Financial advice
See how you can reach your financial goals by meeting with a Specialist Financial Adviser from Wesleyan Financial Services.
An introduction to our fees
At Wesleyan, we’re always transparent about the charges you might incur when you save or invest in our products.
If you take out a product through a Specialist Financial Adviser from Wesleyan Financial Services, an initial advice charge will usually apply. If you opt in for ongoing advice from your Specialist Financial Adviser, you’ll pay a charge for this too.
Information on Wesleyan Financial Services’ advice charges can be found below.
Bear in mind that depending on the product you take out, you may also pay product provider charges, such as annual management fees.
Advice charges for insurance, protection and mortgage products
For providing advice and recommendations for insurance, protection or mortgage products, Wesleyan Financial Services will typically be paid a fee by the insurance or mortgage provider. While there is no direct advice charge for you to pay, that doesn’t mean our service is free, as you still pay for our advice indirectly through product charges.
Details of the commission we receive can usually be found in your illustration and Suitability Report.
Advice charges for savings, investments, pensions and annuities
When you take out these types of product following advice from a Specialist Financial Adviser, there are three potential types of advice charge you might need to pay:
- An initial advice charge – this is the cost of the initial advice. It's paid as a percentage of each new investment you make as a result of our advice.
- An ongoing advice charge – paid if you opt in to receive regular advice and annual reviews
- Hourly advice charge – for advice on existing plans outside of the ongoing advice service.
Annual management charges may also be charged by the product provider. These will be clearly outlined before you invest. You will never be charged until you have accepted and agreed the fees.
In return for any advice charges you pay, you can expect to receive financial advice from highly qualified Specialist Financial Advisers, always with your very best interests at heart.
Initial Advice Charge
When you take out or top up an existing product via a Specialist Financial Advisor from Wesleyan Financial Services, you’ll usually pay an initial advice fee. This is calculated as a percentage of your investment, and it’ll be taken out of your plan automatically.
The Initial Advice Charge applies when you do any of the following as a result of our advice:
- Take out a new savings, investment, pension plan or annuity
- Make regular payments into a plan
- Select existing funds in a pension policy for drawdown*
- Top-up a savings, investment or pension product you already hold.
Details of the current charges are shown in the tables below, but please bear in mind that we may change the Initial Advice Charge at any time in the future. When you take out a new savings, investment, pension product or annuity, or top-up an existing savings, investment or pension product in the future, the Initial Advice Charge at that time will be applied.
* We will waive any Initial Advice Charge which would apply for moving pension funds to Flexi-access drawdown when, as part of the same advice, those funds have already been subject to an Initial Advice Charge within the previous 12 months. We will reduce the Initial Advice Charge to 1% for moving pension funds into a Flexi-access drawdown when, as part of a separate piece of advice, those funds have already been subject to an Initial Advice Charge within the previous 24 months.
Initial Advice Charge for lump-sum contributions
To calculate the initial advice charge, we use a tiered structure based on a percentage of your investments. Here’s how it works for lump-sum contributions:
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Investment amount
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Rate applied
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Example costs
|
|---|---|---|
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The first £250,000 +
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3%
|
For an investment of £50,000: 3% of £50,000 = £1,500 |
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Any amount above £250,000
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1%*
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For an investment of £550,000: 3% of first £250,000 = £7,500 (+ 1% of remaining £300,000 = £3,000) = £10,500 |
* Discounted rate is only available for single premiums of £250,000 or more into one plan. Does not apply to top-ups of less than £250,000 into existing plans which then take the total payment to £250,000, or premiums spread across multiple plans where the payment to each individual plan is less than £250,000.
