Contact us

Be social:

Our fees

What we charge and how we add value.

Our philosophy on fees

Fair. Simple. Value for money.

That’s what our clients want when it comes to fees. We know because they tell us, and we listen.

“If I had to describe Simple Financial Advice in three words, I would use competent, cost-effective and pragmatic. They call themselves Simple Financial Advice, and that really does describe them very well. They don’t go in for complexity, which is a real breath of fresh air in the industry.”

Fair.

Financial advisers and planners typically calculate their fees in one of two ways:

A percentage of the amount you invest
A fixed fee

Unlike most advisers who still charge fees as a percentage, we are different, offering fixed fees, whatever your position.

As we see it, there are five reasons fees that are based on a percentage of your invested assets are not fair.

Problem 1:

A percentage-based fee structure can work out significantly more expensive than fixed fees.

Problem 2:

If the value of your investments rise – as you’ll hope they do – you will be penalised by higher fees.

Problem 3:

With percentage-based fees, wealthier clients overpay and subsidise those with smaller portfolios.

Problem 4:

Conflicts of interests. Your adviser is disincentivised from telling you to spend capital, for example.

Problem 5:

It’s a ‘wealth tax’. The rise in fees that accompanies the rise in your investments takes money out of your pocket.

The advantages of fixed fees

We believe fixed fees are the fairest way to charge because:

The amount you pay is easy to understand and doesn’t increase in line with the value of your investments, meaning that you alone benefit from positive market movements.
For people with significant assets, they can be better value than percentage-based fees.
Potential conflicts of interests are avoided.

Value for money.

Fair fees should also provide value for money. Nobody wants to spend money on advice they won’t gain from.

Our clients tell us they measure the value they receive from us in several different ways. Scroll down to discover how.

Life gains and emotional security

Or clients tell us that our work with them brings many benefits, aside from money gains, such as peace of mind, financial confidence and a sense of security about the future. Although they are more difficult to quantify, they are just as important and we work just as hard to deliver the life and emotional gains you might be looking for as well.

“The best thing I found about working with Simple Financial Advice is they’re always available, they are approachable, they always respond to phone calls, emails and general requests. To have that person and that knowledge available at the end of the phone or through email, I think is invaluable.”

In our 2021 client survey, we asked our clients what they most value about our help. They told us:


Assistance in meeting life goals

Providing a safe pair of hands

Gaining peace of mind

What’s more, we never take on a client unless we are confident the financial gains you will see are greater than the cost of our service. It simply wouldn’t be fair any other way.

 

Why are Simple’s fees lower than other firms’?

One of the reasons we’re able to be very competitive is we choose to work remotely. We don’t have expensive offices, lots of travelling time or high overheads. And we choose to pass those savings on to you, our clients.

Simple.

We purposefully keep things Simple. It’s what we’re all about.

That means no complex tariffs and tables that leave you scratching your head, wondering exactly what your final bill will be. Just clear, easy-to-understand, fixed fees.

You’ll find our fees below, alongside information about what you can expect to receive from us in return.

What we charge

Retirement Income Planning Report (defined contribution pensions)

What can you expect from us?

Our Retirement Income Planning Report is designed to provide you with an independent and unbiased recommendation as to the suitability of your existing defined contribution pension arrangements.

Our report will look in detail at the terms of your existing pension contracts and their performance. It will cover the costs, guarantees, penalties, restrictions and options at retirement. We will look at how the pensions are invested and evaluate their performance against suitable benchmarks. We will also check the suitability of these funds against your attitude to risk. Your report will then provide recommendations on remaining with some or all of your existing pensions or alternatively transferring to modern low-cost flexible arrangements.

The personalised retirement plan will look in detail at your income needs in retirement.  The plan will review how best to satisfy these income requirements from your personal and company pension arrangements, state pension, savings and investments and any other sources of income.  It will take into consideration your aims and objectives which may well include passing on assets to family.  A detailed cashflow will be provided which will include a level of stress testing to look at the sustainability of your income needs.

