Referred
by Recommended.co.uk
|
Independent Financial
Planner. Bonehill,
Nr. Tamworth, Staffordshire. |
John Cartlidge provides a rare service:
Bespoke financial planning, and common sense financial advice.
John does not need to meet the demands of
distant shareholders and sales managers, (there are none), he concentrates
solely on your needs: There are no commission/fee targets, no preferred lists,
no ‘standard’ plans and no hidden costs.
Why seek
advice?
Stakeholder,
Inheritance Tax, borrowings, mortgages, financial security, debt management,
offshore tax planning, wills, pensions, savings, ISA’s, PEPs, shares….the list
of financial obstacles we need to deal with and understand is constantly
growing, and rarely is one thing just right. John will aim to design
recommendations based on your needs and objectives, then locate or research
those financial vehicles to meet them. Most importantly, John will keep in
touch, and always be available to answer your questions, or provide advice. The
number of clients who can take advantage of this service is limited, so please
enquire if and how the service may benefit you.
Full details
can be found in the terms of business, but
the aim is always to
How can John
help?
Just ask.
Call, write or e-mail with a question or financial problem, and I will do all I
can to help. I look forward to hearing from you.
An article describing
the general principles of financial planning.
£65,000 a
Year and Poverty Stricken: A case
history.
Contact
Details:
Regulators
Statement.
Independent
advisers OR representatives of one
company.
Investment
Services Provided
I
advise on and arrange all forms of Life Assurance, Pensions, Unit Trusts and
other collective investments. Other
forms of investments that may be appropriate in an overall appraisal of a
portfolio, e.g.; Gilts, Building Society Accounts, National Savings etc., would
be included in any recommendations but would normally be purchased direct by the
client unless specific instructions to arrange such matters are received from
the client.
Stocks
and Shares
I
do not advise on Stocks and Shares purchase or disposal but would refer such
matters to Stockbrokers and pass their advice directly to clients. Any subsequent action that may be
required by the client is then passed to the Brokers for action, either by the
client directly or if they prefer via myself.
Right
to inspect copies of Contract Notes etc.
Clients
may inspect contract notes, vouchers and entries in my books, which relate
solely to their investments.
Records and files relating to their transactions are kept for at least
six years.
Complaints
If
you should have any complaint about the advice you receive or a product you have
bought please write to M B Smith, the Compliance Officer, at 13 Victoria Road,
Shifnal, Shropshire, TF11 8AF.
Telephone: 01952-463655.
Appointed
Representatives
John C. Cartlidge represents DCS Financial
Planning Ltd., an appointed representative of M.B. Smith & Co
Ltd that
accepts responsibility for any advice given to you by an Appointed
Representative of the Company.
Independent
Practitioners
I
offer independent financial advice, but if the occasion should arise where I may
have some form of interest in business that I am transacting for you, I will
write to you with details of my interest before I carry out your
instructions.
Reviews
I
would normally carry out reviews of the investments arranged on an annual basis;
where the investment is, for example, in Unit Trusts these are monitored on a
weekly basis, and therefore reviews can be carried out at more frequent
intervals or by request and valuations provided.
Instructions
I
require wherever possible to receive instructions in writing to avoid possible
disputes. I will, however, accept
verbal instructions provided they are subsequently confirmed in
writing.
Charges
and Commissions
I
derive income from commissions paid in respect of transactions in life
assurance, unit trusts and other regulated collective investment schemes and in
investment trust companies' shares held in a savings scheme. I will tell you the amount of commission
payable on any such investment.
I
am also prepared to provide advice on a fee basis at the hourly rate of £70 or,
by agreement; fees can be offset against normal commission payable when this
occurs.
If
I receive commission or any other form of benefit from the insurer of a security
or from another intermediary, I will inform you, but not tell you its amount
unless you ask me to do so.
Client
Money
M
B Smith & Co (Life & Pension Consultants) Ltd DOES NOT HANDLE CLIENT'S MONEY. I never accept a cheque made out to me
or MB Smith & Co. or handle cash in relation to investment business placed
on behalf of a client. Cheques made
payable to us must only be in respect of the settlement of fees or disbursements
for which I have presented an invoice.
I
will make arrangements for all your investments to be registered in your name
unless you first instruct me otherwise.
I will forward to you all documents showing ownership of your investments
as soon as practicable after I receive them; if there are several transactions I
may hold them until all documents are available before forwarding them to
you.
Continuous
Service
If
I undertake to carry out an ongoing investment service, I will, with your
written approval, provide a customer agreement that will specify the service and
any fees that would apply.
Investor
Compensation
If
you make a valid claim against M B Smith & Co (Life & Pension
Consultants) Ltd in respect of the investments I arrange for you and we are
unable to meet our liabilities in full, you may be entitled to redress from the
Investors Compensation Scheme; details of the cover provided by the Scheme are
given in a leaflet which I will send you at your
request.
If
I arrange for you any investments not covered by a compensation Scheme you will
be informed before arrangements are completed.
January
2001
The
Mortgage Code.
The
Mortgage Code came into effect for intermediaries on 1 May 1998 and is a
voluntary Code of good practice and fair dealing to which I subscribe. The Code
sets minimum standards of good lending and advisory practice, which are to be
followed by all lenders and mortgage intermediaries. I enclose a copy of a leaflet
summarising the Code and explaining what you can expect from
us.
My firm is
registered with the Mortgage Code Register of Intermediaries and our
registration number is 5464241.
Prior to selecting any lender and scheme
to recommend to you, I review the mortgage market in order to select the
appropriate lenders to meet your individual circumstances. I have access to a quality panel of
lenders, which may vary from time to time, offering special schemes, and
services that may not generally be available in the High
Street.
Under the terms
of the Code there are three levels of service available. These are:
1.
