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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Are
you prepared to deal with me whatever the amount of money I have to invest?
Yes, we believe that it is just as
important to get advice if you have a small amount of money to invest as a
large amount
You
say you offer advice on employee benefit schemes, where can I find more
information?
Please look at our employee benefits
site
Do
all meetings take place in your office?
We have offices in Bristol and London
and we would normally hold meetings in normal office hours, although it is
usually possible for an early morning or late afternoon meeting to be
accommodated, just mention this when ringing for your appointment. If you are
elderly or disabled or there is some other reason that you cannot come into
the office for a meeting, we can arrange to visit you during office hours
What
happens if I live in another part of the country?
We have clients all around the
country, for example in the West Country around Exeter, Plymouth and the South
coast, in South Wales, The Cotswolds and the Midlands, Cambridge and Norfolk,
Surrey and Kent and Scotland. We are happy to visit you for the initial and
Review Meetings at your home or office during office hours.
We keep in touch with all clients between meetings by newsletters,
telephone calls and e mails.
What
should I bring to the first meeting?
When you make an appointment you will
be sent an appointment
card which lists useful documents to bring to the meeting
Will
financial advice be costly?
We offer up to a 30 minute interview
at our expense when we explain the process of financial advice and you explain
your needs. This can be done face to face or over the telephone. We will not
give you any advice during this interview. If you wish to proceed to receiving
advice the initial meeting will cost £50. Most people will then need us to
carry out research for them and to prepare a report. If you are proceeding to
this we will give you an indication of cost.
How
much is a report likely to cost?
We quote you a flat fee but this will
be based on how many hours of work are likely to be involved. Our hourly rate
is £90. Depending upon the complexity and research required a report may take
between 3 and 15 hours. So, for a straightforward report the cost is likely to
be between £250 and £450. If you subsequently purchase a product there will
be an administration charge, you
will be given the option of paying by invoice or deduction from the
investment.
What
format will the report take?
It will depend upon the type of advice
you are seeking, it may be that a letter outlining the research and
conclusions will suffice. In other instances you could expect a full report
analysing your needs, and priorities, reviewing your existing investments in
depth and explaining their suitability. We will include a section on risk
analysis, an asset allocation which is suitable for you and proposed changes
to your portfolio. The report will also take into account your tax situation
and suggest investments or re-arrangements which may be needed
Why
should I pay you that amount of money when I can go to the Bank or Building
Society and they will give me free advice?
The reason is that we are giving you
advice, in most instances the Bank or Building Society are selling you a
product from which they are receiving commission, this could be as much as 5%
or 7% of the money you invest.
Can
you explain how advice differs from a product sale?
In many instances we just give our
clients advice. There is no need for a product –most clients already have
lots of products. We may advise on the best way to structure their investments
to take advantage of tax breaks or how to divide assets between husband and
wife or partners. We may review existing investments, comment on performance
and charges and illustrate ways in which the portfolio may be constructed to
better meet the client’s needs
What
can you add which I cannot find out by reading the money pages of newspapers?
There are many problems regarding the
money pages of the newspapers. The information contained is frequently sound
however the problem is that the information in the article is generic, the
journalist does not know your particular circumstances and in particular he
does not know your attitude to risk. The investment may be a good one, but is
it right for you? The other big problem is that articles tell you when to buy,
very seldom do they tell you when to sell.
Why
do you insist on clients joining up to a Review Service?
We believe that financial advice is
not just about the present, but that it is about the future. We will have
discussed with the clients their personal aims for the future and it is only
by regular review that you can hope to meet these targets. It is a question of
working together and frequently goals need to be changed to suit changing
circumstances. In our opinion most mis-selling situations have occurred
primarily because a product was purchased and never reviewed.
Are
you able to advise on queries regarding entry into or benefits resulting from
occupational and other pension schemes?
At Nicholls Stevens we specialise in
pre-retirement and in retirement advice. We run a substantial number of
occupational pension schemes and all our advisers are qualified at a high
level to advise on the complexity of all types of pension arrangement
I
do not want to take any risk with my money, so I do not need a complex
financial plan – can you help me?
We believe that all clients should
feel comfortable with the level of risk they wish to take. If you are a
cautious investor, you still need financial advice to know which investments
are most tax efficient and which meet your risk requirements, it is possible
to construct a portfolio of fixed term and variable rate accounts and may be
National Savings Products and Government Gilts. We can help and believe that
the monitoring of a client’s cash holdings is as important as any other
asset class
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