Making decisions in life is tough but by working with a financial adviser you can be assured that you are making the right decision at the right time. An adviser will help you take control of your finances to ensure you are on the right track to meet your financial goals as well as advising you on the things that you might not immediately think of such as life insurance or investments to grow your capital.

While you don't necessarily need to hire an outside person to create a financial plan for you, a lot of people do so to save themselves the time and energy of sifting through a lot of advice.

Using an adviser can:

1. give you greater confidence of where you are going in life,

2. reduce your stress levels and allow you to enjoy life more and

3. give you control and peace of mind in knowing that you’re on track for the future you want for you and your family.

What should I prepare before seeing an adviser for the 1st time?

An initial meeting with a financial adviser might be a little intimidating – all you have to do is prepare a couple of things and RELAX. You don’t need to do a lot. I recommend a good mental understanding of what financial structures you have in place is sufficient – such as any debts, investments, work benefits like share options, health, income or life insurance and pension details.

Of course the more information you can provide about yourself/family and financial circumstances, the more relevant the advice will be. A financial adviser may be the only professional who takes in your whole financial and personal picture before advising you on what you should do.

Think of a first meeting as a bit of a fact finding mission and the opportunity for you to understand the adviser and firm a little bit better as well as for the adviser to understand you. At the end of the day, you need to feel comfortable with and to able to trust the adviser you choose to work with. Finding the right fit between you and your financial adviser is the key to making the relationship worth your while.

Financial Checklist if you want to be super thorough...

• Short breakdown of monthly income and expenditure – how much do you save and how much do you spend?

• Outstanding debts, mortgage amount, current interest you are paying, is this fixed or variable, term of your mortgage, any penalty periods, monthly cost

• List of assets – property value, cash, any investments, any family trusts

• Details of current will or estate planning

• Work benefits – life cover, income protection, critical illness cover, private health insurance, pension information (value, what are you invested in, employer and personal contribution amounts), share options

• Personal insurance – amount it covers, what it covers, term of policy, sole or joint names, is it decreasing or indexed, is it written into a trust, cost

• Investments – value, type of policy, penalty periods, funds invested in, death benefits (who gets what if you die)

Written by Rachel Copley, DipFA, M.S. 

Rachel is a Financial Adviser at Amicus Wealth.

As a child I always wanted to be a vet. I know my job now couldn’t be further from that but I guess the same principles could apply in that rather than helping animals, I am helping people. I know from a young age that I wanted to do something meaningful.

I graduated from Oxford University with a Masters in Chemistry. Although I loved working in science and looked great in lab glasses, I knew that a career working in research and development was at the time hard to find. A lot of pharmaceutical companies were going through large cut backs and by simply doing the maths this area unfortunately couldn’t offer me the financial benefits I need to do everything I personally aspire do to in life (if anyone has ever owned a horse, you know what I’m talking about). In addition I wanted the freedom and self-fulfilment of building something that was my own.

The financial adviser industry when I started was known for being stuffy, backdated and dominated by 50 year old men. I saw a great opportunity within Amicus Wealth to break this mould and work with like-minded ambitious individuals who want to apply their life skills to their career and in turn advise their clients in the best way they can by using simple language we all understand, uncomplicated by financial jargon and ultimately helping clients draw the parallels between their financial planning, their lifestyle and their personal success and happiness.

Start laying your financial stepping stones by arranging an initial chat or consultation with Rachel. You can contact her on: rachel.copley@amicuswealth.co.uk or 02037276670 / 07533478925.

Amicus Wealth Limited is an appointed representative of Intrinsic Financial Planning Limited and Intrinsic Mortgage Planning Limited, which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England & Wales No. 08861673. You can find out more on the website www.amicuswealth.co.uk.