Independent Financial Advice
Gather Data
An initial consultation is offered with no cost or obligation. Ahead of this first meeting you will be asked to complete a short financial questionnaire.
The first meeting takes around one hour and is an opportunity for both parties to ask lots of questions.
After this first meeting I will write to you with a letter of engagement to describe the services I can offer and the costs associated with these services.
Establish Goals and Objectives
On receipt of the signed letter of engagement I will arrange a second meeting to discuss your objectives, goals and aims in greater detail.
At this stage I will also ask you to sign various letters of authority to enable me to request detailed information on any existing financial arrangements.
I also look carefully at your income and expenditure (which usually involves a review of your recent bank statements) and any other relevant documents, such as wills or trusts.
Recommend a Plan of Action
After the second meeting I will begin constructing your Financial Plan; taking into account your current financial position and your goals for the future.
This stage requires a detailed analysis of all of the information acquired and I use a financial modelling system to produce cashflow forecasts which form part of your report.
I will present your report at a third meeting where the Financial Planning report is used as a discussion document.
This gives you the opportunity to ask lots of questions and during the course of this meeting the aim is to reach a consensus on the best course of action.
Depending on the decisions made within this meeting, it is likely that I will redraft sections of your Financial Planning report to ensure that the final version is accurate for your records.
Implement the Plan
Once decisions have been made about the best course of action, I will help implement these on your behalf.
This can range from instructing fund switches on existing plans or establishing trusts to setting up a new financial policy.
My aim here is to reduce the number of forms you need to spend time completing and also check any documents for accuracy before they are forwarded to you for your safekeeping.