At Trafford & Houghton Financial Planning we pride ourselves on our extremely high levels of customer service.
We consistently review our practices to establish whether any enhancements could be made to the way in which we deal with our customers. As part of this review we ask our clients for their feedback by sending out a questionnaire. The questionnaire is split into 3 sections as follows: 

•    Service Delivery
•    The Adviser
•    Communications 

Under each of these sections, we ask a series of statements/questions in relation to the service delivery, communications and advice received. For each statement/question, we ask our clients to score us as to how they feel each one was dealt with. The answers range from better than expected, as expected, below expected and not applicable. 

In the last 3 months (October – December 2012) we have received 25 questionnaires back from 51 of our clients. The results from these questionnaires are detailed below and are broken down into the three sections. 

Section 1: Treating Customers Fairly- Service Delivery

We ask 7 questions relating to our service delivery, the questions/statements we ask are as follows: 

1. The clarification and explanation of the service to be provided by the firm

2. The timely delivery of the service by the firm

3. The helpfulness of any representative of the firm who you dealt with

4. The way you were dealt with if you had to contact the firms offices for any reason

5. The accuracy of the information provided to you by the firm

6. The clarification and explanation of how the firm were to be paid

7. The way you were treated by the firm raising any queries relating to the service 

The results for each question are detailed below:

 Some of the results are as follows:
In relation to our timely delivery of service, 44% of our clients thought we were “better than expected” and 56% thought we were “as expected”.
52% of our clients thought the helpfulness of their adviser/representative was “better than expected” and 40% rated us “as expected”.
Out of all 7 questions asked in relation to service delivery, the overall results are below:- 

 Treating Customers Fairly- Adviser

We ask 7 questions relating to our advice process and the adviser, the questions/statements we ask are as follows: 

1. The process the adviser went through to gain an understanding of your financial objectives

2. The establishment, explanation and consideration of your attitude to risk

3. The explanation the adviser gave to you on how the product/advice was to work

4. The interaction of your adviser with other professionals (e.g. solicitor, accountant)

5. The provision of objective and suitable advice for your needs

6. The ability of the adviser to put you at ease and not make you feel like you were any under any undue pressure to commit

7. The timing and delivery of the review by the adviser 

The results for each question are detailed below: 

 Some of the results are as follows:
In relation to our advice process 44% of our clients thought our understanding of their financial objectives was “better than expected” and 56% thought it was “as expected”.
44% of clients thought their adviser’s explanation of how the product/advice works was “better than expected” and 52% rated their adviser “as expected”.
We asked our clients whether they thought their adviser gave suitable advice for their needs and 48% of clients thought the advice received was “better than expected”, 52% of clients thought the advice received was “as expected” 

We do not put any pressure on clients to commit and 60% of clients thought that we were “better than expected” at putting them at ease.
60% of clients asked thought that their adviser was “better than expected” on the timing and delivery of reviews. 
Out of all 7 questions asked in relation to our advice, the overall results are below:- 

 Treating Customers Fairly- Communications

We ask 6 questions relating to communications received, the questions/statements we ask are as follows: 

1. The clarity of any letters, brochures and any other documentation provided to you

2. The timing and arrangements made to conduct a review with you

3. The frequency of communications you receive from the firm

4. The relevance of any communications sent to you by the firm

5. The way you were treated by the firm when raising any queries on communication

6. The overall standard of communications received from the firm 

 Out of all 6 questions asked in relation to communications, the overall results are below:-

As you can see from the results, 32% of the clients who completed the questionnaire thought that the communication received from us was “better than expected” and 50% said it was “as expected” 

Overall results

Overall based on all questions asked under all three sections, 37% of clients who completed the questionnaire rated the service received from Trafford & Houghton as being “better than expected” A further 50% of clients thought the service received was “as expected” The remaining 13% either did not answer certain questions or the questions were not applicable to them. 

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Well it’s nearly the end of another tough year and 2013 is almost upon us.
There are a lot of changes for us in the New Year but we’re used to change in financial services and I’m sure it will be business as usual on 2^nd January 2013.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients and friends a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

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From next year, financial advisers have to state the type of service they will be providing. This is important to you as you need to know how much of the market your adviser can advise on (and offer to you).

• Independent advice – will provide advice on products and providers from the whole of the market.
• Restricted advice – will provide advice on a limited range of products and potentially from a limited range of providers.

Standardised level of learning
Both Independent and restricted financial advisers will have to be qualified to a new higher standard of qualification than previously, with the minimum qualification level being the equivalent of components in a degree.

Advisers will have to constantly refresh their knowledge through ‘continued professional development’ (CPD) and sign up to a code of ethics. Advisers meeting all these requirements will be granted a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS), which will have to be renewd wach year as an indication from an accredited body that they have met all the criteria required of them.

Clearer charges
Advice has never been ‘free’ and in the past financial advisers have been paid via commission from product providers. You may not have received an invoice but you will have paid for this advice somewhere along the line, such as upfront and/or ongoing charges on your investment.

From 1st January 2013, instead of being paid by commission, advisers will be required to disclose and agree charges upfront with you. These new rules allow for charges to still be deducted from the investment products if you prefer, but ongoing charges from your investment are only allowed if your financial adviser provides a continous service on your investment.

This increased transparency of the cost of financial advice will enable you to fully understand what services you will receive and for what cost.

All the advisers at Trafford & Houghton are fully qualified to the required level and have been granted a Statement of Professional Standing.