Full advice and
recommendation;
2.
Information on different types of
mortgage products available to allow you to make a
choice;
3.
Information on a single product only,
where no advice is given.
I offer a full
advice and recommendation service in all cases in order that I can make an
informed decision with you about the choice of your new
mortgage.
I will also
provide you with information relevant to your mortgage needs, covering such
items as an explanation of the main repayment methods, the implications of
taking out a mortgage – a full information list can be found in Section 3.2 of
the Mortgage Code which is enclosed with this
letter.
During our
initial meeting, I will be completing a detailed questionnaire to enable
appropriate advice to be given on the mortgage.
Once I have made
my recommendations to you, I will confirm our advice in writing. You should keep this as it will be a
record of the transaction, and will be confirmed by your lender’s formal offer
of a loan.
My firm may
receive fees from lenders with whom I place mortgages. Where this occurs I will tell you the
amount if it is greater than £250.
I will treat all
your personal information as private and confidential (even when you are no
longer a customer) except where disclosure is made at your request or with your
consent in relation to arranging your mortgage.
The Mortgage Code
Compliance Board (MCCB) regulates the Mortgage Code to which I subscribe. As part of MCCB’s duties I may be asked
to provide them with access to our customer records in order that they may carry
out an audit of my activities. The
MCCB’s ability to inspect customer records promotes best practice in the
industry and ensures that you continue to receive the best possible
service. If I disclose your
personal information to the MCCB then it has been agreed it will only used for
the purposes of compliance with the Mortgage Code and not for any other
reason. If you would not like us to
disclose any of your personal information to MCCB then please write to us
informing us of this within 21 days of today’s
date.
My aim is to
provide you with a first class professional and confidential service – should a
complaint arise, in the first instance you should contact me at the above
address. Thereafter should the
complaint not be resolved to your satisfaction, I will assist you in resolving
it by referring it to The Mortgage Code Arbitration Scheme whose address can be
found in the Mortgage Code.
[This
letter solely relates to mortgage business. Our Terms of Business for items
regulated by the Personal Investment Authority are provided
above.]
January
2001. (Back to
Top)
£65,000 a Year
and Poverty Stricken?
This is a true
story, but names and details have been altered to protect the privacy of those
involved.
A local
professional couple in their 30’s, whom we shall call John & Alison, earn a
combined salary of £65,000. They own their own home with the help of a mortgage,
which in their position is modest at £72,000. However, John & Alison can
hardly afford to eat, never mind socialise or holiday. Why? Because they have
amassed credit card debts of over £80,000. To maintain the minimum payments
alone takes £2,400 per month, and after the mortgage and other essential bills
there is literally nothing left. Even if this minimum payment level were to be
maintained, it would take 4 years to clear the debt, with a total interest
charge of more than £40,000.
Whilst we can sit
back and judge the lack of forethought that permitted this situation to occur,
it does occur, and for those who succumb to the charms and enticements of the
lenders involved, a solution needs to be sought. Borrowing should be viewed as a
purchase, and as with any purchase, the lowest cost and fairest terms should be
sought. Another less tangible concept is to remind ourselves that it does need
repaying, and that we are exchanging our future income for gratification today.
What’s the
solution? The first step is to calculate the overall rate of interest you are
being charged. Some borrowing is ‘cheap’, e.g. the mortgage at 7%, and some is
horrendously expensive, e.g. the store cards at 29.9%. How much in pounds are
you paying as a percentage of your overall debt? For John & Alison, this
proved to be 12.82%.
As consumers, we
are used to shopping around, and changing our suppliers of goods and services to
obtain the best terms. The strategy to solve John & Alison’s problem was to
transfer as much of the expensive debt to the lowest possible interest rate via
a re-mortgage, and then tackle the remaining debt in order of most expensive
first. The borrowings have been scheduled over the shortest term to produce
repayments that allow a return of some lifestyle, without the need to use credit
cards again, yet tackle the debt repayment effectively over the shortest term. A
further vital consideration was to ensure that ill health, unemployment or even
premature death would not defeat the strategy.
The net effect of
the arrangements was to reduce the overall interest rate being charged to 8.43%,
with a tangible plan to be rid of the debt within an affordable and sustainable
budget, which can be reviewed to accelerate the process without penalty. John
& Alison were fortunate to have been in the position to re-mortgage to
achieve this dramatic change, but the principle of obtaining the best terms,
realistic budgeting, and avoiding the need to spend a salary you have not yet
received hold true.
If you want to
re-examine your position, please contact an Independent Financial Adviser. (Back to
Top)
Can Peter
Really Pay Paul?
Although we all
have different incomes, different occupations and different personal objectives,
many financial aspirations are the same for many people. In broad terms, these
are to own our own homes, have savings to provide access to income later in
life, and ensure our families are provided for. This is the basic theme of all
my meetings with clients. For many individuals, the bulk of time is spent
working to provide these essential and important items. Whilst doing this
however, many also fail to set aside a small amount of time each year to
consider their current financial position, and make the small adjustments
necessary to steer a steady course in light of changing
circumstances.
Your age, your
income, and your occupation are just some of the factors in determining how to
make the best use of the financial planning tools and methods available, to
ensure your long term goals are achieved, yet retain the financial quality of
life you currently enjoy.
During your
working lives, there have been, and there will be, many calls on your time and
income. The needs of children, homes, cars, holidays etc. and achieving the
balance can be difficult, and balance is the key word. In general terms, as a
family, consider your net income has three
purposes:
There can be no
hard and fast rules, but if you consistently provide an equal amount of your net
income to each of these ideals, and use the correct financial vehicles, you and
your family will be financially secure.
If you want to
re-examine your position, please contact an Independent Financial
Adviser. (Back to
Top)