Independent Advice

Not all financial advice is independent—and understanding the difference matters.

If you visit your bank or a nationwide firm like St James’ Place, you may speak to a financial adviser. However, they are often restricted to recommending products from their own company or from a limited panel of providers. This means their advice may not cover the whole market.

Why choose an independent adviser?

As independent advisers, we are not tied to any single provider. This allows us to research and recommend products from across the market—selecting solutions that are most suitable for your individual needs, goals, and circumstances.

With such a wide range of options available, you can be confident that our recommendations are tailored specifically to you, rather than based on a limited selection.

To provide the right advice, we need to understand your personal and financial circumstances. We will ask you for information about your goals, finances, and future plans. Being open and honest helps us ensure our advice is accurate and appropriate for your situation.

Our documents and disclosures

We believe in being clear and transparent. We will provide you with key documents that explain:

• The services we offer
• How we are paid
• Our complaints procedure
• How we handle your personal data
• Your protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

Your protection

We are committed to always acting in your best interests in line with our Consumer Duty obligations.

If you are not satisfied with any aspect of our service, we have a clear complaints procedure, which we will provide to you. You can request a copy at any time.

When we advise you on regulated products—such as investments, insurance, and certain mortgages—you may be protected by:

• The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
• The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

Important information

In some cases, we may advise on areas that are not regulated—for example, aspects of taxation or certain buy-to-let mortgages. Where this applies, we will make this clear to you. It is important to understand that these areas are not covered by the protections offered by the FOS or FSCS, so you should ensure you are comfortable with the advice provided.