Ongoing Advice Fees
When investing money with a wealth management brand, the financial adviser will have suggested to you some potentially profitable investment schemes, funds, and pension schemes that match your financial circumstances and requirements. They also suggest whether you should invest more money and whether to transfer existing investments that you hold such as existing pensions or ISAs into their proposed schemes. They more than likely charged you an initial fee which was paid directly out of your investment and almost certainly applied an annual fee to your investments from the start paid monthly from your investments regardless of how well they performed. These fees are based on providing you with ongoing services, if you have not received those services then those fees should not have been charged.
What do you understand by ongoing advice fees?
When you become a client of financial adviser for wealth management, they provide you with suggestions and advice regarding various investments, funds, and pension schemes. Your financial adviser will charge a percentage of the assets the manage for you. This is referred to as an ongoing advice fees or annual management charge (AMC). Fees vary from firm to firm but typically advisers charge between 0.3% and 1% per annum. So an investment portfolio of £100,000 will generate between £300 and £1,000 per annum (paid monthly) for the financial adviser.
The implemention of ongoing advice fees was introduced in 2013 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Before that, financial advisers used to earn a commission by selling investments to clients.
However, as the changes came into action, clients were required to receive financial advice along with annual reviews to keep track of their personal circumstance and investment performance to make sure clients reached their financial goals.
The primary reason for the FCA implementing this change was to ensure that clients received continuous support which adapts to their circumstances, improving the ultimate outcome that clients receive and to improve the overall financial service industry.
However, many financial advisers charged fees without providing the regular reviews and as such many clients are now realising, they have grounds to make a complaint and demand a refund of their fees.
So, is it just the Fees Paid that you could recover?
In short, no. Pensions and Investments are complex. May Financial Advisers like St James’s Place and Quilter are now refunding fees to clients who have not received regular annual reviews however often that does not reflect the true loss clients may have suffered.
Letting the company who owes you the money calculate what they owe for you is not guaranteed to give yo the best outcome.
When we review clients’ complaints against financial advisers, we don’t just look at the annual management charges but the financial advice as a whole. It is our goal to calculate the true loss you may have suffered and ensure that you are put back into the position you would have been in had you not engaged with the adviser or a refund of unfair fees, whichever is higher.
How can HT Legal Claims Help You?
At HT Legal Claims we have a team of Manchester based experts with experience working with financial advisers who understand the intricacies of ongoing advice fees. We understand all the different grounds for claim, as well as what you should or shouldn’t have been charged.
Every case is different and every client we deal with benefits from a personal service designed to ensure that no stone is left unturned in building your claim and maximising the compensation of redress that you receive.
Call us today on 01618401560 or you can email us at info@htlegal.co.uk.
Not sure if you have a claim, check your eligibilty.
Determine whether the charges you have been paying are justified or not
When it comes to reclaiming ongoing advice fees, here are some common causes for complaint:
- Your financial adviser provided you advice after 2013.
- You have never had a face-to-face meeting with your financial adviser.
- Your adviser has not asked about whether your circumstances have changed for example, changes in employment, moving house, marital status, new additions to your family or inheritance.
- If you have withdrawn a portion of your investment/pension but are still paying the same fixed ongoing advice fees every year.
- If you are not aware of how much you are being charged for ongoing advice fees.
- If your financial adviser annual reviews have only been quick meetings over the phone.
- If you receive only receive your annual reviews via post or email without any further explanation.
What should you do next?
If you are still not sure whether you can seek compensation or redress for unfair ongoing advice fees, contact HT Legal Claims today!
We will give you a no-obligation consultation with one of Manchester based experts, completely free of charge, at the end of which you we will be able to give you an initial assessment of your claim or complaint.
If we believe you could be eligible to make a claim we will carry out all of the investigations including getting an independent valuation of your claim to ensue you get the compensation or redress that you deserve.
Call us on 01618401670 and connect with one of our experts you can also email us at info@htlegalclaims.co.uk.
We look forwards to speaking with you soon.
Let’s address some questions by our clients
Yes! In this case you are eligible for reclaiming the amount that you paid for the services you never availed off. Your wealth management brand has to pay a compensatory amount for not providing any suggestions, annual reviews and not discussing your financial circumstances. You may also be eligible for loss of earnings.
When financial advisers charge ongoing advice fees, they are expected to provide us with suggestions regarding our existing investments, how they are performing, and what’s new in the market. In addition, it is essential for them to review your personal circumstances to ensure that their advice and guidance still meets your needs and objectives. Since the concerned person only calls you once a year to inform you about new investments, he is performing the task of a salesman and not of a financial adviser. Hence, in this case, you deserve to reclaim your money.
It’s excellent that your investment is performing well! But why should you pay an additional amount for a service that you are not receiving? Also, how much better would your Investmet be performing without those fees being deducted? Based on this information you likely qualify to claim. Your wealth management company will have to return the money they took from you for the services they did not provide, plus interest if applicable.
Wealth management brands have specific percentages on the basis of which they determine the ongoing advice fee amount. For example, if you are investing £10,000 and the company you selected charges 1% of your invested amount for ongoing advice fees. In this case, you will have to pay £200 per year. However, if you withdraw some amount and take it down to £8,000, you will pay £160 per year. So, if the fees didn’t change then, you can seek compensation for the extra amount they charged you.
Speak to our EXPERTS!
In most cases, financial advisers and managers will convince you that you are eligible to get a refund. But, even in this situation, we would recommend that you connect with HT Legal Claims for once. Our qualified professional will closely examine your situation and update you with all the necessary information.
We will inform you whether you can seek compensation or not. In case you do, you can select our services that will work the best for you.
Find out how much you could be due..
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St James's Place
St. James Place is one of the most recognised British financial advice companies who have already put over 200m of cash reserves aside for repayment of unfair ongoing advice fees.
Quilter
Quilter is a very well-known wealth management brand in the United Kingdom who have already put over 20m of cash reserves aside for repaying ongoing advice fees. They are current carrying out their internal investigations. Some people in the industry suspect the cash for compensation needs to be increased significantly.
Openwork
One of the oldest financial advice and investment companies in the United Kingdom.
Brewin Dolphin
A popularly known British discretionary wealth management service provider.
What do our customers say?
A financial advisor at (the Company name) informed me that I was not eligible for a claim. But that’s when I found out about HT Legal Claims. One of their team members told me that I was eligible for a compensatory amount. They further helped to get £ 2900 from (the Company name).
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Lisa Lisa
It was HT Legal Claims who informed me that I qualified for a claim. Instead, they even helped me to get a claim of £1487 from St James’s Place.
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Mike Ronaldo
When I started investing with a very well-known wealth management brand (the Company name), they asked me to pay for online advice fees. I was associated with them for eight years and was regularly paying the specified amount. However, they never conducted any advice sessions or provided guidance. I told an expert at HT Legal Claims about all this. They helped me reclaim that advice fee without any hassle.
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