Providing Financial Peace of Mind

Providing financial peace of mind

Welcome

Oakleaf Independent Financial Services Ltd, Margaret House, 2 Devonshire Crescent, Leeds, LS8 1EP

Telephone: 0113 2684341 Email:

At Oakleaf we care as much about your financial well-being as we do our own.

Our Mission

Through holistic financial planning our objective is to provide you and your family with financial peace of mind.

Who are we and what do we do?

Oakleaf is a wealth development specialist providing a comprehensive suite of services to both private and business Clients, including general financial planning, wealth management, investment strategy, retirement, protection and taxation planning.

Oakleaf Independent Financial Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA is the independent regulator of financial services in the United Kingdom. Oakleaf Independent Financial Services Ltd is entered on the Financial Services Register ( under reference 707473.

Why do I need financial advice

Whilst many of us know what we want to achieve financially, frequent regulatory and legislative changes make knowing how to do so extremely challenging. Oakleaf will guide you through your options, will maximise your wealth, minimise the effect of taxation, fully protect you and your loved ones and ensure you have a bright financial future.

Our Team

Ensuring we remain at the financial cutting edge is taken very seriously and we have a dedicated team of Advisers and support staff specialising across the plethora of financial planning and wealth management.

Our team have a wealth of experience, providing financial solutions that are individually tailored to Client’s needs. Our Financial Advisers are fully authorised and meet regulatory standards for knowledge experience and integrity.

What can we do for you?

Our mainstream service is to act on your behalf for the purpose of arranging and advising on the following:

Investment and Pensions, for example an ISA or Personal Pension Plan;
Personal and Family Protection, for example a Life Assurance or Critical Illness Plan.

Our service is delivered through personal financial partnerships, providing ongoing support and advice throughout your lifetime. We believe financial peace of mind isn’t achievable via a one off transaction, but a continuously adapting strategy, developed and agreed by both you and your Adviser.

We see ourselves as your life long financial counsellor, on hand to guide you through key stages in your life, ensuring you are prepared, protected and primed for what is hopefully a fantastic journey.

Knowing that whatever the challenge, you don’t need to worry about your financial capability, is something that we believe is not only vitally important, but with careful financial planning, absolutely achievable.

How do we do it?

With over 50 years of experience between the team, Oakleaf is well placed to provide exceptional financial advice. In a world where changes to the financial landscape are almost daily, we also use a range of electronic based tools, such as risk profiling, portfolio management, tax calculation and fund selection, as well as expertise from specialist teams with Investment and Insurance Providers.

For all the services described above we will complete a detailed factfind so we can understand your circumstances, specific needs and objectives. Following our research we will provide a personal recommendation(s) for you to consider. With your agreement we will then implement our recommendation(s) and arrange any products on your behalf.

Once your financial plans are in place it is important to keep them under review. Subject to the type of services you require from us, we can continue to act on your behalf through one of our service packages. Alternatively, for those who prefer a more transactional or ad-hoc “pay as you go” service we are also happy to provide our services as and when you need them. Ultimately, whichever type or level of service you require from us will act in your best interests at all times.

Further details about these and other related services we provide are contained in the following pages. This also confirms the typical cost and how you can pay us for them.

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Providing financial peace of mind

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Providing financial peace of mind

Important Information

Before you consider our services in more detail we would like to draw your attention to the following important information:

Before we undertake any work on your behalf we will set out, and agree with you, the terms and conditions of our engagement in a written Client Agreement. This will confirm the scope and specific services to be provided, including any on-going services, their associated costs and method of payment. It will also confirm how we use and store personal information we collect from you in the course of providing our services. A copy of our standard Client Agreement is available on request.

Under the terms of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations we will classify you as a retail client for investment and pensions business. As a retail client you have the right to request re-classification as an elective professional client. This may be generally or in respect of a particular service, type of transaction or product, and is subject to the following:

All requests for re-classification must be made in writing;
We will consider such requests on a case by case basis against the criteria set out in FCA rules.
We will confirm the scope of any re-categorisation along with the consumer protections you will lose as a result.
You must keep us informed of any change to your circumstances that could affect your classification

We will not advise you if you are experiencing difficulties managing debts. Free help and advice about managing your debts is available by contacting the Money Advice Service via its website;

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Information about our investment and pension services

We offer a range of services to help you meet your investment and retirement objectives. We provide independent advice which means that our recommendations to you will be unbiased and based upon a comprehensive and fair analysis of the market.The amount we charge and the basis of the payment will depend on the service you choose and your individual circumstances.

