What we do, and exactly what it costs.
Every figure below is a real published fee, in dollars including GST. This is general advice only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you put in.
The three pieces of work we are asked for most
Most clients start with one and add the others over time.
Retirement cashflow planning
We model what you can sustainably spend, year by year, against realistic assumptions and several worse ones. It answers the question people actually have, which is not ‘what should I invest in’ but ‘am I going to be all right’. The modelling is yours to keep either way.
Pension review and consolidation
We find what you have, including the ones you have forgotten, and check each for guarantees, protected ages and exit penalties before anything is moved. Quite often the recommendation is to leave a scheme exactly where it is, because the guarantee attached to it is worth more than the tidiness.
Later-life and estate planning
Care costs, inheritance tax, gifting and powers of attorney, usually with the next generation in the room if everyone is willing. This is slow, human work and it is where families most often tell us the money was well spent.
Four smaller pieces of work
Fixed fee, no ongoing commitment, useful on their own.
A second opinion
We review the advice you have been given elsewhere and tell you what we would question. We do not need to take you on to do it.
Protection review
Life cover, income protection and critical illness — usually about cancelling what you do not need as much as adding what you do.
Tax-efficient saving
Making proper use of allowances across a couple. Unglamorous and reliably worth more than most fund choices.
Annual reviews
For ongoing clients: a yearly rework of the plan against what actually happened, plus any changes to your circumstances.
Three ways to work with us
All fees include GST and are payable directly, never taken as commission from a product.
First meeting
Up to an hour, in person or on video. Questions only, no recommendations and no obligation to go further.
A written plan
Full fact-find, cashflow modelling and a written report you own outright and may take anywhere.
Ongoing planning
Annual review, rebalancing, and access to us through the year. A flat figure, agreed each year, not a percentage of your portfolio.
Asked before the first meeting
That we can recommend from the whole of the relevant market rather than a restricted panel, and that no provider pays us. It is a specific regulated term rather than a marketing word, and you are entitled to ask any adviser to confirm their status in writing.
No, but be aware that a flat fee is poor value on a small pot — which is exactly why we say so up front. If a one-off piece of work serves you better than ongoing advice, we will recommend that instead.
No. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you put in. Anyone who tells you otherwise should be avoided. What planning does is make the range of outcomes visible so you can decide how much uncertainty you are willing to carry.
We have a formal continuity arrangement with another independent firm, named in your client agreement, and your records are held so that a successor could pick them up. It is an unglamorous question and a very sensible one.
Yes. The written plan is yours, it is written to be actionable without us, and a number of clients implement it themselves. We would rather that than sell you an ongoing service you do not need.
Start with the free hour. Decide everything else afterwards.
No advice is given in it, nothing is recommended, and there is no follow-up call unless you ask for one.