“So, what’s the process?”

At SIPP Advice, we connect you with a regulated, qualified and trusted financial adviser, for free.

This means we take a look at your situation and what you need help with, and pencil you in for a free telephone call with one of our advisers suited to help you.

This is a free, no-obligation phone call to see if you’re a good fit for each other, and to explore the value that financial advice could bring to your life and finances.

Initial Meeting

If you and your adviser want to work together, they’ll arrange an initial meeting to get a better understanding of your specific circumstances and chat through what our services would look like in more detail.

They’ll generally do this via telephone, video call or in person. And again, it’s typically at no charge to you.

They’ll then outline – in writing – how they propose to work with you, the initial costs and, if applicable, the ongoing costs.

If, following this meeting, you don’t think they’re the right company for you, that’s fine! You can go your separate ways and you’ll have hopefully learned something about your financial situation during the process.  And if you do want to proceed, it’s typically from this point that they’ll charge for the work they do.

Financial Plan & Planning Meeting

Most advisers charge a fixed fee to create and present you with your financial plan based on what they are recommending.

The advisers we work with are not paid by product providers, which is good for you and them, as it means they’re not tied to their products and can stay completely independent. at SIPP Advice, we know from experience that this generally leads to better outcomes for you.

Your financial plan is designed to show your money over the long term: it highlights what aspects are on track to achieve your goals, and where you may need to change things to ensure you get there. ​

Your adviser will typically need to obtain information from other companies, such as your pension, investment or life insurance providers, and also some more information from you. They’ll also ask to you to complete a risk assessment to understand what level of investment risk you are comfortable with.

Once they have all of this information, you’ll talk again to go through your lifetime cashflow projection.

Following the meeting, you’ll usually get your financial plan as a document, which includes key snippets from your lifetime cashflow projection, accompanied by commentary and notes to explain what’s shown and ways you can improve your position.

Most advisers will charge a fixed fee for this, often half upfront before starting work, and half after you receive your financial plan. Your adviser will always discuss and agree on this fee prior to commencing any work for you.

A note on regulation:

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate certain aspects of cashflow planning (your financial plan), estate planning, tax planning or trust advice.

It does however regulate all product and investment recommendations.

Recommendations & Implementation

During your planning meeting your adviser will likely have recommendations for how you can improve your position.

An example could be to save more into your pension for retirement – perhaps with the use of your previous years’ carry forward allowance. Or, it could be to increase your pension withdrawals to better suit your lifestyle, as you’re in a financially secure position to do so.

There are a range of things they may recommend. But whatever they are, they will provide clear recommendations in that meeting and explain why they’re recommending them. They can also provide these recommendations formally to you in a follow-up recommendation report.

If you agree with the recommendations and want to implement them, they will help you do this and charge the implementation and advice fee detailed in your financial plan.