How we work with our clients…
At jamesmith, our aim is to create unique solutions to solve our clients’ financial needs. Our advice
will take into account a range of issues; investment management, tax and estate planning,
business ownership and insurance protection, culminating in the creation of a Financial Plan based
on our clients’ financial goals and values.
What you can expect as a client of us…
At jamesmith, our ethos is straightforward: To give our clients the highest possible standard of
service and advice. The systems and procedures in place ensure our clients are central to the
business.
In all of our dealings we aim to achieve the following:
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To offer a complete service to meet our clients requirements.
Objective Advice.
To manage our clients requirements
within the current economic conditions/ investment opportunities, whilst keeping
an eye on long term growth.
To be open and transparent when dealing with clients, treating customers fairly and impartially.
All communication to be clearly explained, without the use of jargon.
A transparent fee structure.
A timely response to queries, calls and emails.
Privacy and confidentiality.
Staff who are competent and courteous and act with integrity at all times.
Staff who are professional and diligent.
Our goal is to exceed clients’ expectations building long term value. Collectively, our financial
advisers have been advising clients with their financial needs for over 100 years.
We understand
our clients’ needs. It is because of this understanding we are able to provide a comprehensive
Wealth Management Service designed to create real value long into retirement.
Choosing a financial partner is one of life’s most important decisions. It is essential to take time
and choose wisely. We hope the details in this Client Proposition give clarity
to our working ethic. We feel privileged to work with our clients.
Key Benefits
Each client is allocated a Client Manager, who is a qualified adviser of the firm and responsible for
ensuring our service is delivered in a cohesive manner. Your Client Manager will draw from a team
of specialist support staff and advisers covering the key components of our service.
Level of Service
We offer four distinct levels of service to our clients. Premier, Wealth, Remote and Consultative
management.
Rhyd y Cadno,
Non, Llannon, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. SA14 6BA
MoSBeidr
06/2014
Tel. 01269 832 862 Fax. 01269 844 833 email. [email protected]
Registered in England and Wales no. 08285737
jamesmith Financial Services LTD is directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority
jamesmith
Premier Client Service
This service is designed for clients wishing to ensure their financial affairs remain efficient.
Clients using this service would normally have a portfolio with assets over £200,000 to
manage. Core services include within this personal service are:
Twice Yearly review meetings with your
adviser including
 A complete financial strategy review
 An investment update
Telephone & email access to your adviser
 Phone calls and emails returned within
24 hours (during standard business hours)
 Written/email response within 72 hours
Face to face access to your adviser
between reviews
Professionals service
 Providing strategic updates to your
Accountant and any other Professional
Advisers
 Supplying end of year taxation information
(as required)
 Recommending suitable professionals as
other needs arise
 Ensuring every one of the financial team
provides advice in a co-ordinated and
professional way
MoS 06/2014
Portfolio construction
 Using bespoke risk profiling methodology
 Design of a suitable asset allocation
 Portfolio design and construction
 Liaise with Providers
 Arrange plans/policies as required
Portfolio management
 Telephone access to portfolios valuations
 Portfolio monitoring
 Written portfolio valuations on request
Second opinion service
 Complimentary review of other assets,
proposals, from whatever source they may
originate
Removing hassle
 Consolidation and organisation of your
financial paperwork
 Inheritance Tax & Estate Planning
 Recommending and liaising with legal
professionals, if required
 Taxation Planning support
 In conjunction with your Accountant and
other Taxation Advisers
 Pension Planning
jamesmith
Wealth Client Service
This specific service is for clients who need expert advice for relatively straight forward
financial affairs. In our experience, it is expected this service is more suitable for clients
who have a portfolio of between £50,000 and £200,000 to manage. Included within this
personalised service is:
An annual review meeting with your
adviser including
 A complete financial strategy review
 Financial health check
 An Investment Update
Telephone & email access to
your adviser
Professionals service
 Providing strategic updates to your
Accountant and any other Professional
Advisers
 Supplying end of year taxation information
(as required)
 Recommending suitable professionals as
other needs arise
 Ensuring every one of the financial team
provides advice in a co-ordinated and
professional way
MoS 06/2014
Removing hassle
 Consolidation and organisation of your
financial paperwork
Portfolio construction
 Using a Bespoke risk profiling
methodology
 Design of a suitable asset allocation
 Portfolio design and construction
 Liaise with Providers
 Arrange plans/policies as required
Portfolio management
 Telephone access to portfolios
valuations
 Portfolio monitoring
 Written portfolio valuations issued
annually
Pension planning
 Pensions advice
jamesmith
Remote Client Service
This specific service is for clients who need expert advice for relatively straight forward
financial affairs but without the need for an annual visit from an advisor. In our experience,
it is expected this service is more suitable for clients who have a portfolios of up to £50,000
to manage. Included within this personalised service is:
An annual review with your adviser by
telephone including
 An investment Update
 Financial health check
Telephone & email access to
your adviser at other times
Professionals service
 Ensuring every one of the financial team
provides advice in a co-ordinated and
professional way
Portfolio construction
 Using a bespoke risk profiling methodology
 Design of a suitable asset allocation
 Portfolio design and construction
 Liaise with Providers
 Arrange plans/policies as required
Portfolio management
 Telephone access to portfolios valuations
 Portfolio monitoring
Pension planning
 Pensions advice
MoS 06/2014
jamesmith
Consultative Service
The Consultative Service is for those clients who do not wish to have their affairs
actively managed. Nor do they wish to pay for an adviser to provide regular reviews.
