How Others Charge

How Other Financial Advisers Charge Fees

Many financial advisers charge a % of the value of your fund both a % upfront and an ongoing % charge.  We do not.  They may also have a minimum fee or minimum client wealth amount before they will take you on.

The maximum fees that may be paid from provider/policy charges (old style commission in all but another word) is usually between 1% and 3% of the initial amount invested or transfer value or borrowed amount + say 1.0% p.a.  as a trail/ongoing adviser fee.

For example:   £200,000 pension transfer

• Upfront Fee - £200,000 fund value X 3% = £6,000 upfront fee.
• Ongoing Fee:  1.0% pa trail X £200,000 =  £2,000 p.a.  ongoing fee (and this increases as your investment value grows).  We only charge set ongoing advice fees and that is optional – no ongoing advice required = no fee.

Many financial advisers work this way.   We do not work this way.  We will not be paid this way.  We will be paid what our agreed, set fee is in any quotation produced.  For many people this will mean more of their hard earned money will remain in their pension or investment fund rather than disappearing in charges.

By offering set fees, we want to secure you the lowest/most competitive fund management and policy charges we can for you.  This may mean larger pension or investments funds, cheaper insurance premiums and lower overall borrowing for mortgages and equity release.

How Other Advisers Work: % of Value

Many financial advisers offer an ongoing service based upon a % of your wealth e.g.  0.5% pa, 0.75% pa and for many advisers, a 1.0% pa charge.  For example: A person with a pension fund of say £100,000, £200,000 or £400,000 may be charged as follows:

We believe this may mean that some consumers are technically cross subsidising the fees of others.

For example:

• You have 1 pension worth £200,000 and if your adviser is charging 0.75% pa ongoing fees, you pay £1,500 pa.
• Your neighbour has 2 pensions or investments with the same adviser worth £150,000 in total with the same adviser fee of 0.75% pa.  They will pay £1,125 pa.
• Your neighbour would receive double the amount of recommendations and fund switches for their review yet you are paying £375 pa more.  That’s 33% more in fees for likely less work.

How We Work: Number of Policies

Our Money MOT service fees are not calculated based upon a % charge of the value of your wealth, pensions or investments.  We charge based upon the number of policies/plans that we are servicing for you irrespective of their value.

We do not believe the % route is a fair way to charge for ongoing services and is not reflective of the work involved managing one scheme compared to managing two schemes.  This is why we offer:

• A fixed “core fee” (paid by all) and then a “per policy” fee to fairly reflect that there is part of the review that is similar for all clients and then more work involved in us reviewing two schemes than there is for one scheme.
• Our Money MOT fees are not linked to the value invested, they are linked to the work involved.  In the above example, nearly twice as much.
• Our fees for a 1 X policy 'Gold' review start from £435 pa and a 2 X policy 'Gold' review from £525 pa.

For our ongoing Money MOT service options, we offer four options:

• Platinum - this is a quarterly full fund and performance review service and suitable for those with portfolios of £100,000+ or those that require more regular and pro-active fund advice.  All Gold and Silver services below are automatically included in Platinum.
• Gold - this is a yearly full fund and performance review service that includes unlimited contact and calls with us (if you need help with any financial matters) and is suitable for most clients and our most popular service level.  All Silver services below are automatically included in Gold.
• Silver - this is a yearly subscription service to all areas of our websites, tools, newsletters, weekly updates and weekly 'Traffic Light Alerts' plus 2 X Financial Guidance consultations each year.
• Bronze (No Cost Service) - this is a pay as you go service.  We will send you our weekly news update only and no annual fee is payable.  You only pay a fee when you ask us for further works or advice.  This is the usual service for clients with no ongoing fund advice requirements such as Wills, Annuities, Life Insurance and Tax Returns.

Gold Service is usually suggested for most clients and Platinum Service for those clients with larger portfolios or those that require more pro-active, regular investment fund reviews.  Fees are charged annually or monthly (less any renewal/trail fees received by us through the year from your policies).  You can of course select the 'BRONZE - No Cost Service' if you prefer.  You do not need to make a decision on any service level until initial works are complete and even then your preferred service can be upgraded or downgraded at any time to reflect your changing needs.