How WDS Wealth Works

A Clear, Personal Approach to Financial Planning

We believe good financial planning should be straightforward to understand, personal to your situation, and built around your life — not around a standard process. This page explains how our service works at every stage, from your first meeting through to tailored recommendations, implementation and ongoing support.

Our process is designed to ensure that any advice we provide is based on a thorough understanding of your individual circumstances, financial goals and attitude to risk. We will always explain our recommendations clearly, confirm our charges before work is undertaken, and give you time to consider before making any decision.

A Clear, Personal Approach to Financial Planning

Step 1: Your Free Initial Consultation

Your first meeting with us is free of charge and without obligation. It is an opportunity for both parties to understand whether we are the right fit for your needs. During the initial meeting, we will ask you about your current financial situation, your goals and priorities, and your experience with and attitude to financial risk. We will explain how our service works, what types of advice we provide, and what our charges are. We will also confirm whether you have a requirement for advice and, if so, what areas that advice might cover. You are under no obligation to proceed following the initial meeting. If you decide to go ahead, we will confirm the scope of work in writing before any chargeable work begins.

Step 2: Research, Analysis and Your Suitability Report

If you decide to proceed, we will carry out a detailed analysis of your financial situation — reviewing your existing arrangements, assessing your financial goals, and researching the options available across the market. We will then prepare a personalised suitability report setting out your current financial position, our analysis of your needs, and our specific recommendations. The suitability report will explain why each recommendation is appropriate to your circumstances and will clearly set out the costs of any recommended products or services. We will go through the report with you in full and answer any questions before you make any decision.

Step 3: Implementation

If you decide to proceed with our recommendations, we will manage the implementation process on your behalf — completing the necessary applications, liaising with product providers, and handling the administration involved. We aim to keep the process as straightforward as possible for you. We will keep you updated throughout implementation and confirm when each element is in place.

Step 4: Ongoing Advice and Review

Financial planning is not a one-off event. Your circumstances change, tax legislation changes, investment markets change, and new options become available. Our ongoing advice service is designed to ensure that your financial arrangements remain appropriate over time. If you choose to take up our ongoing service, we will conduct regular reviews — typically annually or more frequently where your circumstances require it. At each review, we will assess whether your existing arrangements remain suitable, consider any changes in your personal situation or objectives, and advise on any adjustments that may be appropriate. Ongoing advice is an optional service and carries a charge, which we will confirm with you in writing before the service commences. You can cancel the ongoing service at any time.

Why Ongoing Financial Advice Matters

Many clients initially come to us for advice on a specific matter — a pension review, an investment decision, or a protection arrangement. Over time, however, the most significant value we provide often comes from the ongoing relationship: reviewing plans as life changes, adapting strategies as legislation changes, and helping clients stay on course towards their financial goals.

Specific areas where ongoing advice commonly makes a difference include:

Changes in personal circumstances — retirement, redundancy, divorce, inheritance, or the sale of a business — that require financial plans to be revisited
Tax and legislation changes — such as changes to pension allowances, ISA limits, capital gains tax or inheritance tax rules — that create planning opportunities or require action
Investment market changes — where a review of investment strategy, asset allocation or platform may be appropriate
New products or solutions — where developments in the market may provide a better or more cost-effective option than existing arrangements

How much does ongoing advice cost?

The charge for ongoing advice depends on the complexity of your arrangements and the level of service you require. We will confirm the ongoing service charge clearly before you commit to it, and it will be set out in your client agreement. You can cancel the ongoing service at any time without a penalty charge, though product-level charges may apply to any changes to underlying investments.

What if I want to change my mind after proceeding?

For most regulated financial products, you have a statutory right to cancel within a specified period — typically 14 or 30 days, depending on the product. We will confirm the cancellation rights applicable to any recommended product in your suitability report.

What does a suitability report contain?

A suitability report is a personalised document that sets out your current financial situation, our analysis of your needs and objectives, our specific recommendations, the reasons why those recommendations are suitable for you, the risks involved, and the costs. You should read it carefully and ask us about anything you do not understand before making any decision

How long does the advice process take?

It depends on the complexity of your situation. For straightforward cases, we aim to provide a suitability report within a few weeks of the initial meeting. For more complex situations involving multiple products, existing pensions with safeguarded benefits, or business protection, the process may take longer. We will give you an indication of timescales at the outset.

Is the initial meeting really free?

Yes. There is no charge for the initial consultation and no obligation to proceed. We will confirm this in writing before the meeting.