The Money Advice Service includes a list of questions on their website that they recommend you ask your adviser on your first meeting. We thoroughly believe in being transparent so we have answered these questions in advance, so you know what to expect before booking a meeting.
You can find the original questions on the Money Advice Service’s website by clicking here.
Q1: What do you charge and how much am I likely to pay?
We have 3 different fee structures to choose from, depending on the level of ongoing management you need. We take an initial fee of 1.0% (expect with our online investing service) on new money coming under management and our ongoing fee depends on the service level you choose. If you were looking to invest £20,000 we would take an initial fee of £200, ultimately investing £19,800.
If you were on our managed solution at 1.0% annually in a balanced portfolio, after a year your £19,800 could be worth £22,130* and in month twelve we would receive £18.44.
*Figures taken from Morningstar, based on the performance of our Balanced Managed portfolio invested from July 2016 through to July 2017. Please note that the value of investments and the income derived from them may fall and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Q2: What services do you offer? Are you independent?
We are fully independent and have been since opening in 2003. We offer a full range of financial services but specialise in Pensions and Investments. We can also help by quoting and arranging protection, assessing existing policies you may have and comparing cost or performance to see if you could be better off.
Q3: If you’re not independent, can you look at products from across the market?
N/A – We are completely independent, meaning we have full unrestricted access to the whole of the market, so you can always be sure the recommendation we are making is in your best interests.
Q4: Do you have qualifications that are above the minimum you’re required to take?
Our financial adviser Rob Hopkins is qualified with all of the necessary qualifications to advice in England & Wales, additionally he specialises in pensions and investments.
His qualifications include:
PFS – Member by Diploma
CII – Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
C/SQA – Diploma in Professional Financial Advice
IFS – Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP)
Q5: Do you have many clients who are in a similar position to me?
Probably! Over the years we have seen clients for every area of financial advice. From clients with no previous experience of investing or financial advice, to clients who have bought and managed their own funds. We have clients of varying wealth and age, so it’s likely we’ll have encountered someone in a similar situation to yourself. Depending on the amount you are looking to invest, we may recommend a service level if it is more cost-effective for you.
Q6: Will you give me ongoing advice and what will this cost?
Yes, all of our service levels include ongoing advice. We have different levels to accommodate the amount of ongoing services the client wants to receive. If you are looking for a low-cost solution with yearly reviews and passively managed portfolios we offer our On Demand service at just 0.5% annually. For clients looking for a more actively managed solution we offer our Managed solution which we review quarterly. We also recommend two annual reviews for Managed portfolios and charge an ongoing fee of 1.0% annually. Our Bespoke solution is also 1.0% annually. These portfolios are constantly under review, but are only accessible with the minimum investment of £250,000. All ongoing fee are paid out by the provider that holds your investment and our annual fee is paid out monthly.
We hope this article has answered some questions you may have about financial advice and services provided by HL Financial. If you still have a question that hasn’t been answered in the article above, please get in touch with us on 01244 478007 or leave a comment below.
