How we are paid
How we are paid
Initial Meeting
On receiving an enquiry we would normally invite you to come to our offices or for me to meet you in your home, if relatively local for a preliminary meeting. The purpose of the first meeting is to establish primarily whether we are able to assist you with your financial needs and secondly to discuss how we are to be paid for our services. There is no charge for this preliminary meeting and no obligation on either side.
Whether we take our remuneration by way of commission or fees will be a matter of discussion and agreement, and no charges for fees will be made without prior notification in writing.
Payment Agreement
After the initial meeting, we will agree with you whether you wish to pay us a fee, or whether we are to be paid out of the cost of any financial product you buy (commission). We will always advise you about any commission we earn, and it will be taken into account when working out any fee that may be payable.
Paid by Commission
Commission is paid to an Independent Financial Adviser firm by a product provider, usually an insurance company or an investment house for the successful placing of business. The commission is included within the providers normal product charges. The amount of commission is normally based on a percentage of the premiums payable or the amounts invested.
Fee Payments
Fees will usually either be based on the time spent and evaluated at a rate per hour calculated to recover our costs or calculated as a percentage of the amount invested. Fees may attract an additional VAT charge whereas commissions, under current legislation, do not. We will always tell you about any commission we earn, and it will be taken into account in working out our fee.