Instead, any work done will be charged as and when requested, in line with our
published scale of charges.
Consultative service has the following
implications:
 We will not proactively contact clients if we
believe legislative or economic changes
may be relevant. Rather Consultative
clients take responsibility for determining
when such events necessitate help from a
professional and they will need to contact
us accordingly. At such a time there will be
a fee for updating the client file, to achieve
a level of information necessary to give
advice / analysis / recommendations.
Thereafter, any work will be billed at an
agreed rate or cost.
MoS 06/2014
As we are not maintaining a client file,
we will not produce reports, annual or
otherwise, unless as part of billed work
 Subject to agreement, we will charge an
annual fee, based on the value of
investments, to provide and an annual
portfolio rebalancing service.
In our experience, this service is suitable
for clients who are looking for a one-off
transaction, with no on-going review meetings.
Our fees for our on-going
management service as well as
the services we provide are set
out in the table below:
SERVICE LEVEL
Professional Objective Advice
Premier
Wealth
Remote
Up to
Up to
Up to
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
Consultative
Initial Complimentary Consultation
Half Yearly Review Visit
Ad Hoc Review Visit
Annual Review Meetings Including:
Review of Objectives
Review of Risk Profile
Review of Asset Allocation (if required)
Review of Tax Changes
Updates & Valuations
Annual Telephone Review
Bespoke Portfolio Construction
Portfolio Monitoring
Liaison with Accountant/Solicitor
Supplying Tax Information
Telephone & Email Advisor Access
Organisation of Financial Paperwork
Comprehensive Financial Health Check
Access to our Accountant
Complimentary Second Opinion Service
Costs based as a percentage of the fund
value of your investments
For an Example of the above
table, the ongoing cost for a
Premier Client with an
investment of £100,000 could be
£1,500 per annum, decreasing to
£500 for a Remote Client.
MoS 06/2014
Nil%
jamesmith
What does this mean to me?
Our service is about creating a protection and wealth accumulation plan that is right for
you, not about comparing or selecting financial products. Our philosophy has evolved
to operate a simple ‘funds under management’ model, not a commission driven one.
This ensures our objectives are aligned, reinforcing our commitment to provide each
client with the very best financial advice, now and long into retirement.
We aim to provide all clients with clear
financial direction. This is achieved by having
a full understanding of your current financial
position, your objectives and identified needs;
this enables us to provide suitable, specific
solutions for you in order to treat you fairly.
Our aim is to reduce future barriers to these
objectives and to maximise the opportunities
for achieving your goals.
In simple terms, we:
 ASSESS – your position and aspirations
 PLAN – in line with aspiration
 PRIORITISE – protect and accumulate in
that order
 IMPLEMENT – arrange solutions
 REVIEW – regularly review your plans to
ensure you remain on track
ASSESS – Client responsibility
In order to best serve you, we need a
thorough understanding of your personal
circumstances and will request you supply
us with such information enabling us to
provide the advice and services requested.
We may need to contact you for further
information and ask your permission to
liaise with your other Professional Advisers
(Accountant, Solicitor Investment Manager
etc). All advice provided will be based on this
core information. It is therefore vital to ensure
we have a complete and accurate record.
PLAN – Research and report preparation
Using internal and external technical
research, we will prepare a bespoke financial
plan to suit your individual objectives. This
will also be assessed against your attitude to
risk, your time horizon, associated costs, past
performance asset allocation and expected
returns.
MoS 06/2014
We will endeavour, where possible, to
consider tax planning opportunities and
in this respect we will often wish to liaise
with your other Tax Advisers.
PRIORITISE – Report presentation
Depending on what is agreed, you will either
be sent the Financial Plan for you to review
or we will arrange to meet again, discussing
its contents.
The Plan will comprehensively outline your
current position, detailing our professional
observations in each area. By examining
these observations against your stated
objectives, we will recommend the actions
we believe will if followed, reduce the barriers
to your objectives minimise any risks we have
identified and maximise the opportunities for
achieving your goals.
These action points may cover various tin
horizons (immediate implementations and
considerations for the future) dependent on
any known or foreseeable events.
