In the first two parts of our “Behind the Scenes at FAS”, we gave an insight into the work of our adept administration and paraplanning teams, who fully support our team of financial planners. This collegiate approach ensures that advisers are afforded the time to spend with clients and pools the many areas of expertise across the firm to provide the best advice and service to clients.
Our team of advisers
The FAS adviser team is office based, although they tend to split their time between the office and attending client meetings, which can either be held at the client’s home or business address, or one of our two offices in Folkestone and Maidstone.
Led by the Directors, our FAS adviser team is made up of highly qualified and experienced individuals, the majority of which have at least twenty years or more experience in advice roles across the industry. We will continue to expand our dedicated team of financial advisers in line with our continued business growth.
Importantly, all of our advisers are employed by FAS on a salaried basis and none of our advisers are set targets for achieving certain levels of fee income. We feel this is of fundamental importance, as it allows our advisers to focus on providing the most appropriate advice and removes any notion of “sales” bias.
We appreciate that the adviser-client relationship often strengthens over time, and each client’s dedicated adviser is their usual main point of contact. It is, however, important to recognise that FAS is a team effort, and if an individual’s usual adviser is not available for any reason, another member of our advisory team will happily step in assist in their absence, wherever possible.
A team of all rounders
Working for an independent advice firm, our advisers need to be able to provide holistic financial advice, drawing on extensive knowledge in many different areas of financial planning. None of our advisers are “specialists” as each needs to be able to provide a high level of technical advice in a range of diverse areas, depending on the needs of a client. Typical planning requirements are pensions, investments, tax planning, divorce planning, trusts, and business planning. Other areas of expertise are also required, when client circumstances call for planning advice on personal and business protection, funding care fees or school or university fee planning.
An adviser’s role
As the name suggests, the primary element of an adviser’s role is to provide financial advice! This is either given during an initial, or review meeting, which is conducted face-to-face or through Zoom or Teams. During a client meeting, advisers make contemporaneous notes of the conversation and complete a detailed fact find, gathering the necessary information to be able to provide the most suitable advice. These notes and information are then logged as an ultimate record of the meeting.
Advisers also spend time each day dealing with client email correspondence and telephone calls. They regularly speak to Solicitors, Accountants, and other professionals in relation to queries which are relevant to mutual clients. We are strong advocates of this collaborative way of working, as it ensures that clients receive cohesive advice across common areas.
Working closely with our paraplanners and administration team, our team of advisers assist in the preparation of client reports following meetings, and ensure that comprehensive meeting preparation is undertaken before a client meeting takes place.
Highly qualified advice
To provide advice of the highest quality, the Directors place significant emphasis on study, learning and the achievement of relevant industry examinations.
The majority of our advisers have achieved Chartered status, which means that they have attained the highest standard of qualification in the industry, with others on a study path to achieving Chartered status. Being Chartered is not only an indication of technical competence, it also signifies an individual commitment to professional standards. Only a small proportion of the regulated financial advisers in the UK have achieved this status.
FAS follow a strict regime of continuing professional development, so that staff can keep themselves fully abreast of changes in legislation and reinforce their knowledge. Advisers are subject to an enhanced continuing professional development requirement and need to undertake a prescribed number of hours of learning each year, which includes structured learning.
FAS has also been awarded Corporate Chartered status in recognition of our commitment to professional excellence and integrity. Industry gold standards are not awarded lightly; the Chartered Insurance Institute sets this benchmark at the highest level based on advanced qualifications, an overall commitment to continuous professional development and adherence to an industry standard Code of Ethics. Our corporate title is not simply recognition for passing examinations or paying an annual fee; it is a public declaration of our commitment to excellence and quality in everything we do.
Product knowledge
A key element of an adviser’s role is to ensure that the most appropriate solution is recommended for a particular individual set of client circumstances. As an independent firm, we can recommend solutions without constraint, and therefore our advisers need to have an extensive knowledge of the features of products from across the marketplace and keep up to date with product and industry developments.
FAS – a team effort
Our diverse team consists of experienced, high qualified Advisers, Paraplanners and Administrators who, over the years, have been handpicked for their dedication, team spirit and client-centric focus. We all work closely together for the good of our clients. We prioritise client relationships, ensuring our focus is to always provide quality advice and exceptional service. All staff are integral to the running of the business and there is a mutual respect amongst colleagues for the role everyone plays.
Our experienced adviser team are committed to providing sound holistic financial planning advice. We are proud of our independent status, which enables our advisers to recommend the most appropriate solution to suit the needs of our clients. Whilst the advisers will be the main point of contact for our clients, the advice process is a team effort, requiring the skills and input of our paraplanning and administration teams.
We hope this article helps to reinforce the collegiate nature of our business and welcome any comments or queries you may have.
