We are often asked at networking events and dinner parties what it is that we do. When we tell people we are financial planners they automatically assume that we sell pensions and investments, or that we know what the stock market is going to do over the next week / month / year.

Whilst we may use pensions and other financial products during the course of our relationship with clients, and we may even understand some of the workings of the stock market, we do not consider these elements to be the core of what we do and we are very proud of that.

That description is far more accurate of a financial adviser and despite sounding the same, they are in fact two separate disciplines.

There is a clear distinction between financial planning and financial advice. Financial advice is typically based on product sale and is a transactional relationship. This often results in change for the sake of change as each time a new product is recommended a new payment is due to the financial adviser for that transaction.

This adviser payment and set fees have to come from somewhere. Investors can be “locked in” to products and have to pay for the privilege of getting their money back and it is not unheard of for early access penalties to last for up to 5 years!

Financial advice is short term and often seems to benefits the adviser more than than the investor.

Financial planning is long term, is focussed on the client and involves putting in place a strategy that helps them to achieve their lifetime ambitions. Whilst we may use financial products to help us to do this, our value is in the strategic planning and then helping them to maintain discipline over many years to achieve their goals.

Our investment strategy is based on evidence that shows that buying low cost investments benefits the investor over the long term as more of the returns are enjoyed by the investor rather than the investment manager.

The evidence also shows that trying to time markets by buying and selling based on emotion and market sentiment does not work and so we actively discourage this.

We make best use of the available tax wrappers and their available allowances each year, again something that is not typically delivered by a financial adviser in a bank or a more sales orientated organisation.

To sum up our role, we are the objective third party standing between your client and a financial mistake.

A study has recently been completed that shows that the cumulative effect of all of the above elements of our role could add as much as 3% per annum. We believe this highlights our true value to our clients and sets us apart from the transactional reputation of the financial advice model.

In addition to the above, it is worth noting that we have been accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments and we have been awarded a British Standard kite mark for Financial Planning (BS8577).

We are amongst only three firms in the UK to have all of these prestigious awards. A sign of our commitment to professionalism and to our focus on the best possible outcomes for the most important people within our business, our clients.

It may seem as though we are congratulating ourselves a bit in this post, and we may be, but we are extremely proud of the business that we represent and have absolute faith in the fact the clients we work with will have better financial outcomes because we are a part of their lives.

We strive to remove the worry that is often associated with finances and allow people to focus on the really important stuff, spending time with their family, fulfilling those ambitions and enjoying the holidays that they have worked so hard for.