We will discuss your payment options with you and answer any questions that you may have. We will let you know if you have to pay VAT on the cost of our service.

It is possible that other costs, including taxes related to the business we conduct and products we arrange for you, may arise. These costs will not be paid by our firm but borne by you.

We may also recommend products or services related to your investment and pension needs which are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For example, cash ISAs, National Savings & Investment Products (NS & I), or Inheritance Tax Planning (IHT).

A description of our initial and ongoing services, their associated costs and payment terms, is provided below.

What can you expect to pay for our investment and pension advice?

Our typical fees for advice and arranging an investment or pension on your behalf are set out below. Where hourly rates are stated, these are the actual hourly rates that will apply. There is an additional charge should you purchase one of our ongoing service packages. The typical cost of our ongoing services and what they include is also set out below. You can cancel our ongoing services at any time.

We offer independent advice which means we will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs. Our recommendation will be based on a comprehensive and fair analysis of the market

Completing the research, factfind and preparing and presenting our recommendations will incur a cost and it will be chargeable when your file has been completed. (If you proceed and continue with our recommendations this cost may be offset against the implementation fee.)

Before we undertake any work we will provide you with an estimated cost. Our fees will be based on an hourly rate of £195 for an Adviser, £150 for a Paraplanner and £120 for Administration.

An initial summary of your financial position will typically take 3 to 5 hours but could take longer depending on the nature and complexity of the work required.

For example; if an Adviser spent 4 hours completing the research and preparing a recommendation you would be charged a fee of £780 (excluding VAT if applicable).

At anytime you can ask us to stop any further work for you. Time already spent on your behalf will be charged for, this work will, in these circumstances attract VAT. Advice is only exempt from VAT if it is acted upon.

For example; if, at the point you ask us to stop work, an Adviser had spent 4 hours completing the research and preparing a recommendation you would be charged a fee of £780 plus VAT eg £936.

Implementation

Once we have agreed your financial strategy, we will implement your plan, arranging the necessary solutions, liaising with Product Providers on your behalf.

We will notify you of any initial fees prior to implementing your plan which are applicable for both lump sum and regular investments.

For example; if you invest £50,000 your Adviser Charge would be £1,000 (excluding VAT if applicable)

If you invest £150,000 your Adviser charge would be £3,000.

If you invest £400,000 your Adviser charge would be £7,375.

If you would like us to implement your financial plan but not take advantage of our ongoing service, we will implement them as per the fees above.

Ongoing Advice and Review Services

We believe financial planning isnot a one off event, but an evolutionary process which changes in tandem with changes in your life. Therefore, we canprovide ongoing support where we regularly monitor your investments, keep you informed of any changes that are required and meet you on a regular basis to ensure your financial strategy is on track to deliver your financial objectives. Toachieve this,inour meetings we may cover a range of the areas detailed below and which will be agreed with you in your Client Agreement:

Our ongoing fees are based on the amount invested with Oakleaf as follows:

For example; if your investment is worth £200,000 your annual Adviser Charge would be £2,000.

If you invest £300,000 your annual Adviser Charge would be £2,500 (exc. VAT if applicable).

Your ongoing fee will be used to cover the time spent by our Adviser and Administration staff, while we reserve the right to charge for additional hours we will discuss this before any charges are made. The Additional Services table gives you a breakdown of our timescales.

Either partycan cancel our ongoing services at any time however a pro-rata fee will be calculated up to the date on which instruction is given.

Additional Services

If managing your financial matters involves work which exceeds the amount of time covered by your Ongoing Services Fee, there will be additional fees chargeable of £195 per hour for an Adviser, £150 per hour for a Paraplanner or £120 per hour for Administrative work. We will notify you in advance if this is likely to be the case.

