Independent financial adviser in Bath, for business owners and senior executives.
Planning, accountability and confidence. A plan for what you’ve built, someone who holds you to it, and the confidence of knowing where you stand: taking money out of the company, pensions, tax, and what happens when you sell or step back.
Book the free 30-minute call A free 30-minute call, no obligation. I limit myself to five new clients a quarter so each one gets the time the work needs. Independent, whole of market · CII Diploma · 5.0 on VouchedFor
Planning. Accountability. Confidence.
Three things every client gets from me. Not a product, not a portal and not a team. One adviser, one plan, and someone who makes sure it happens.
Planning
A plan for what you’ve built.
How you take money out of the business, what your number is, and when you could step back.
- A written plan, with the reasoning behind every recommendation
- A lifetime cashflow forecast
- Worked out alongside your accountant
Accountability
Someone who holds you to it.
Plans rarely fail on paper. They fail because nothing happens next.
- One adviser, me, from the first call onwards
- Every action written down, with a date
- Reviewed at least once a year, and I chase you as much as you chase me
Confidence
Knowing where you stand.
Decisions made on facts, with the working shown, so you can see how each one was reached.
- A clear picture of what you can spend
- What happens if things go wrong: illness, a bad year in markets, a sale that falls through
- What changes when the rules change
Confidence here means knowing where you stand, not a guarantee of outcome. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest.
An independent financial adviser for business owners in Bath, Bristol and the South West
You’ve built something valuable. Do you know what it adds up to?
I work with business owners, directors and senior executives. Often the profit goes back into the company, the pension is an afterthought, and a bonus or share scheme arrives with no plan behind it. My job is to plan how what you’ve built becomes money you can live on: how you take it out, where it sits, how it’s taxed, and what happens when you sell or step back. Nine years in the Army before this, the later years in military intelligence, which is where the habit of writing down the reasoning came from.
I show you the working, and if the answer is no, I’ll tell you. The call costs nothing, and you’ll come away knowing whether planning is worth it for you.
What the plan covers.
Tax-Efficient Planning
Salary, dividends, employer pension contributions and allowances used in the right order, worked out alongside your accountant. Sequencing them well can add up over twenty years. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future. The FCA does not regulate some forms of tax planning.
Retirement Planning
Stepping back from the business or a senior role, and the decisions from five years out through drawdown and beyond. We start with what you want those years to look like, then work back to the numbers.
Investment Management
Somewhere for the money you take out of the business to work, matched to your goals, your timeframe and what you can stomach when markets fall. You’ll know what you own and why.
Estate & Inheritance
The conversation you keep putting off. Gifting, inheritance tax, your shares in the business and life cover written in trust, so there’s a clear plan for how what you’ve built passes to the people you meant it for. The FCA does not regulate estate planning, trusts or will writing. Tax treatment may change.
Protection Planning
Life cover, critical illness and income protection sized to what your family would need, plus key person and shareholder cover for the business. Plain English, and only the cover there’s a real need for.
How much of your wealth is actually yours?
Most business owners and senior people build something valuable at work, then leave their own finances to look after themselves. Fifteen questions, about two minutes, and you’ll see where you stand across the five things that decide whether what you’ve built ever becomes money you can live on.
Free · about two minutes · no obligation
A clear process. Four steps, end to end.
An honest conversation
A 30-minute call, free. Where you are now, where you want to get to, and whether you need me at all.
The full picture
I review your pensions, investments, income and commitments, then write you a summary before we go further. Also free.
The written plan
I explain each recommendation in plain English and show the reasoning behind it. Fees agreed in writing before any chargeable work starts.
Reviewed every year
I implement the plan, then we sit down at least once a year and rebuild around what’s true now, so you always know where you stand.
Questions worth asking first.
Do I actually need a financial adviser?
Not everyone does. If your finances are simple and you’re comfortable running them, you may not need me, and I’ll say so. If you run a profitable business, hold a senior role with a complicated pay package, or are weighing a decision you can’t undo, that’s where planning earns its keep. The first call is free and its job is to work out whether advice is worth your money.
How much does a financial adviser in Bath cost?
The first conversation and the fact-find that follows carry no charge. Beyond that there are two fees: one for building and implementing the plan, and an ongoing fee if you want me alongside you afterwards. Both are set out in writing, in pounds and pence, before any chargeable work begins, and you are free to stop at that point.
What does independent financial advice mean?
No provider, product or fund house ties my hands. I can recommend from across the whole market and pick what fits your situation, rather than what a parent company would prefer I sell. A restricted adviser works from a limited panel. I start from your circumstances instead.
Should I take money out of my company as salary, dividends or pension?
It depends on your profits, your personal tax position and what the money is for. For many directors, employer pension contributions are one of the more tax-efficient ways to take profit out, but the right mix is personal and changes as the rules do. Bear in mind pension money normally cannot be accessed until 55, rising to 57 from April 2028. I work it out alongside your accountant, and if what you’re doing already makes sense, I’ll say so.
I have a bonus and shares from my employer. Where do I start?
Start with what you are actually paid and when: salary, bonus, and any shares or options, with the dates they vest. Then look at how and when each is taxed, and how much you can pay into a pension given the limits for higher earners. Share schemes can leave a lot of your wealth tied to one company, so part of the plan is deciding how much to keep. I go through the scheme documents with you and show you the working. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances and may change, and the value of shares can fall as well as rise.
Andrew was very informative on all of the products I enquired about, he was also able to guide me on what products were best suited for my needs to help me reach my goals. I would highly recommend Andrew and will be my go-to guy in the future for all of my financial needs.
See what steady monthly investing outside the business could become.
For illustration only, not financial advice, a forecast or a guarantee. Assumes a constant growth rate compounded monthly, and takes no account of charges, tax or inflation, all of which reduce what you actually receive. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest.
Open the full calculatorFree to read, whether we ever speak or not.
Long-form articles on money, three free calculators, and a seven-part course on the fundamentals of investing. No sign-up needed for any of it except the course.
Speak with Andrew.
A free 30-minute conversation, no obligation. We’ll talk about where you are now, what the business or your role is doing for you, and whether you need a planner at all.
Book the free 30-minute callDuchy IFA · Queen Square House, Queen Square Place, Bath BA1 2LL
07736 250464 · andrew.daw@duchyifa.co.uk
Duchy IFA is an appointed representative of Saltus Wealth Partnership Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA FRN 449607. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.