Financial Planning
How does a financial adviser charge for their services?
Changes came into effect on 31st December 2012 which meant that commission can no longer be taken from a product provider to remunerate an adviser for the advice they gave to their client. Instead financial advisers will be paid by “adviser charging”. This rule applies to all financial advisers (independent and tied/restricted) and means that…
Read MoreWhy seek financial advice?
Clients typically seek financial advice to get better control and understanding of their finances. Consider the following scenario and consider how familiar does it sound to you? You have a number of different pensions from previous employments. At the time the pension was set up you opted to invest in the default fund because you didn’t know which other fund may…
Read MoreHelp, should I consolidate my pensions?
It’s not at all uncommon for clients to have a large number of different pension pots which have been accumulated over a number of years, all with different providers. Often you start a pension with an employer but then when you change employment leave that pension sitting where it is and start up a new…
Read MoreReview your mortgage regularly
For most of us, our mortgage is the biggest financial commitment we have throughout our life. Given that it provides the security of a roof over our head, it is also one of the most important. As the largest commitment, it is crucial that you get it right, and get the most competitive rate available…
Read MoreHow much is your credit card purchase costing you?
Interest on a credit card is currently around 17%, and could infact be as much as 23% if you are using a store card. If you buy something on a credit card (or indeed purchase with any form of debt) it’s very easy to look at how much you’re paying back each month and to…
Read MoreWhat mortgage will you be offered following divorce?
Mothers who work part time or work in a low paid job to be able to fit their job around general child care, will often struggle after divorce to be eligible for any reasonable sized mortgage from a bank or building society. . Even if your partner has left the marital home and you have…
Read MoreClaim child benefit to protect your state pension
To be eligible for a full state pension you need to have paid or received credit for National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for a minimum of 30 years. For each year less than 30, your full state pension is reduced by 1/30. That means that if you’ve paid NIC for 15 years only your full state…
Read MoreHelp, how do I take control of my finances?
I had a meeting with a potential client last week who’d been following me on Twitter and as a result of my tweets had been motivated to get to grips with her finances. Hooray the message is getting through! The thing that confused her was “where to start?” If I was Julie Andrews I could…
Read MoreHelp, where has all my money gone?
Does it sound familiar that no matter how much income you earn in a month it all seems to be gone by the end. You promise yourself that when you get a pay rise, or when you land that big contract, then you will start saving. But actually, you do get a pay rise, you…
Read MoreDo you have enough money?
What if I were to ask you “how comfortable do you feel that you’ve got enough money to do what you’d like to do? I’m wondering how confidently you’d be able to answer this question. My guess is that most people really aren’t sure how much they need. And I’m not talking about how much you need in the short term-…
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