Our Preferred Providers & Self Investing

Clients have often asked us why we use certain providers and what would be the implication of self-managing their portfolios.

As independent financial advisers we take a “Whole of Market” approach. What this means is that we are free to recommend any product by any provider in the UK. Supported by our third-party research associates, we undergo a process of due diligence that starts with everyone on it, that we then filter down based on criteria that we consider to be the most important to our clients and our business.

Something that most clients are interested in is the cost of our recommendation. This is understandable because costs will have an impact on investment growth over the long term. The important thing here is that value is the consideration, not just cost. As with most things in life, there is an element of getting what you pay for. There are providers out there that offer a cheaper service, but this comes with the compromise of reliability and service.

The most important thing for us is making sure that our providers are delivering what they promised, and a lot of work goes into ensuring that this is happening behind the scenes.

What we never want to do is recommend a provider that may save a few pounds a year in charges at the cost of a poor experience for our clients.

Amongst the adviser team at Serenity, we have over 120 years’ experience, and in that time, we have dealt with numerous providers. Mistakes do happen, but what we are looking for are companies that we can trust to provide a consistent cost-effective service. This is why we use certain providers such as Transact and Nucleus.

The providers we choose are continually reviewed and need to be re-selected each time we run our due diligence. Just because they were the right choice in 2020 doesn’t mean they are still the right choice now.

So, this is why we work with certain provider. We are often asked ‘can I do it myself?’

Direct consumer products do not typically include the same features and benefits as adviser facing products.

When we make a recommendation what we recommend is right for you based on your circumstances at the time. We have our regular review meetings to see how things have changed for you and whether we should make any adjustments to your portfolio.

Would you be confident enough to say with certainty what a change to your circumstances would mean for your investments and what changes you should make?

Change may also be external, such as a significant global event that impacts market or the government making changes to legislation. Again, would you be confident enough to understand what the changes to the Lifetime Allowance means for your pension planning?

What our ongoing advice offers you is the certainty that what you have is right for you as you continue to live, giving you financial freedom to focus on the things that matter most to you.

Please do get in touch with your Financial Planner if you have any questions.