If you are thinking about using a financial adviser, one of the first questions is usually simple:
How much is this going to cost me?
It is a sensible question.
And often an uncomfortable one.
Not because fees are unclear, but because behind the question usually sits a deeper worry:
Am I about to overpay?
Is advice actually worth it?
Could I do this myself?
How do I know if the adviser is good value?
So before looking at numbers, it helps to understand what you are really paying for.
Most UK financial advisers use one, or a combination, of the following structures.
This is the most familiar model.
Typical ranges are often around:
Initial advice: roughly 1 percent to 3 percent
Ongoing advice: often around 0.5 percent to 1 percent each year
So, for example:
£500,000 invested
1 percent ongoing fee
equals £5,000 per year
Seeing the fee in pounds, rather than percentages, is often the moment the question becomes real.
Not right or wrong.
Just real.
Some advisers charge a set amount for specific work, such as:
retirement planning
pension advice
inheritance tax planning
investment reviews
This might be a few thousand pounds for a defined piece of work, regardless of portfolio size.
For many people, fixed fees feel clearer and easier to understand, even if the total cost is similar.
Less common in wealth management, but still used in some situations.
Here you pay for time and expertise, much like a solicitor or accountant.
This can work well for:
second opinions
specific technical questions
one-off planning decisions
Good advice is not simply choosing investments.
Fees usually reflect work such as:
understanding your full financial position
modelling different futures
tax planning
pension strategy
inheritance planning
behavioural coaching during difficult markets
regular reviews as life changes
In other words, the real value is often decision support over many years, not a single recommendation.
This is the question people are often really asking.
And the honest answer is:
Sometimes yes.
Sometimes no.
Advice is usually valuable when:
decisions are large or irreversible
tax complexity is meaningful
family circumstances are complicated
peace of mind genuinely matters
Advice may matter less when:
finances are simple
decisions are small
you are confident managing everything yourself
So the issue is rarely just price.
It is fit.
If you are already paying an adviser, it can help to pause and ask:
How much am I paying each year in pounds?
What decisions has this helped me make?
Would I feel less confident without this support?
Clear answers to those questions often bring more clarity than any fee table.
There is a quiet risk in concentrating only on fees.
Choosing the lowest cost option can sometimes:
miss important tax planning
lead to poor timing decisions
increase long-term regret
reduce confidence at critical moments
Equally, paying high fees without clear value is not wise either.
So the real aim is not cheap advice or expensive advice.
It is appropriate advice.
If this question is on your mind, you may not need an immediate meeting.
Often the most useful first step is simply to:
think the decision through privately, without pressure.
That is exactly why Evoa exists.
It offers a quiet place to explore questions like:
whether advice is needed at all
what good value would look like
what matters most in your situation
Only after that clarity tends to make any conversation with an adviser more useful, whoever you eventually choose.
If you would like to reflect on this question calmly first, you can explore it privately in Evoa.
👉 https://www.thewealth.coach/evoa
Author
Written by Nic Round
Chartered Financial Planner & Chartered Wealth Manager