Many of you I know will be worrying about whether you can afford to retire or those of you who have already retired will be worrying about whether you can afford that special holiday or a new car.
Firth & Scott now offer a solution to your worries. It is called our Lifetime Financial Planning Programme and it will tell you whether, if you are approaching retirement you are on track to achieve your retirement goals or if retired to give you the confidence to enjoy your retirement to the full.
We call this "Knowing Your Number" and the service is provided through the FS Premier trading style of Firth & Scott and delivered by Steve Phillips and Steve Hopkins, who are individually Chartered Financial Planners.
Many of our clients have already taken advantage of the service and now feel more confident in making retirement decisions without the worry of not knowing whether sufficient wealth has been accumulated to retire with security. Knowing your number is the first step.
We find many of our clients in retirement constantly worry about having sufficient monies to meet potential long-term care costs and therefore put off enjoying their retirement and doing the things they long to do. Again, our programme provides the answer in that when you know your number deciding how to enjoy yourself then becomes the only thing to worry about.
If you would like to know more details about the programme, please either contact Steve Hopkins or Steve Phillips or visit our website www.fspremier.co.uk
Following intensive consultations the Financial Services Authority have published their review of the Financial Services Industry and proposals that they intend to be put into force with effect from the end of 2012. Although the consultation document covers many areas, one significant requirement is the raising of standards of professionalism within the Financial Services sector.
A brief outline of the consultative document is given within below, together with Firth Scott’s views on how it will affect you.
Firth & Scott have always prided ourselves on providing independent financial advice. The RDR report says to use the word "independent" the adviser must provide advice based on a comprehensive and fair analysis of the relevant market (by relevant market the FSA means "comprising all of the retail investment products that are capable of meeting investment needs and objectives of the consumer").
New rules will be brought into place regarding the charging structure adopted by Independent Financial Advisers. The aim is to make transactions more transparent and easier for the clients to understand.
The firm has been offering fee based advice now for a number of years and will continue to develop and make the firm’s charging structures more transparent and easier to understand. The RDR recommends the raising of the minimum levels of required qualifications within the financial services industry to raise the standards of professionalism. Fay Goddard COE of the Personal Financial Society greeted the RDR consultative document by saying "the biggest challenge for the long-term future of this industry is to restore confidence in financial services, which has been damaged in the public mind for too long. While the intermediary journey will be tough in the current economic circumstances, the RDR gives all of us the opportunity to move to the highest level of competence and professionalism and to consolidate the major progress already made".
Here at Firth & Scott we always place great importance on professionalism. Both Steve Phillips and Steve Hopkins are Chartered Financial Planners through examination, which is the highest standard that can be awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
The firm also holds as a company the prestigious financial planning chartered status, which has only been granted to less than 200 firms nationally.
Firth & Scott Financial Services Ltd, one of Nottingham's leading providers of financial advice, has become the first IFA company in Nottingham to be awarded the prestigious ‘Chartered Financial Planners' title by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).
Chartered status is an exclusive title only awarded to those firms which meet rigorous criteria relating to professionalism and capability. All Chartered Financial Planners commit to the CII's Code of Ethics & Conduct reinforcing the highest standards of professional practice in their business dealings.
Firth & Scott Financial Services Ltd specialises in providing advice on all types of investment and life assurance for individuals and businesses. Hot on the heels of its chartered status, the firm has just launched its new ‘Premier' fee based service, designed to meet the needs of clients who are looking for bespoke, end-to-end financial planning advice from a totally independent source.
Managing Director, Steve Hopkins, who is himself a Chartered Financial Planner, says that securing Chartered Financial Planners status is a landmark for his company:
“We have always prided ourselves on being thoroughly professional in everything we do, and to receive external recognition in this way is very gratifying. As Chartered Financial Planners, and particularly in a time of turbulent and difficult financial markets, we can give reassurance and a commitment to maintaining the very highest levels of service to our customers.”
To date, less than 100 firms across the UK have achieved Chartered status, indicating that this is a highly exclusive award reserved only for the leading professional firms within the financial services market.
For further information, contact Steve Hopkins on 0115 840 0322
Firth & Scott Financial Services Ltd.
Firth & Scott Financial Services Ltd was founded in 1988. Run by its two principals, Steve Hopkins and Steve Phillips, both Chartered Financial Planners, and supported by a team of fully qualified expert advisers, the company's objective is to provide independent, bespoke professional advice, tailor made to suit its clients' needs and personal circumstances. Because no two clients are the same the Firth Scott Lifetime Financial Planning Programme is designed to ensure a comprehensive end-to-end planning process for each individual client's particular situation, taking full account of their needs, concerns and financial goals and tailoring all advice to match these.
The CII has 90,000 members in 150 countries and is the world's largest financial services professional body. Serving the insurance, savings and financial services markets it works to enhance professional, ethical and technical standards.
The CII partners with corporate business to develop organisation-wide solutions to ensure competitive advantage through technical and professional competence of employees at every level. Individually, CII's members keep up their personal development and maintain their professional standing though an unrivalled range of learning services.
