Our process

Step 1

Meeting and discovery

We’ll introduce ourselves to you and tell you a bit more about what we do. We’ll then ask you to tell us about your current financial situation, the reasons you’ve come to see us and your goals. We want to know what success looks like to you and how we can best facilitate it so that we can start to build your plan.

There is no charge for this meeting, and we’ll give you plenty of time to ask us any questions you have before you decide to proceed. We can also do it however you want – face-to-face or remotely.

Step 2

Research and analysis

Having decided to proceed, the next step is to take a look at your assets, liabilities, income and expenditure. We’ll also ask you to provide details of your current financial arrangements, including any pensions, investments and savings you have set up.

When we have this information, we’ll crunch the numbers, undertake some detailed research, and analyse what we find.

Step 3

Recommendations

We’ll then present our findings to you in your personal, comprehensive Financial Planning Report. This document will tell you what’s working for you, what isn’t, and what is possible if you make some changes. It’ll show you where you are now, how far you are from achieving your goals, and how we can help you get there.

At this meeting, we will also present our recommendations to you. All our recommendations are centred around helping you achieve your objectives. That may mean just a few tweaks to your plan, or it may mean larger, more fundamental changes if you are to achieve your goals.

Importantly, we won’t just tell you what we think; we’ll explain why we think that way, so you can fully understand the logic behind our suggestions. Of course, we’ll give you time to ask any questions you have.

Step 4

Ongoing service and implementation

Our initial advice is just the start of your financial planning journey. The vast majority of the work we do with our clients – and where we add the most value – is through our ongoing services. It’s here that we can make sure your financial plans really happen.

Life changes, so it’s important that your financial plan can be responsive over the years. We achieve this in a number of ways:

• Our investment committee meets periodically to review and assess the portfolios.
• We make strategic recommendations and changes to ensure that your assets are optimising returns by responding to global events and economies.
• We undertake continuous professional development, which means that our advisers are regularly updated on any changes in tax legislation, financial regulation, or any other developments that create updates for your financial planning.

All of this will then be delivered when you meet with your adviser, whether that be quarterly or annually. They will review your circumstances, answer any questions you have, and make the necessary recommendations to keep your planning on track.

For this reason, we also include the implementation of our recommendations as part of our ongoing service. Whether it’s contributing to your ISA or pension each year, making changes to your forecast as global events unfold, or simply talking through various “what-if” scenarios with your adviser, we will implement all of our recommendations for you as and when you need them.