Financial Advice in Richmond

Published / Last Updated on 18/10/2014

Video explains our award winning, expert and local, low cost financial advice in Richmond and South West London.

Transcript:

“Hello there. You’ve found our websites, you’re seeking financial advice in Richmond, Southwest London or TW9 postcode; Richmond, Kew, Ham and surrounding areas.

This video really is to introduce our services and to give you a little bit background to my firm: Who we are? What we do? And how we work? And how we deliver quality financial advice in the Richmond area?

So, first things first you can probably tell by my accent that I'm not originally from the south-east. Without giving away too much of a personal history, very quickly: Born in Lincolnshire, raised in the West Midlands, usual education process. I was then Regional Pensions Manager for Legal and General group and they moved me around the country and then eventually into the city; so that was my journey to the south-east. My wife and co-director, a lady named Joanne Roberts, Joanne Roberts again originally from the Midlands but she also worked for a firm based out in Windsor actually. A large trust and investment firm. So she dealt with more of the legal side of financial services.

[So] as a firm my head office, where all of my administration team are based, that’s actually up in the Midlands, just outside Lichfield in Staffordshire. Personally, I have a small ‘shoebox’ of an office in Richmond where I work with my good lady wife. Personally, we live in Kingston right by the river which is quite nice.

But really that was just to give you a little bit of a flavour of the infrastructure: Small office in Richmond, head office in the Midlands. We’ve kept our business quite small. As a family business we have been trading now, I am shooting this video in October 2014 so we've actually just started our 15th year. We started in the year 2000, September 2000.

I suppose really as a firm, just to get a feel for us, we have always been the only so, we've never been commission chases or trying to sell clients investments or pensions or anything like that.

Our approach has always been that: the key word in the phrase ‘personal financial planning’ is the word ‘personal’. [This is] because to deal with a financial planner, a financial adviser, you’re going to share extremely personal information, information that perhaps even your best friend or your family do not know. Whether that's how much you earn, whether that's how much money you’ve got in the bank or whether it's when you plan to retire or are you going to move jobs or home or what whatever it might be.

These are all very personal and therefore our approach has always been:

• First consultation there is no charge for and we can do that face-to-face at your home or at our offices in the centre of Richmond or
• Alternatively, we’ll talk by telephone and I do that we many, many clients where we deal by telephone and by post. You know that we are around the corner but by keeping our costs down, in terms of we keep our infrastructure costs down because costs of offices etc are cheaper in the Midlands, cost of employment is cheaper etc but then also not necessarily paying for me to sit on the M25 trying to get to you or something like that. So we reflect that in the costs of our services.

When you speak to us, that first consultation no charge, we will discuss your needs and requirements and then buy mail, the same day, we will give you what our fee scale is.

Our approach has always been to not take any hidden commissions or any hidden ongoing trail fees from your pensions or investments because the more money, the lower charges, the more money that stays in your pension pot or investment pot, clearly the faster it will grow.

[So] we are very transparent, we’re strait laced, we’re consumers too. You know? We buy goods and services out there every day the same as you do. I've got a mortgage to pay, I've got two sons at university so I go through the same pains that everybody else does.

And, we just treat people the way that we want to be treated when we buy goods and services so:

• Straight, fixed fees, transparency
• in terms of information sharing, we will only take information from you that we need or that you feel comfortable giving us
• we do not share your details or share any information with anybody, apart obviously we need to talk your pension company then you will need to tell them who you and give some details

Essentially, a small, private, family business. If you've done some research already you’ll have seen that we won quite a few awards over the last 13 14 years or so.

We are a good firm, we are a family firm and we want to keep it that way. Our view is you're dealing with the owners of the business, so it's in our interests to make sure that you get good trusted, honest, advice. Where it's a fixed fee for that advice, so that you know, you have the benefit of knowing: “why has, why have they recommended that particular pension that investment or that tax route?”

It will always be in your best interest because we've agreed a set fee with you. We’re not trying to sell you something else or over sell, or give you something because it pays more commissions or we can take higher charges. That's not how we work because as I said at the start the key word in ‘personal financial planning’ is the word ‘personal’ and

I promise you, you clearly need to make a decision on whether we are the right company for you or not but likewise we are also making the same decision: we won't take you on as a client unless we believe we can help you and it will be value for money for you!

I know that is what you would expect me to say, but all I can say to you is: “We are good at what we do, we do our very, very best for our clients”. [And] the reason we do that is plain and simple: if you like the work that we've done for you and you’re happy then you’ll tell friends. It's a simple as that. So, that’s an introduction to our firm where we offer financial advice in Richmond and the South West London area. Thanks very much for watching.”


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