How much does this service cost?

Initial discussion: No charge.

Retirement Income Planning Report: £500 fixed fee.

Implementation of Retirement Income Planning Report: £3,500 fixed fee, which is normally paid out of the pension fund.

Retirement Planning Service (defined benefit pensions)

What can you expect from us?

Our Pension Review Service is designed to provide you with an independent and unbiased recommendation as to the suitability of your existing final salary pension (DB) scheme.

Following our research and analysis our Pension Review Report will explain, in a straightforward way, the features, benefits and drawbacks of your current scheme, as well as all the alternative retirement options should you transfer. We will also analyse both your personal and financial situation, your needs and objectives. We will then make a recommendation as to whether it is in your best interest to remain in your existing pension scheme or transfer to a private pension.

When we provide pension transfer advice, we will always start by assuming that a transfer, conversion or opt-out will not be suitable for you and only recommend to do so, if it can be clearly demonstrated that it is in your best interests. We will not implement or facilitate a DB pension transfer unless we provide the advice to do so, and we are satisfied that the transfer is in your best interests.

If we recommend that you remain with your existing pension scheme, then that concludes our service.

If we recommend a transfer and you wish to proceed, we will select a suitable pension that meets your requirements, advise you on the investment funds that meet your risk profile and administer all the transfer arrangements.

How much does this service cost?

Initial discussion: No charge

We will provide an initial discussion at no charge or obligation to initially explore your requirements to understand if our services are appropriate given your needs and explain our services and fee structure.

Pension Retirement Planning Service: £6000 fixed fee

If as a result of your discussions you wish to proceed with our service, we will ask you to complete our quotation questionnaire. This questionnaire will enable us to calculate what additional work needs to be undertaken over and above our basic service. The cost of the basic service is £6,000 (please note, in cases where a transfer value is in excess of £1,500,000 this fee will be calculated on an individual basis).

Investment Planning Service

What can you expect from us?

Our Investment Review Service is designed to provide you with an independent and unbiased recommendation as to the suitability of your existing investment arrangements.  This report will look in detail at the terms of your existing contracts and their performance.  It will cover the costs, guarantees, penalties, restrictions, tax status and evaluate their performance against suitable benchmarks.  We will also check the suitability of these funds against your attitude to risk.  The report will provide recommendations on remaining with some or all of your existing investments, and how to invest additional funds or alternatively switching to more suitable investments.

If we recommend to transfer some or all of your investment, we will recommend a suitable alternative together with advising on how your funds should be invested to match your attitude to risk and long-term needs.  We will facilitate the new investments should you wish to proceed with our recommendation.

How much does this service cost?

Initial discussion: No charge.

Retirement Income Planning Report: £500 fixed fee.

Implementation of Retirement Income Planning Report: £3,500 fixed fee, which is normally paid out of the pension fund.

Ongoing service

Please note, it is not mandatory that you take this service. It is entirely your choice whether you access our ongoing services.

What can you expect from us?

Over time, your financial objectives may change. To help our clients stay on track to their goals, we therefore provide an optional ongoing advice and review service.

As part of this service, you will receive:

  • An annual report on the performance of your holdings
  • An annual re-assessment of your circumstances and assessment of whether your current arrangements are best suited to your needs
  • Confirmation of the ongoing suitability of your portfolio and recommendations for changes where appropriate
  • Ongoing support from your adviser.

How much does this service cost?

We provide an ongoing advice and review service for our customers at an annual cost of 0.5% of the fund value capped at a maximum annual charge of £5,000.

"I was very happy with Mark's recommendations and pleased with the way he dealt with my situation and as a result have moved my pension to the new provider."

Paul Morris,
Merseyside

"The whole process was made really straightforward and they took the time and care to properly understand my situation. The results have been excellent!"

Jennifer Butler,
Carlisle

"Because I live in a rural area, having a specialist advisor that I am able to talk to from the comfort of my own home makes a massive difference to me."