The report will also contain the supporting
information behind the recommendation.
IMPLEMENTATION – Plan execution
Once the specifics of your personal plan are
agreed, we will initiate this by procuring the
policies we have discussed implementing the
protection and wealth accumulation strategy
we have developed.
jamesmith
REVIEW – Meetings
Once your plan is in place we will agree a
process for regular reviews with you. This
can be as often as quarterly or as infrequent
as annually. In most circumstances we would
recommend six monthly reviews. The purpose
of these meetings is to review the performance of
the plan in place, re-assess your personal
circumstances thus ensuring we are
optimising the opportunities that may exist.
In between these meetings, it is our job to
continually assess your investment portfolio.
If conditions change, which in our view would
constitute a material change to your portfolio,
we will of course discuss with you and make
the necessary recommendations.
Additional Information
What is the cost of our service?
Our charges are detailed in our Statement of
Charges and are based primarily on the value
of assets covered by the service. Additionally
this may include a fixed fee component,
typically, where clients are in the relatively
earlier stages of accumulating ‘free’
investment capital, when we do not manage
all of your investment assets or where your
affairs are particularly complex. We will
always provide clarity of costs and agree
these in advance of any costs being incurred.
Typically our fees include the following:
Strategy fee
This covers our initial fact finding meeting
of your circumstances, initial advice and
your bespoke strategy. Currently this
service is complimentary, with the cost
being borne by jamesmith Independent.
Implementation fee
This covers the cost of establishing policies,
to achieve the strategy and constructing your
portfolio. Generally, this will be based on the
percentage of funds invested and can be paid
directly by you or deducted from your plan at
outset and paid by the product provider.
Pensions
MoS 06/2014
– Up to 5%
Investments
– Up to 4%
For an example, a pension lump sum transfer
of £50,000 could incur an initial cost of up to
£2,500 and an investment of £25,000 could
incur an initial cost of up to £1,000.
These are maximum amounts and may be
discounted depending on investment
amounts. We will agree the exact cost with
you before implementing any investments.
Ongoing review fee
This covers the cost of our ongoing advice,
review and service. This fee is typically a
percentage of funds under management and
is an annual cost although it may be paid to
us monthly on a prorate basis.
Premier Service
– Up to 1.5%
Wealth Service
– Up to 1%
Remote Service
– Up to 0.5%
Consultative Service – Nil
For example, a pension fund of £50,000
could incur a regular adviser fee of up to
£750 per annum and an investment of
£25,000 could incur an adviser fee of up to
£375 per annum.
These are only examples and the exact
amount will depend upon portfolio size and
the complexity of your needs which we will
discuss and agree with you before
commencing our work on your behalf.
You can cancel the ongoing fee at any
time in writing. Our ongoing service
applicable to that plan will then cease.
Other Fees
Switching of funds and research for nonPremium/Wealth clients - £250
Home review (ad hoc) for nonPremium/Wealth clients - £450
Other requirements
-£125 per hour
Research costs – depending on nature/time.
jamesmith
Description of Service Elements
Telephone access to adviser
When requiring support or guidance you may
contact us. If we are not available we will
return your call within normal working hours.
Full financial planning review
This covers the advice process detailed
above.
Portfolio valuation
This provides snap shot of your current
position.
Asset allocation review
Your valuation will be divided, based upon the
underlying assets and the allocation of these
will be assessed against your record objectives
and attitude to risk. Suggestions on any
rebalancing action to be taken, for example
to rebalance the portfolio, will be made.
Removing hassle
All your financial paperwork will be filtered by
your Client Manager and organised neatly into
files and updated at review meetings.
jamesmith
Treating Customers Fairly
To deliver a high quality of proposition, we require our Advisers’ to gain and maintain
expert knowledge. As a business, we actively encourage all of our team in the pursuit of
professional qualifications, appropriate to their field of specialisation. Our aim is to lead
the market, in terms of the quality of people, as measured by their technical and financial
planning capabilities.
Our aim is to ensure we consistently
demonstrate we treat all our clients fairly.
The importance of putting you at the heart of
what we do is part of our culture and practice.
Treating Customers Fairly
Outcome 1: You can be confident you are
dealing with an organisation, whose fair
treatment of clients is central to the corporate
culture.
Outcome 2: Our propositions are marketed,
recommended and designed to meet the
needs of identified client groups and are
targeted accordingly.
Outcome 3: You are provided with clear
information and are kept appropriately
informed before, during and after the
consultation.
MoS 06/2014
Outcome 4: Where you receive advice, the
advice is suitable and takes account of your
circumstances.
Outcome 5: You are provided with solutions
that meet your needs. The associated
proposition meets with your expectations.
Outcome 6: You do not face unreasonable
barriers imposed by us which result in a
change of our proposition. The ongoing
service provided by us allows you flexibility
and transparency as stated in the suitability
report.