FAQs

Every financial plan is unique and created around your specific needs. Typically, we focus on your most pressing and important needs first. In terms of the scope of what is covered, we have developed a comprehensive financial planning process that covers several key areas:

• Investment Planning
• Protection Planning
• Inheritance Tax Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Goal Planning
• Financial Forecasting
• Disaster planning
• Financial Organisation & Budgeting
• Emergency Fund
• Tax Planning

Yes, we do. We understand and support farming families, and we understand that all rural businesses are unique. We help you plan for the future, and because we have rural backgrounds, we will talk a language that you will understand, and not confuse you with financial jargon.

People with a plan are much more likely to achieve their objectives.  This is because it helps people focus on the tasks required to achieve the objective and to identify the obstacles that need to be overcome. Your finances help to determine a lot of your choices in life, so achieving your financial goals will be important to you.

Yes. We are here to help you and we are always on hand.

This will depend on the level of service you have selected. Most of our clients want their financial plan reviewed regularly, and we like to review your plan at least once a year.

Not at all. If you are happy with the advice and service you already receive from your existing accountant, we are happy to work with them on your behalf.

No, you are not. You can leave at any time. We hope that you won’t want to leave. Financial Planning is an ongoing service that is built around you and changes as you change throughout the course of your life. We really hope we can demonstrate the ongoing value of having this service so that you will not want to leave.

Yes, we can. A lot of our clients initially find it difficult to articulate what they want to achieve. We can help you crystallise exactly what your goals are.

We will meet so that we can get to know each other. We will help you to identify your life goals. These almost inevitably have a financial aspect to them. We will then put in place a detailed financial plan to show how these goals could be achieved.

Yes, absolutely. We conduct thorough pension reviews for our clients and often find people are invested in inappropriate or poorly performing pensions. We can help you by conducting a thorough review to detail exactly what you have, what you are being charged, what sort of returns you have been getting and what level of risk you are taking.

Yes, we can. There are now more choices than ever when you want to take an income from your pensions. We can use our expertise to make sure you receive the level of income you require in the most tax-efficient manner.

When you come to draw your pension, you will usually be entitled to take a quarter of it tax-free, whether as a lump sum or as a quarter of each withdrawal. You may purchase an annuity to provide a regular income for life with the remainder of your pension. Alternatively, you are free to draw any amount at any time from your pension if you pay the required income tax. We can help you by putting the best strategy in place to ensure you get the income you need and the certainty you will depend on.

If you were to become ill, lose your job, or die unexpectedly your family could struggle financially. Just take a moment to think about what the actual financial impact of any of these events would be. You can protect your family against all these eventualities. What is right for you will depend on your circumstances and priorities.

We can help you with this. We will have an initial conversation to work out what is most important to you, your current circumstances and where you are now. If we think we can help we will make a recommendation. The initial meeting is held with no obligation.

For most people, writing a will is extremely important. If you die without making a will, you cannot control who will inherit your assets after your death. Should you die ‘intestate’ (in other words, without writing a will), your assets will be distributed according to intestacy law, and this may be inconsistent with your personal wishes. By making a will you can determine precisely who inherits your assets. Most importantly for those with children, by writing a will you can determine who you would like to act as guardian for any minor children you have, if they are left without a surviving parent.

We can review your existing investments and see if they are still suitable for you. Once we understand your personal circumstances and objectives, we’ll assess your risk profile and design a portfolio that can meet your objectives. Once we’ve done all the analysis, we will present this to you in a report, showing you exactly what you have and any recommendations to get your investments working for you.

Central to our approach is a risk profiling assessment to ensure that you take on just the right amount of risk with each of your investments. We also look carefully at your aims and objectives for each investment to work towards meeting your targets. We carefully combine a variety of different asset classes aiming to provide great returns and mitigate some of the volatility. We then regularly monitor your portfolio to ascertain whether it is delivering what you need and rebalance your assets to make sure the portfolio remains in great shape.

Yes, we do. We wouldn’t dream of investing our own money in any other way than we recommend for our clients. We have complete confidence in our investment philosophy and know that our process aims to deliver exceptional long-term returns.

We are financial advisors, and we use experienced fund managers, so we are able to offer specific advice about risk factors and offer help and guidance that you are probably not aware of, if you try to manage your own investments.

No. All investments carry the risk that they may fall in value. However, our investment process and portfolios are designed for longer term investment. Over this time frame, our portfolios are likely to deliver strong performance, but there may be times when investments fall. It is only by taking on some risk, that higher long-term returns could be made. However, our investment process means that you can take on the lowest level of risk to meet your investment objective and always have a portfolio that is right for you needs. Each St. James’ Place portfolio carries a different level of investment risk which is why we conduct a thorough risk assessment of every client before advising on the most suitable portfolio.

St. James’s Place are one of the UK’s largest Wealth Manager and provide support to advisers who work alongside them.

We carried out due diligence when setting up Accession, meeting with a cross-section of networks and considering a directly authorised route, which we chose not to take.

Our decision to work with St. James’s Place was made because of their extensive help navigating changes in regulation, the strength of the Investment Management Team who keep the fund managers under close review, and the depth of technical support accessible.

This allows us to focus on our specialist field and importantly spend more time with our clients and build a business that can support the rural community for years to come.

Yes, it is. Whilst we provide the bespoke and tailored service of a compact and dedicated team, the suitability of our advice has the backing of one of the UK’s largest wealth management companies.

Ultimately, this gives you an extra layer of protection and the best of both worlds, as we are backed by the St. James’s Place advice guarantee.

St. James’s Place guarantees the suitability of the advice given by members of the St. James’s Place Partnership when recommending any of the wealth management products and services available from companies in the Group, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website at www.sjp.co.uk/products.

We have been awarded the title of Chartered Financial Planners by the Chartered Insurance Institute. The title Chartered Financial Planner is the most widely accepted ‘gold standard’ qualification available for professional financial planners/financial advisers in the United Kingdom. Only a percentage of Financial Advice businesses hold this title, and those that do, are the most qualified professionals in addition to having the best experience.

As a firm of Chartered Financial Planners, we must abide by a strict criterion including retaining numerous highly qualified staff, as well as an ongoing commitment to continuing professional development.

We must also adhere to an industry standard Code of Ethics.

We hope so. Choosing a financial planner or adviser is not a decision that you should take lightly, as it will most likely be the start of a long-term relationship that will impact the financial future of you and your family. Making the right choice of adviser to suit your needs, should lead to a relationship you value, that works for both parties and provides you with confidence in your financial future.

It is important that you find an adviser that you (and your partner) feel very comfortable with as we will need to take the time to understand your situation and your needs. We can discuss your individual requirements at our initial consultation meeting.

We like to keep our charges simple and clear.

We charge up to 4.5% of the total investment amount for initial advice, and 0.5% per annum of the investment portfolio value for ongoing advice. Of course, the exact amount will vary depending on your specific situation and circumstances as we tailor our solutions to your exact needs.

Yes, it is. Ultimately, we are here to help you achieve your goals, and by working with you we help you to make positive financial actions and well-informed decisions for the long-term.