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We currently have three advisers plus two other support staff Nicola and Amy studying for exams so will hopefully have more Good News announcements soon!

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If the combined earnings for both parents is below £50,000 the news is good. You’re unaffected and will continue to receive the full tax free benefit of £20.30 per week for your first child and £13.40 per week for each additional child.

However if your combined earnings are over £60,000 then you can wave goodbye to your child benefit. For a family with two children thats a loss of £1752 net income.

If you fall in the middle bracket of earnings (£50,000-£60,000) you begin losing 1% of your benefit for every £100 of income over £50,000.

Sounds complicated doesn’t it! The Daily Mail predicts that 840,000 families will lose the benefit. as a result of the new measures.

So! Where does the 57.5% tax rate come from? Well if you have two children and earn over £50,000 you may well be already paying 40% tax on some of your income. In addition to that you will lose £17.52 child benefit for every £100 you earn, therefore losing another 17.52 % of your earnings! If you have three children the effective rate is higher, and so on and so on. If you have five children the effective loss on your earnings could be as high as 78%!

The message is clear,if as parents you earn under £50,000 you might want to think twice before accepting overtime or even a payrise. If you do earn between £50K+ £60K you may want to explore other avenues such as pension contributions. Heres an example.

A family with twochildren and total income of £55,000 sees their child benefit reduce by half. A loss of £876. In addition to this the main earner has income of £50,000 so already pays a highest tax rate of 40%. Therefore the £5000 income over £50,000 is reduced by £2000 tax plus they lose £876 in child benefit. The additional £5000 pay results in just £2124 findng it’s way into your bank account. That means 57.52% of that income doesn’t come to you.

A simple solution would be to pay the £5000 into a pension. That way you’d not pay the 40% tax or lose the child benefit. The choice would be £5,000 in my pension or £2,124 in My pocket!

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We will of course all have several hours of gap filling to complete and this may well include another exam but we all feel that the pressure is now off. Which is a good feeling to have.

We would all like to wish our clients and all other visitors to our site a very merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year.

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Half of the advisers claimed there was no cost for the advice, while in one case a Yorkshire Bank adviser recommended investing £50,000 in a bond that would have generated £4,400 commission, without disclosing this to the undercover ‘client’.
Almost half of those surveyed did not mention the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, while others made mistakes about the level of cover that applied to investments. One NatWest adviser said ‘you don’t have to read this’ when handing over a leaflet about compensation, adding, ‘let’s face it, the major banks aren’t going to go under.’

The executive Director of Which, Richard Lloyd was quoted as saying ‘Our investigation shows that the high street isn’t the best place to go for investment advice. If in doubt, consumers should always talk to an independent financial adviser.’
 
Having worked for one of the major high street Banks myself I do not entirely blame the advisers. Despite their promises of change the Banks put a tremendous amount of pressure on their advisers to ‘sell’.
 
There have been several Banks fined for misselling over recent years but to date no senior management have been held publicly accountable by the FSA. If the Banks are to be deterred from misselling the FSA needs to send senior management teams a clear message that they will be held personally accountable for the behaviour of those carrying out their orders in the branches.
There will continue to be misselling stories about Banks all the time they maintain their internal sales culture.

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We are all aware of the cost of goods rising and the government making cuts and it is becoming as important as ever to start planning ahead and save for the future.  This is where I feel Stocks & Shares Junior ISAs can play an important role when it comes to planning for the future.

Stocks & Shares Junior ISAs replace Child Trust Funds and are open to all children born after 03 January 2011 and children under the age of 18 who do not already have a Child Trust Fund.  An annual amount of £3,600 can be invested and anyone can save into Junior ISAs for the child including Parents, Grandparents, relatives or Friends.  Junior ISAs cannot be cashed in or withdrawals made from it until after the child reaches the age of 18.  Proceeds are then free of income tax and capital gains tax and would be very useful towards University fees, first car, house deposit etc.

Bearing this in mind I know that we will be making the most of our Junior ISA allowance come spring next year when the sleepless nights begin!

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Finally news came through that the European Leaders had reached a “three-pronged” agreement.
Will it be enough?

No-one will really know yet. Many crucial details are still missing.

The Key elements are:

Greek Debt

Private Banks holding Greek will accept a write-off of 50% of their returns.This move is
expected to cut the nation’s debt load to 120% of its GDP in 2020.

Bailout Fund

The main euro bailout fund known as the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is to be boosted from the 440bn euros set up earlier this year to 1tn euros.

The framework for the new, increased fund should be in place in November.

Bank Recapitalisation

European banks will be required to raise about 106bn euros in new capital by June 2012.

Overall this deal will buy some time and Markets have reacted positively. I think we’re still a long way off a solution but at least it’s a start.

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Barclays have received most complaints, 251,563 in total. By my reckoning that equates to over 1380 a day even allowing for Sundays!

Lloyds and Santander were not that far behind managing to receive 181,907 and 168,888 complaints respectively.

What is most worrying is that many clients I speak to are dis-satisfied with their bank but have never complained, so just how many more potential complaints are out there, who knows?

The following link details the figures and has some interesting and rather frank feedback.

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/UPDATE-1-Barclays-got-most-UK-targetukfocus-3748104344.html?x=0.

I’m very proud to say that in the first half of 2011 at Trafford and Houghton we received the same number of complaints as we did in 2010, 2009 and 2008. (None)

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