The planning process

Understanding your needs, setting objectives, planning, implementation and review

 

Our approach is geared towards providing the most effective and appropriate outcomes for your particular situation and follows a logical step by step process:

 

1. Initial review meeting. This usually free of charge and without obligation. We will explain in detail how we work, if and how we can help you and how we make our charges. We may ask you to complete a financial planning questionnaire in advance of the meeting to save time and costs.

 

2. Understanding your current situation. In order to gain a comprehensive and accurate picture, we will take full details of your accounts, policies, investments and other data and confirm them, where appropriate, directly with providers. We will schedule and analyse the results and report back to you.

 

3. Set goals and objectives. We will discuss and help set short and long term financial goals with you and look at alternative scenarios. At this stage we will also prioritise those areas that need to be addressed.

 

4. Detailed plans and recommendations. Once we have understood fully where you are now and where you want to get to we will set out detailed plans to achieve these objectives. This may involve preparing a lifetime cash flow, retirement planners, school fees planning or Inheritance tax plans amongst many options. We will also set out any specific structures or financial products that may be required. Our independent status means that you can be sure that any recommendation will have been thoroughly researched, chosen from the whole of the marketplace and appropriate to you particular situation - we have no allegiances to any product providers. We will discuss the options with you and help to reach an informed, logical decision.

 

5. Implementation. If you wish, we will implement our recommendations for you - there is no obligation. We will deal with any encashments, transfers and restructures of existing arrangements and then place new investments and arrange and process new policies and structures.

 

6. Ongoing monitoring and review. We will agree with you in advance how often we should meet to review your finances and provide valuations. The frequency of the review usually depends upon the size of funds invested and the complexity of your affairs - the two often go hand in hand. The cost of the review is often paid for by a small annual commission payable on funds under management although we offer a fee alternative. (Typically, a client with in excess of £150,000 will have a review meeting with us every year). In addition, we provide regular communication through the post and e-mail - newsletters, tax cards, budget planning tips and so on.

 

For very straightforward cases several of the steps outlined above may simply be combined into one operation although the principles remain the same.  We are quite prepared to quote and charge for each part separately.