Fernleigh Wearden & Company Ltd
Independent Financial Advisers
Four fields. That’s it.
One of our advisers will ring you back by the end of the next working day, at the time you asked for.
In a hurry? Call us on 01772 864314, 9am–5pm Monday to Friday.
About us
We are open and transparent about our charges. Here they are on one page, in pounds and percentages, before you have to ask.
Overview
The introductory call costs nothing and so does the meeting that usually follows it. Only when you ask us to write a recommendation does anything become chargeable and you will know the figure before it does.
If you want to go ahead, we will give you a Terms of Business document setting out exactly what you will pay and what you get for it. Nothing is deducted from anything until you have seen that document and agreed to it.
We publish this because we think you should be able to compare us before you walk in and because an adviser who will not discuss cost until meeting three is telling you something. There is one more reason: charges are the part of an investment outcome you can actually control. Growth is not in anybody’s gift.
Advice areas
The headline numbers. The Terms of Business document sets out the detail.
A phone or Teams consultation at no charge, so we can understand what you need and check we are able to help.
About an hour with a qualified adviser at our Goosnargh office, at no charge. A meeting with Mark, our Chartered Financial Planner, is £175.
Our investment and pension charges are subject to a minimum advice fee of £795. For very small sums, advice may not represent fair value.
If you want us to manage things going forward, taken at 0.0625% a month. Existing clients adding to holdings they already have with us may see reduced initial charges.
Either a fee of at least £795, or the provider pays us commission through product charges. Not free either way and we will explain both before you decide.
Setting up a new scheme, or reviewing one you already have. We will give you a firm figure before you commit.
Before you pay anything
By phone or Teams, at no charge. We find out what you need and make sure we can genuinely help. If we cannot, we will tell you rather than book you in anyway.
Around an hour at our office, at no charge, with Paul or Daniel. Where a situation is more complex it may need Mark, our Chartered Financial Planner and a meeting with him is £175. Travel to you carries an additional fee.
Only if you ask for one. £795 for a straightforward situation, with a published list of add-ons where yours is more involved. We confirm the combined cost in writing before we start.
The detail
Taken directly from our Terms of Business, which you can download in full. Nothing is deducted from anything until you have seen that document and agreed to it.
| Additional service | Added to the £795 |
|---|---|
| A joint financial situation | + £100 |
| Reviewing more than two existing investments or pensions | + £50 each |
| Advice on care fees | + £100 |
| Reviewing existing life, critical illness or income protection | + £75 |
| Inheritance tax advice | + £150 |
| Complex situations needing our Chartered Financial Planner | + £150 |
A meeting with Mark is £175. Mark is the most qualified adviser in the firm — a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society — and he generally handles the more complex cases. Where a situation needs that depth, we will tell you. You can also ask to see him regardless, subject to availability and the same £175 applies.
| Amount invested | Initial charge | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| On the first £100,000 | 2% | Invest £25,000 and the £795 minimum applies. Invest £60,000 and the charge is 2%, totalling £1,200. |
| On the next £400,000 | 1% | Invest £200,000 and the fee is £3,000 — 2% on the first £100,000, then 1%. |
| Above £500,000 | 0.50% | Invest £1m and the fee is £8,500 across the three bands. |
The minimum investment we accept is £50,000 and our minimum initial advice charge is £795 for a report containing our recommendations. That fee can be offset against the total initial advice fee. Advice on more than two pensions, or on more complex situations, will cost more than £795 and we will quote before starting.
We cap our initial advice charge at 2%. That is the top band in the table above and it applies to the first £100,000 only — everything above that is charged at a lower rate. We publish it because charges are the one part of an investment outcome anybody can actually control and because you should be able to compare us before you walk in.
| Average plan value | Annual rate | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| £100,000 | 0.75% | £750 |
| £300,000 | 0.75% | £2,250 |
| £500,000 | 0.75% | £3,750 |
What you pay moves with your investment. If it rises, so does the fee; if it falls, the fee falls too. Portfolios over £1m are negotiable.