Initial Advice Charge for regular monthly contributions
If you’re making monthly payments to your plan, as well as (or instead of) lump sum contributions, here’s how the advice charge would be worked out. The Initial Advice Charge is collected for ten years from when you start your payments.
|
Investment amount
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Rate applied
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Example costs
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|---|---|---|
|
The first £2,083 per month
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3%
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For a £250 investment per month: 3% of £250 = £7.50 per month. This equates to £90 per year. Over 5 years the cost is £450. Over 10 years the cost is £900. |
|
Any amount above £2,083
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1%*
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For a £5,000 investment per month: 3% of £2,083 = £62.49 (+ 1% of the remaining £2,917 = £29.17) = £91.66 per month. This equates to £1,099.92 per year. Over 5 years the cost is £5,499.60. Over 10 years the cost is £10,999.20. |
* Discounted rate is only available for payments of £2,083 or more per month into one contract. Does not apply to increments to existing contracts which take the total monthly payment to £2,083 or more, or a combined total of £2,083 or more spread across multiple contracts where each individual payment is less than £2,083.
What if you increase your payments?
If you increase a regular payment, the Initial Advice Charges relating to the original premium and increased amount are calculated separately. Each is collected for ten years from when that payment started.
For example, the last Initial Advice Charge for a payment started in January 2021 will be in December 2030. If an increase to that original premium was made in July 2023, the last Initial Advice Charge for the increment amount would be in June 2033.
Please bear in mind the figures in the tables above are example costs only. Your illustration and Suitability Report will confirm the level of Initial Advice Charge you will pay based on your actual investment amount.
Ongoing Advice Service
Opting in for the Ongoing Advice Service (OAS) service means your Specialist Financial Adviser will provide pro-active advice and guidance on any relevant changes to taxation, regulations or your professional entitlement, to ensure the products you hold remain right for you.
If you opt into our Ongoing Advice Service, either when you take out a product or at a later date, you will pay a fee called the Ongoing Advice Charge. This will be applied to all Wesleyan investment and pension products (excluding annuities) you hold with us.
You won’t receive a bill for the charge. It’s taken automatically through your plan(s) by cashing in units, usually each month. We will provide an annual statement which details the costs and charges taken over the period.
The Ongoing Advice Charge will apply to:
- new savings, investment and pension plans taken out after 30th December 2012
- top-ups you make to existing plans (opened before 30th December 2012).
Note that the charge will therefore apply to all payments you make into plans after 30th December 2012, whether or not we advised you on the initial investment.
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Rate applied
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Example costs
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|---|---|
|
0.5% of how much your investments are worth each year. This will be collected monthly as part of your product charge, or by cashing in units you hold. The Ongoing Advice Charge is applied every year at the prevailing rate at the time. |
For an end-of-year value of £30,000: 0.5% = £150 per annum. This equates to £12.50 per month For an end of year value of £38,000: 0.5% = £190. This equates to £15.83 per month |
The figures in the table above are example costs only. Your illustration and Suitability Report will confirm the details of the fee as they apply to you.
We may change the rate we charge for the Ongoing Advice Service in the future. We will give you at least 90 days’ notice in writing if any changes are applied. Your illustration will include an example of the Ongoing Advice Charge you may need to pay in the future, based on your actual investment and potential growth.
Opting out of the Ongoing Advice Service
Hourly fee for ongoing advice
If you’re not opted in to the Ongoing Advice Service, but you need further advice from a Specialist Financial Adviser, an hourly rate plus VAT will apply. This relates to any savings, investment or pension reviews and any further advice we give you on these products.
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Rate applied
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Example costs
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|---|---|
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£300 per hour plus VAT
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An annual review will usually take a minimum of six hours = £1,800 plus VAT
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Please note the time it takes to complete a review depends on the complexity of your financial circumstances and whether we need to give you further advice. Your Adviser will tell you how long they expect the work to take before they begin.
Other charges
As well as our advice charges, other fees may be charged by the product provider, such as annual management charges, fund charges, platform charges and specific product charges.
These additional charges will be detailed in your product documentation, such as the Key Features Document and personal illustration.
Want to know more about our advice charges?
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