Do you have a financial adviser?

And if not, why not? asks Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management

As busy professionals, you almost certainly have a ‘personal power team’. Whether a family or third-party support system, this network exists to help you achieve your goals. Your financial position is often fundamental to your success so, naturally, the value of working with an adviser should be a given. A recent survey found that 47% who received advice said it enabled them to reach a specific life goal,⁽¹⁾ yet 24.6 million people have never received financial guidance of any kind.⁽²⁾

So, why work with an adviser? You’re very unlikely to have time to do your job and a fund manager’s as well. Perhaps it’s because you accept that industries exist to provide access to specialist knowledge and skills, in the same way barristers are instructed. And beyond time and expertise, there are many reasons that financial advisers are an essential ‘team member’:

Avoiding scams – We ensure you don’t invest where it’s unwise to, and help keep the investments you hold with us safe from criminals. This can potentially save you from losing your money, keep your plans on track, and provide you with peace of mind.
Confidence to invest and manage human behaviour – Financial decisions driven by emotions rarely deliver good outcomes. We help remove emotion, distinguish useful information from noise, and give you the confidence to invest, ensuring you are not overweighted in cash and stay invested when appropriate to do so, in the interests of your financial wellbeing.
Using the right tax wrappers – Governments change tax rules and regulations all the time. We understand the small print, explain to you the implications of these changes on your finances, and make sure you utilise appropriately available tax reliefs and allowances.
Tailoring your investment portfolio – We help you find the right balance between risk and reward with your investments, based on your timescales and objectives. We ensure your portfolio of funds is diversified across asset classes, sectors, geographically and fund manager styles and mandates, to help navigate volatility. Ultimately, we tailor your investments to suit your personal preference to risk, your current circumstances, goals and objectives.
Pounds and pence returns – The investment returns you receive are important, but the value of advice generates financial benefits beyond this, too, in times good and bad for the markets. Whether it is being aware of tax savings, reducing your liability to Inheritance Tax through appropriate planning, promoting accountability, identifying advice gaps you haven’t addressed, or providing for better mental wellbeing knowing yourself and your family will always have a point of contact, the benefits are far-reaching, and quantifiable. According to independent analysis by Numis Securities, the value of advice amounts to an additional 2% per year.⁽³⁾

The saying ‘get more bang for your buck’ might be used casually, when discussing your latest car purchase, for example, but given that so many of you will be paying fees for your financial products, there is equally a case for ensuring you are maximising the value of advice. So:

Review your adviser relationship;
Establish what fees you are paying (make sure they disclose ALL elements); and
Make sure you’re unlocking the full value of advice.

Want to begin your valuable advice journey with us? Book a meeting using the details below:

Tel: 01962 353153

Email: enquiries-westgate@sjpp.co.uk

Web: www.westgatewealth.co.uk/specialist-advice/the-bar

(1)(2) SJP’s Real Life Advice Report chapter published September 2024. (3) Based on comparing annual returns for St. James’s Place clients against those who managed their own investments. The research, which covered all clients’ SJP pension investments, found between June 2010 and June 2020 the average growth achieved was 7.7%pa. This means £100,000 invested at the start of the period would be worth £210,000 by the end. By comparison, the same exercise for pension clients of a large firm where investors usually make their own investment decisions achieved an average of 5.5% pa over the same period. So on average £100,000 invested by a non-advised client grew to £171,000 over the ten years. This analysis didn’t include any tax benefits from advice and so Numis’s researchers concluded the main difference between the two was the “greater long-term discipline and lower emotion an adviser provides”. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Louise Crush is a Chartered Financial Adviser at Westgate Wealth Management, Senior Partner Practice of St. James’s Place. Called to the Bar in 2015, Louise has built a specialist practice advising members of the Bar nationally and provides financial education services for chambers.

Westgate Wealth Management Limited is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The St. James’s Place Partnership and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

See all articles by this author See all articles in this issue

Do you have a financial adviser?

Date: 07 April 2025

Avoiding scams – We ensure you don’t invest where it’s unwise to, and help keep the investments you hold with us safe from criminals. This can potentially save you from losing your money, keep your plans on track, and provide you with peace of mind.
Confidence to invest and manage human behaviour – Financial decisions driven by emotions rarely deliver good outcomes. We help remove emotion, distinguish useful information from noise, and give you the confidence to invest, ensuring you are not overweighted in cash and stay invested when appropriate to do so, in the interests of your financial wellbeing.
Using the right tax wrappers – Governments change tax rules and regulations all the time. We understand the small print, explain to you the implications of these changes on your finances, and make sure you utilise appropriately available tax reliefs and allowances.
Tailoring your investment portfolio – We help you find the right balance between risk and reward with your investments, based on your timescales and objectives. We ensure your portfolio of funds is diversified across asset classes, sectors, geographically and fund manager styles and mandates, to help navigate volatility. Ultimately, we tailor your investments to suit your personal preference to risk, your current circumstances, goals and objectives.
Pounds and pence returns – The investment returns you receive are important, but the value of advice generates financial benefits beyond this, too, in times good and bad for the markets. Whether it is being aware of tax savings, reducing your liability to Inheritance Tax through appropriate planning, promoting accountability, identifying advice gaps you haven’t addressed, or providing for better mental wellbeing knowing yourself and your family will always have a point of contact, the benefits are far-reaching, and quantifiable. According to independent analysis by Numis Securities, the value of advice amounts to an additional 2% per year.⁽³⁾