How much does financial advice cost?

(And other questions about professional financial advice)

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Is financial advice free?

The cost of financial advice can be confusing, largely because there are various types of financial adviser and numerous ways of charging for the advice. The common theme is that all financial advisers should be clear and up-front about any charges you’ll need to pay.

Some financial advisers charge a flat fee for their services - a one-off figure for each piece of work they undertake (whether that’s an annual review or an initial fact-find and recommendation). 

Others charge an hourly rate, which will vary greatly depending on the adviser’s experience.

There’s a third way to charge for financial advice too – as a proportion or percentage of the money you choose to invest. This is how Specialist Financial Advisers from Wesleyan Financial Services usually charge for savings, investments, pensions and annuity products. 

For third-party insurance, protection or mortgage products, we’re paid commission.

Note that advice charges are different to management fees charged by the product provider. On many investment products, you’ll typically have management fees to pay whether you choose to take financial advice or not.

How financial advice works at Wesleyan Financial Services

Our Specialist Financial Advisers can meet you online via video call or visit you at your home or work. They’ll assess your financial situation, goals and objectives, and recommend the right products and course of action for you.

If you choose to invest or save money with Wesleyan as a result, a percentage of your investment will be taken as the advice charge.

The advice fee can vary by product, but it’s typically 3%. If, for example, you invest £10,000 in a With Profits Stocks and Shares ISA via a Specialist Financial Adviser from Wesleyan Financial Services, £300 would be taken from that investment as the advice fee.

That applies both to lump sum investments and monthly payments, though the fee drops to 1% on contributions over a certain amount. For more details, you can view our advice charges here.

You can usually also opt in for the Ongoing Advice Service (charged separately) if you’d like to receive regular advice going forward.

Why we charge this way

Charging for advice as a proportion of the investment has two key benefits for the customer. Firstly, it ensures a degree of affordability, because you’ll only ever be paying a small percentage of the money you’re already happy to invest.

Secondly, it means that the meeting or consultation itself has no hourly charge or flat-fee applied*. There’s also no obligation to invest in Wesleyan products. It’s only if you decide to act on the recommendations you receive that you’d pay anything at all.

* The only exception to this is if you do not select the Ongoing Advice Service, but do request further advice. In this instance we will charge for additional advice by the hour. See here for details.

What is the Ongoing Advice Service?

Financial advice doesn’t necessarily come to an end once you’ve made your investment. You can receive regular reviews of your plans and products to make sure they remain right for you, by opting in to our Ongoing Advice Service. 

If you opt in, we’ll contact you to provide you with the opportunity to receive a financial review at least once a year - or you can request one at any time. 

Note the Ongoing Advice Service incurs an additional charge.

Find out more

Independent vs restricted advice

Broadly speaking, there are two types of financial adviser:

  1. Independent financial advisers
  2. Restricted advisers

Specialist Financial Advisers from Wesleyan Financial Services are restricted advisors. They are employed by the company and typically advise on products from within the Wesleyan Group (though they can also advise on third-party protection products and mortgages).

Independent advisers will consider products from a wide range of firms across the market.

All financial advisers must be approved or authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Both independent and restricted advisers must pass the same qualifications and meet the same requirements to ensure they are providing suitable advice.

Restricted advice

We make no bones about the fact that our advisers provide restricted advice. Because they work in-house, they don’t usually have to charge hourly rates like a lot of independents do.

And, as our Specialist Financial Advisers work with Wesleyan products day in day out, they know the products they’re recommending inside out.

They know our customers too. For generations, our Specialist Financial Advisers have provided tailored advice to doctors, dentists and teachers, specialising in the financial issues that affect these trusted professions the most.

When and why you might need financial advice

A lot of the time, financial matters are things we tend to keep to ourselves - but getting professional advice at the right time can make a real difference to you and your family’s financial health.

Below are just a few of the reasons or scenarios that might lead you to consider speaking to a Specialist Financial Adviser for the first time. Bear in mind though that financial advice isn’t just for those big life-changing moments - it’s worth reviewing your situation on a regular basis to ensure your goals remain on track:

Something to save for

Whether you’re saving for a wedding, a new car or a house deposit, putting your money in the right place could help the pot grow faster.

A Specialist Financial Adviser would look at the most efficient and effective way to reach your target, taking into account your financial circumstances, and how long you have to save or invest.

Specialist Financial Advisers can advise on things like mortgages too, so they’ll be of use to you at various stages of saving for a home.

A growing family

Everything changes when children come along, and that includes your attitude to money. If you’ve recently started a family or you’re planning to soon, you’ll want to think about the best ways to save and invest for your children’s future.

If your children have already grown up and fled the nest, you might be giving some thought to things like inheritance tax planning. That’s something a Specialist Financial Adviser can help with too.

Just bear in mind that advice in relation to Inheritance Tax planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Retirement planning

Whether it’s decades away or fast approaching, retirement is one of the most important things you can save for. Our Specialist Financial Advisers can help you look at the most tax-efficient ways to build your pension pot – and decide what to do with it when you finally call it a day at work.

Because our Specialist Financial Advisers specialise in certain key professions, we’ve become experts in things like the Teachers’ Pension and the NHS Pension, and can help you make sense of even the most complex schemes.

You might be interested in…

Initial and ongoing advice charges 

A simple guide to the advice charges you might incur when you save or invest in Wesleyan products. 

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