The value of advice
When we were founded in 2005, most firms earned their income from commission. This didn’t feel right to us, so we became one of the first fee-based advisers in the country.
Today, only 1 in 20 advisers disclose their fees online; we feel it’s important to be part of the small number who do. By setting out our stall transparently, we hope you’ll be able to get a clear picture of how working with us might look.
We believe the fees we charge are fair and justified for the value we add to your situation. Our clients can vouch for that; 97% of them have left a review on VouchedFor and rated us 5 out of 5 for value for money. You can get to know some of our clients here.
What’s more, research shows the value of financial advice and planning.
Initial meeting
Our first meeting is all about getting to know you and helping you decide what you want from life. We never charge for this meeting.
Financial strategy service
Our financial strategy service is the process we follow to get to know you and your goals, review your existing financial arrangements and put a financial plan in place. This service includes 2-3 meetings.
Research and recommendations
We then charge to review your existing pensions and investments, and to recommend any new products that will benefit your financial situation.
Research and improvement
- Existing pension:
- Existing investment:
Recommendation of new products
- New pension:
- New investment:
We then detail our recommendations in a tactics report.
Ongoing
We offer ongoing guidance, which is tuned and adjusted to meet financial strategy and retirement wellbeing plan.
This fee generally comes out of investments, and therefore when we report a growth rate at our review, it is after all charges.
Our guarantee
If you are not happy with the advice that you have been given for a particular service, we will fully refund the fee paid for that advice.
Yes, really. It keeps us on our toes! This includes:
- If at any time you feel we have NOT delivered on our promises, we will refund our fee for this service.
- If you are dissatisfied after our review, again we will partly or fully refund our fee.
We guarantee our fees are good value for money, and if you find anyone offering a comparable service, we will match that price. The only conditions are:
- The adviser must have at least a 4.5 rating from VouchedFor
- Be a at retirement specialist
- And offer a comparable face to face financial planning service
Examples
George and Mary - Pre-retirement
George and Mary want to check if they are on track to meet their retirement goals in five years’ time.
Between them they have three money purchase pensions and one investment account with Hargreaves Lansdown.
- We produced a comprehensive strategy for the future and provided our written advice on what to do now next.
- We recommended that the couple save money by moving to one new pension each.
- However, due to exit charges, we recommended that they stayed with Hargreaves Lansdown for their ISA.
Costs:
- Financial strategy - TBC
- Research on three pensions - TBC
- Two new pensions - TBC
- Tactics report detailing our advice - TBC
Total: TBC
Sally – About to retire
Sally has two existing pensions and is about to retire.
She requires advice on making her pending retirement as happy and stress free as possible.
- We recommended a UFPLS withdrawal plan with higher withdrawals for the first 10 years.
- This saved sally over £1000 in tax per annum compared to a conventional drawdown scheme.
- Using our probability test based on history, Sally could take a higher income in the early years, which provided Sally with peace of mind and a potentially happier retirement.
Costs:
- Financial strategy - TBC
- Research on two pensions - TBC
- New drawdown scheme - TBC
- Probability test - TBC
- Tactics report - TBC
Total: TBC
Learn about how we work
Learn more about how we work and the financial planning process we’ll walk you through.
Read moreLearn about our investment philosophy
We know that ongoing advice, monitoring and reviews are key to investment success. We’re guided by five key investment principles.
Read moreWe’re highly rated
We retain a 5-star rating on VouchedFor, an independent service that enables clients to review their professional advisers. VouchedFor verifies the reviews and testimonials we receive, so you can be confident that they are authentic. 2018, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 Top Rated Adviser, as listed in The Times
Our former financial adviser was retiring and recommended Ray to us. He alleviated the constant worry of where to best invest our savings without too much risk. We’re very pleased with the results over the last 10 years. He explains things in layman's language, which we appreciate, and gives us the confidence we have made the right choices. What more can people expect?
We had pension policies and investments that needed sorting out ready for retirement. We didn't know what to expect from a financial adviser. We assumed that he would simply advise us where to get the best deals. How wrong we were. Ray took us right back to basics. He made us carefully consider what we really wanted to achieve. He has allowed us to start to really enjoy our retirement.
I needed financial advice about pensions and investments as I approached retirement. My wife was in the same position. Ray Martin worked out a comprehensive plan for putting my pension provision and savings into proper order. He did the same for my wife. He has continued to provide us with advice ever since. Ray is always straightforward, open and proactive.
I was approaching retirement and wanting to look into limiting taxation and Inheritance Tax, as well as providing for my wife. Ray provided sound advice to switch from my current arrangement to a Drawdown Pension and ISA investments. I have now retired and have started seeing the benefits of his advice. The returns on my portfolio have increased beyond expectation. Ray performed extremely well.
I had sold my house and didn't know how to invest the money. Ray invested very wisely and there has been about a 5% increase every year. He listened to our queries, gave answers that we fully understood and followed any requests. He always had time for us, and never rushed us. We would have been financially at a loss without his help.
Ray has been advising my wife and me for about 20 years. He is everything one could hope for in a financial adviser: wonderfully enthusiastic, extremely well informed, completely trustworthy and scrupulously observant of the regulatory requirements. He is able to explain complex matters very clearly, and so far, his advice has always been first class.
I had money to invest and had no idea how to go about investing it and hopefully making a gain. I have three children and wanted advice about inheritance planning. Ray is very patient, very clear when he explains things, he is very interested in me as a person, totally trustworthy and is an excellent listener. We have never been disappointed! He`s been brilliant.
I had just been widowed. Ray sorted out and simplified what was a very complex set of investments into a much less confusing portfolio. I have been extremely happy with everything Ray has advised over the last 12 years. Whilst moving with the times, he has dealt with all aspects of my investments wisely and given me all the guidance and help I have needed.
As the financial director of a company, I was seeking to get advice on how to plan and invest for retirement. Without a doubt, Ray Martin helped me understand and plan how to fund my retirement. Ray has been with me every step of the way. His advice has been invaluable. I retired and achieved my annual income goal. His continued advice is helping me in the next stage of my life.
I needed some advice regarding my late mother’s estate. I had also retired and required advice on how to manage my private pension. Ray was extremely helpful, and his advice was very clear and easy to understand. I came away from our initial meeting feeling very relieved and less stressed. We have just had our first yearly review and I was surprised how well my investments had done.
In the last 10 years, my circumstances have changed with the passage of time. Ray has guided me on how to protect and make my money grow. He listens carefully to my needs and gives clear, concise advice in a professional manner. He and his team are always accessible and patient with my questions and their approach gives me confidence that my finances are securely looked after.