Some examples of the work that you might request from us and the associated times are detailed below:

Task / Approximate Time Spent / Rate
Arranging a meeting and preparing the associated documents and portfolio valuations. / 1 – 2.5 hours / Administration
Reviewing the portfolio in preparation of a meeting and holding the meeting. / 2.5 – 4 hours / Adviser
Research and analysis of existing portfolio to meet your financial objectives as discussed with your financial adviser and to prepare a detailed financial report. / 3 – 4 hours / Adviser
Implement the agreed recommendations, for example new policy, switch, withdrawal (per transaction). / 2 – 3 hours / Administration
Provide a portfolio valuation. / 30 minutes – 2 hours / Administration

For example, if an Adviser spent 4 hours providing general advice your Adviser Charge would be £780 (exc. VAT if applicable).

The timescales are approximate and depend on the complexity of your portfolio and your requirements.

If fees you have paid to Oakleaf are in excess of the time we have spent on your account we will either send you the difference or credit your account to cover future fees.

What are your payment options?

We accept direct payments by cheque or bank transfer. We do not accept cash or credit cards.

We will tell you if it is possible to pay your adviser charge through a deduction from your investment/pension.

Other benefits we may receive

If we take over the servicing rights of your existing arrangements that were arranged by another firm, we may be entitled to receive an on-going payment as a result. These payments are commonly referred to as ‘trail commission’. Where this is the case we will offset the amounts received against our on-going service fees. For example, if our on-going service fee is £1200 and we receive £200 trail commission from existing arrangements retained as part of your portfolio, the net fee due to us would be £1000 (exc. VAT).

Some of the firms whose products we recommend provide us with access to training and software which allows us to offer you a better service. Some of the costs of these benefits may be passed onto you as part of the total charges you pay, should you choose to purchase a product from one of these firms. Further information regarding these arrangements is available on request.

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Information about our Insurance Services – Personal and Family Protection

We offer products from a range of insurers for Life Assurance, Critical Illness Cover, and Income Protection Insurance.

How much do we charge for our insurance services?

Before we undertake any work we will provide you with an estimated cost. Our fees will be based on an hourly rate of £195 for an Adviser, £150 for a Paraplanner and £120 for Administration.

An initial summary of your financial position will typically take 3 to 5 hours but could take longer depending on the nature and complexity of the work required.

For example; if an Adviser spent 4 hours completing the research and preparing a recommendation you would be charged a fee of £780 (excluding VAT if applicable).

For example; if, at the point you ask us to stop work, an Adviser had spent 4 hours completing the research and preparing a recommendation you would be charged a fee of £780 plus VAT eg £936.

Implementation

We do not usually charge a fee for arranging an insurance product. We will receive commission from the insurer and this is reflected in the premium amount you pay to them.The amount of commission we receive will vary depending on the type of contract, term of the cover and the premium amount.

We will tell you how much commission we expect to receive before we transact business for you. You will receive a quotation, which will tell you about any other fees relating to any particular insurance policy we arrange for you.

Lifetime Financial Planning

The majority of people have no idea where they are heading financially. They may have assets, investments, and/or high levels of income, but most people have no idea what it all means, or what sort of financial future they are going to get.

At Oakleaf, we offer a sophisticated financial planning model called ‘Truth’which has been designed to help bring people face to face with the reality of what their financial future looks like. For some people this can be a joy, for others it can be a shock – but either way most people want to know the truth, so they can do something about it.

Truth enables Oakleaf to provide you with the answers that matter most. It empowers our financial planners to deliver the number one priority for you – a clear and accurate picture of how you are going to get to a point where you never have to worry about running out of money. Oakleaf can now provide an accurate picture for you regarding:

What you must do if you are to achieve your financial objectives
How best to live life to the full, whilst still young enough to enjoy it
The exact length of time you will be able to support your lifestyle in retirement
The degree of risk you need to expose yourself to
How seemingly minor changes can dramatically change your future financial picture – for the better, or worse
Why there is probably no room for complacency and no time to lose
The value, and validity, of the financial planning advice Oakleaf is providing

By entering details of your income, outgoings, assets and liabilities, this gives an accurate measure of your net worth and current financial situation. We then build up a picture of the life you want to enjoy in years to come.