A checklist, not a pitch
Five questions worth asking anyone who wants to advise you.
Take this to us, and take it to whoever else you are speaking to. The questions are the same either way; only the answers differ, and the differences are the point. Ours are beside each one, with a link to the page that sets it out in full.
- 01
Who holds my money while you advise me?
An adviser who holds your money can move it. An adviser who does not, cannot — whatever else goes wrong.
A good answerA named custodian, and a clear statement of whether the firm can move money without you.
Our answerYou do. Your own account, at your own broker, in your name and under your own login. We never hold it and have no ability to move it.
Where your money sits - 02
Who places the trades?
It decides whether a recommendation you dislike can reach your portfolio without you agreeing to it.
A good answerEither you do, or the firm has discretion. Both are legitimate; being unclear which is not.
Our answerYou do, every one. We research and recommend; nothing reaches your portfolio unless you personally put it there.
Investment advice - 03
How exactly are you paid, and what do you charge when it goes badly?
Most firms will describe the good case readily. The other case is where fee models actually differ.
A good answerA number, not a range you have to ask for, and a plain statement of the losing case.
Our answer10% of the gain, and nothing at all when there is no gain. A fall has to be recovered in full before the share applies again.
The fee page - 04
Is there anything else I would pay you?
A headline rate means little beside an onboarding fee, a retainer, a minimum, or an exit charge.
A good answerA complete list, including what happens if you leave.
Our answerNothing. The share of the gain is the whole of it. No management charge, no retainer, no minimum, nothing for onboarding and nothing for leaving.
Every term of the fee - 05
Is there a minimum, and what happens if I want to leave?
A minimum tells you whether you are the client they want. An exit charge tells you how confident they are that you will stay.
A good answerBoth stated before you sign anything.
Our answerNone minimum, and nothing to pay for leaving. The account is yours throughout, so leaving means telling us to stop.
The fee page
Take the same 5 to whoever else you are speaking to. If an adviser cannot answer any one of them plainly, that is itself an answer.
Ask us these on the first call.
Thirty minutes, no charge, no obligation. If our answers do not hold up against somebody else's, that is a useful half hour whichever way you go.