Towry says fees save clients 4%

22 May 2008 0:45 am

The fee-only adviser says charging commission for "advice" is wholly inappropriate as the term itself is inextricably linked to a product sale.

Chief executive Andrew Fisher says: "We charge 1 per cent discretionary charge for managing the assets, with an average of 60 basis points on the assets with no trail or an hourly fee for giving them the advice but all we 'sell' is a financial plan.

"We can return between 300bps and 400 bps back to the client by not taking commission. We never take the money away.

"I cannot understand it when advisers ask for proof that commission leads to product sales. How can it not lead to sales?"

Fisher says all Towry Law's advisers will be qualified to diploma-equivalent by the end of the year and they will be chartered within 18 months but Fisher add that the firm does lose around 25 per cent at the bottom end for not passing the exams.

Fisher says he is currently in talks with several adviser firms about potential purchases, both small and large.

But he says: "I would like to do a big transaction this year. There is no cap, no number that we could not manage as long as we keep the executive risk. We do not want to risk quality."

Interview, p30

If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Money Marketing and Follow @_moneymarketing