour
- financial planner: £180 per hour
- administration: £60 per hour.
Commission
For non-investment protection business, we are usually remunerated by a commission from the product provider. Commission or any other form of benefit paid to us by a product provider will be fully disclosed to you.
Why fixed prices and not hourly rates?
- If we charge time, all the risk is the client’s. If the work takes us a long time, the client picks up the tab. We should have the experience to price the work correctly.
- It is not fair on either party for work to be taken on without knowing what the price will be. Most clients are nervous of giving people an open-ended cheque book!
- Billing for time focuses us on effort and not necessarily on results.
- Reward based on time encourages inefficiency and ultimately the firm will not be competitive.
- As time can’t be charged, we are constantly looking to demonstrate the value we add by way of our expertise through spotting opportunities to save tax, improve cost savings, enhance potential investment returns and deliver high levels of service. Typically, these are the only things that clients are willing to pay for.
- Fixed price agreements encourage us to search out efficiency savings in our work processes. This makes us more competitive and allows us to attract new business, maintain service and grow.
- Equally, there are times when, through our experience, we save a client or make a client a significant sum of money. While it may take us minutes to spot that opportunity, it is as the years of investing time in ourselves and systems that have enabled us to achieve that. It is therefore unfair on us to have to charge a proportion of one hour for that experience.
For more information on our services, please contact us.