Questions
Five, and the first one should be the first one everywhere.
- How are you paid?
- By you, either a flat fee for a plan or an hourly rate for a single decision. Not a percentage of your assets, not commission on anything you buy, and not by any firm whose products might come up. Three of the five ways this industry gets paid do not apply here, and the page about it sets out what each of those three does to the advice.
- Do you manage my investments?
- No. I do not hold your accounts, I do not have trading authority, and nothing moves without you doing it. The plan will say what your money should be doing and you can implement it yourself, or take it to somebody who manages money — I have no stake in which.
- What does a plan actually contain?
- Thirty to fifty pages across seven sections: where you are, the decision in front of you, cash, tax, insurance, retirement arithmetic, and a numbered list of what to do in what order. That last section is one page and it is the part people use. The full outline is on the plan page.
- How long does it take?
- About ten weeks, of which the first fortnight is you finding documents. Four sessions, then the written plan, then a session ninety days later to see what got done. The ninety-day one is where the honest conversation happens, because it is usually about half.
- Do I need to move my accounts anywhere?
- No, and that is rather the point. Nothing is transferred, nothing is opened on your behalf, and no account changes hands. If the plan recommends a different account somewhere, you open it yourself and I have no relationship with whoever it is with.
Nothing on this site is investment advice, and no figure here is a projection of anything.