| Service | Charge |
|---|---|
| Regular monthly or annual investments | £795 initial fee where holdings with us are below £100,000, plus 2% of the contribution |
| Protection — fee option | Minimum £795, payable before the policy starts |
| Protection — commission option | Paid by the provider through product charges. Not free — it affects your premium |
| Trust work | Minimum 2% of investment value, subject to a minimum of £3,000 |
| Taking tax-free cash (PCLS) | £250 |
| Flexi-access drawdown, income or UFPLS | £500 |
| Arranging an annuity | £750 |
| Ad hoc work and provider liaison | Time costed, minimum £250 |
One thing worth knowing about protection. If you take the commission option and the policy lapses or is cancelled within four years, the provider reclaims that commission from us and you would need to cover it, up to a maximum of £795. We will confirm the figure in your recommendation report.
Our charges are guaranteed not to rise in the first 12 months. Under current legislation our services are not subject to VAT. Product and fund charges are levied separately by providers and are additional to our advice fee.
Quick calculator
Our ongoing advice fee is 0.75% of the fund value a year. Move the slider to see what that means for a given amount.
Your figures
Ongoing advice fee only. Initial charges are tiered by the amount invested and are subject to a minimum advice fee of £795 — the full schedule is set out above and in our Terms of Business. Charges for complex work such as trusts and estate planning may be higher. Investments over £1m are subject to negotiation depending on the type of investment and the total portfolio value. Product and fund charges are separate from our advice fee.
Working with us
Nothing is committed until step five and the first two cost you nothing but time.
A chat, at our office, your home or over video. We listen, you ask questions. There is no charge and no obligation and if we can't help we'll say so.
What you have, what you owe, what you want and how you feel about risk. This is the part most people find surprisingly useful in itself.
We review your existing plans, charges and funds against the whole of the market. Being independent means nothing is off the table.
A written report in plain English setting out what we suggest, what it costs and why. You take it away and think about it.
Only once you're happy. We handle the paperwork, the providers and the chasing, which is usually the tedious bit.
If you'd like us to, we'll review everything at least once a year and tell you honestly if nothing needs changing.
Who you’d be dealing with
We will always endeavour to keep you with the adviser you meet at that first conversation.
In their words
The company is first class to deal with, efficient and trustworthy. I have no hesitation in recommending them wholeheartedly.
I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Paul & Mark to my friends and relatives. Not only do they provide a consistent return on my investments through good times as well as bad, but they are also always extremely approachable, providing a reliable response to any questions.
I have been a client of Fernleigh Wearden & Company for a number of years and have always found them to be most helpful in advising me on my investments and placing them where they would be most beneficial to me.
Often relevant alongside this
Where it is not in your interest to proceed, we are obliged to tell you. Including when it costs us.
Read more Worth readingHow to check us and any other adviser, on the regulator’s register. It takes a minute.
Read more Worth readingWhat the letters mean and the difference between independent and restricted.
Read moreCommon questions
Yes. The introductory call by phone or Teams is free and so is the face-to-face meeting that usually follows it with Paul or Daniel. If we do not think we can help, we will say so and there is nothing to pay.
Two things do carry a charge and we would rather say so up front: a meeting with Mark, our Chartered Financial Planner, is £175 and asking us to write a recommendation report starts at £795. Travelling to you carries an additional fee to cover the time.
With existing pensions you can choose to have the fee deducted from the pension value or pay us directly. We will set out both options before anything happens.
Reviewing your investments at least annually, checking they still match the risk you want to take and are performing as expected and access to your adviser when you need them. The Terms of Business document lists it in full and there is a copy in our useful documents.
Yes and it is important to be clear about it. Product providers and fund managers levy their own charges separately from our advice fee. We will always show you the total, because the total is the number that matters.
Charges for investments over £1m are negotiated depending on the type of investment and the total value of the portfolio. Please ask.
Because you should be able to compare before you commit and because charges are one of the few parts of an investment outcome that anyone can actually control. Keeping them down is a large part of what being whole of market is for.
Our services
Advice areas overlap. Part of our job is spotting which ones actually apply to you.
Tell us when suits and an adviser will ring you back by the end of the next working day.
