The benefits & importance of independent financial advice

The benefits & importance of independent financial advice

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The big advantage of taking independent financial advice is that you will have access to all the products in the market through a qualified practitioner. Taking independent financial advice will provide you with access, through a qualified professional, to all of the investment, pension and insurance options currently available.

As Independent and Chartered Financial Planners we offer unbiased and unrestricted independent financial advice, recommending the most suitable solutions and products having researched the whole market.

So it’s a very simple choice for you to make…

Let us put ourselves in your shoes; use what we learn about you and your family, combine it with our extensive knowledge, expertise and experience to ensure you receive the best advice possible. The result will be advice that is free from any constraints, in its most pure and unbiased form.

We will always ensure the products recommended are suitable for you. When advising you on regulated products (including investments, insurance and some forms of mortgages) you have the protection of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

If you are unhappy about the advice or service you have received from any financial adviser you should firstly contact the firm that provided the advice or service. This gives them the chance to put things right and/or to provide their own version of events. Should you remain dissatisfied you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the FOS who will investigate the complaint independently and make a ruling.

The FOS work with customers and financial advisers to resolve a complaint, and when they do have to make a ruling it is binding upon the firm. Full details of how to contact the FOS together with information about how to complain are available from their website – www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or by telephoning 0800 023 4 567.

If you try to submit a complaint to a firm and the firm is dissolved, or unable to meet its obligations, you may have recourse to the FSCS – www.fscs.org.uk. This service is funded by levies on firms that are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to protect customers where firms have closed or gone into liquidation – www.fca.org.uk/register

Some financial advisers do give advice on products that are not regulated by FCA – such as general taxation and some Buy-to-Let mortgages. We would always explain this to you should we provide advice on an unregulated product. It is very important that you are happy with such advice as you may not have the added protection of the FOS or FSCS when dealing with some unregulated products.

What Our Clients Think

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Peter, thank you so much for your time and excellent advice this morning. I really appreciate it.

Mrs H, Pembrokeshire

Stephen is one of the few IFA’s who truly offers unbiased advice. He is a good listener and sees it as a strength to double check on issues he isn’t 100% sure of. I am a firm believer that good advice is advice worth paying for. Most people think they know about financial issues or what is best for them and their money. The reality is, in my view, far different and means that many act too quickly or on impulse when making serious financial decisions. As an industry, financial services has been justifiably tarnished with the wrong brush. As such, it is important to seek out a competent and h...

Mr. G.O. Jones, Bristol

We sold our business 3 years ago and after paying off several debts we had a financial pot which we were keen to invest for the future as we were still relatively young and needed our money to work for us. We spoke to several Financial Advisers who were extremely pushy in their approach and did not fill us with the greatest confidence. We met Stephen by chance through a mutual friend and immediately struck up a rapport. It was refreshing to talk to someone in the sector who let us do the talking about what we wanted. Once we had established we would like to work together he provided us with...

Kim & Chris, Abergavenny

I have known Stephen for many years and became a direct client 7 years ago. During this time I have had every confidence that Stephen understands my individual requirements and needs and has provided suitable advice when it has been appropriate and has not just provided advice for advice sake. It is pleasing to see that he takes his own professional development and all-round financial knowledge very seriously so that he is well equipped to provide advice on the ever changing economic and market conditions.

David Kelly, Almondsbury

I know Steve as I am a solicitor working with mutual clients. I am aware of his advice on financial & Tax planning. His depth of knowledge gives his clients and me as a referrer great confidence in his abilities. His understanding of a client’s needs and the approach he takes is invaluable to those he advises. I have no hesitation to recommending him to my clients.

Mr. Chris Beames, Senior Partner, Private Clients at Berry Smith LLP

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