They do not hold my assets which gives me 100% protection if they ever go bust
They have never had any regulatory issues or fines by the FCA
They give me Ombudsman protection against mis-selling, unfair fees and unsuitable advice
They use only FCA regulated custodians that have been operating for more than 30 years
Their custodian never uses my portfolio as collateral to speculate with
Their custodian has Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) of £2m or more
They sit down with me once a year to agree a financial target that is suitable for my risk profile and circumstances
They have a quarterly performance review telephone call/Zoom with me to ensure that our target is being met and to tweak the strategy if necessary
They publish their performance numbers every month, not once a year, so I can see how well their recommendations are performing
They publish the performance for ALL of their clients online so I can see not only how my trades are doing but the trades for everybody else too
They give me 24-hour online access to my portfolio which means that I can see how my portfolio is performing in real-time
They financially incentivise their advisors if my portfolio reaches our agreed targets
Their ‘performance based’ bonus scheme ensures that their interests and my interests are aligned
Their fee structure is NOT based on a fixed annual fee basis which would discourage my advisor to grow my portfolio
Their fee structure is ‘50% Fixed & 50% Variable’ which incentivises my advisors to be proactive in searching for new opportunities
They have a Fixed annual fee of 1% or less
They have no hidden fees, and all fees are transparent and stated on their website
There are no early exit penalty fees, so I can leave whenever I want to
They receive NO financial rebates by recommending products or services of ‘associates’
They offer free financial advice which means that I don’t need to pay for my own financial advisor
Their investment managers work as a team so that my portfolio benefits from decades of collective experience, not just one person who might be less experienced
They do NOT pool my money with other clients into generic, passive funds which are not actively managed and so have more chance of underperforming
They build a bespoke portfolio just for me, so it accurately reflects my goals and aspirations
Their portfolios are designed to react quickly in order to take advantage of opportunities
They follow a 150:1 ratio of ‘investment manager to client’ which ensures that as new clients join the firm, I still receive the same level of high attention
They only accept clients who have a minimum portfolio of £100,000 so they can focus on high net-worth investors only
They email me a contract note within 2 minutes of a trade being executed so that I’m always aware of changes being made to my portfolio in real-time
They email me on THE SAME DAY a detailed explanation of any trade executed so I understand why a share was bought or sold and the profit/loss made.
They send me a full statement and valuation of my portfolio twice a year
They offer next day 15-minute telephone appointments or 45-minute face-to-face meetings at their offices if I ever want to discuss my portfolio
They keep records for a period of 5 years of all contract notes, trade emails, statements and valuations so that I can receive copies whenever I want
They build a tax efficient portfolio based on my and personal circumstances which they review each year
They structure my portfolio maximising the use of Stock ISA, SIPP, Joint Accounts
They can invest via my limited company if I want to reduce my personal tax liability
They can invest in Inheritance Tax exempt portfolios if I want to reduce my IHT bill
They send a reminder 30 days before the end of the tax year if I’ve forgotten to use my Stock ISA or SIPP allowance
They take care of all administration on my behalf including dealing with share certificates, missing paperwork etc.
They deal with all corporate actions including mergers, takeovers, rights issue, placings etc.
They work directly with my accountant and provide a consolidated end of year tax report saving me time and money
They give me access to investment webinars/videos so that I can learn quickly without risk