If you’ve accepted a proposal from me, this agreement sits alongside it: the proposal sets out what you chose and the fees, and this agreement explains how we work together day to day. I’ll keep the process practical and in plain language, so you can make decisions with your eyes open and without feeling pushed into products.
What I do
Financial planning covers the advice, analysis, and ongoing support described in your accepted proposal, focused on getting your accounts and decisions lined up with your goals and real-life cashflow. This usually includes a Discovery and fact-find meeting, building your net worth and cashflow picture, assessing your risk comfort and capacity, reviewing and rebalancing your portfolio, and doing an annual review and update.
Your specific deliverables are exactly the ones listed in the proposal under this agreement. To do the work well, I will ask for statements and details for your bank savings, AFP, funds, debts, and insurance. If you don’t have documents, I can work from estimates, but the plan will be less precise.
Payment
My fees are the amounts shown in the proposal. For one-off financial planning, I invoice 50% to start and 50% when the plan is complete. For ongoing monthly work, I invoice at the start of each month. Every invoice is payable within 7 days of its date.
If an invoice is late, I will pause new work until your account is up to date, including pausing meetings and delaying any written plan updates. If you think something is wrong with an invoice, tell me quickly so I can check it with you. If I recommend a product that pays a commission, I will tell you the amount or rate before you decide, and you can always choose a fee-only option.
Privacy
I’ll treat what you share with me as private. That includes your income, balances, account numbers, family details, and anything we discuss about your goals and worries. I only use your information to do the financial planning you hired me for. I’ll keep my notes and files in a sensible, secure way and I won’t share them with anyone unless you ask me to, or I’m required to.
I also ask you to treat my materials as private. When our work ends, you keep the plan, notes, and checklists I produced for you. If you want me to delete or return copies I hold, tell me and I’ll confirm what I can remove while still keeping basic records I need to run my business.
How I work
I work as an independent financial advisor. That means I’m not your employee, and you’re not hiring me to act as your back office. I decide how I schedule my time and what tools I use, and I’m responsible for my own taxes, insurance, and business costs.
I’ll ask you for information and decisions, and I’ll explain the trade-offs in everyday terms, but you stay in control of your accounts. Unless we both agree otherwise in writing, I don’t have custody of your money, I don’t move funds for you, and I don’t place trades or sign paperwork in your name. You choose what to implement, and when.
Monthly retainer
If you’re on a retainer, your financial planning continues month to month. I invoice at the start of each month, and each invoice is payable within 7 days of its date. The retainer renews automatically each month unless you or I end it.
You can stop the monthly work at any time by telling me before the next invoice date. Any fees already invoiced stay payable within 7 days. If you tell me after an invoice has been issued, that invoice still applies for that month and I’ll finish the in-scope work we agreed for that period. If I need to end the retainer, I’ll give you notice in writing and I’ll aim to leave you with clear next steps.
Limits
I’m responsible for delivering the financial planning work with care, and for explaining my recommendations and the trade-offs as I see them at the time. You’re responsible for the choices you make and for the actions taken in your accounts, because you control access and final approvals.
Markets can move fast and sometimes in ugly ways. If markets drop, I don’t make automatic moves. I review your portfolio against your plan and time horizon, then I tell you what I would change, why, and what I would leave alone until the next review. I’m not responsible for losses caused by normal market movements, or for decisions made using incomplete or incorrect information you provided.
Ending the work
Either of us can end the engagement by telling the other in writing. For one-off financial planning, if you end the work after I’ve started, you pay for work already completed and any committed time I can’t reasonably rebook, using the fee and scope in the proposal as the guide. If I’ve invoiced 50% to start, that invoice remains payable within 7 days.
When the work ends, I’ll hand over what I’ve produced up to that point in a usable form, as long as invoices due have been paid. You keep your plan, notes, and any checklists I produced for you. If you ask for work outside scope at any point, I’ll write down what’s changing and what it will cost, and we’ll agree that before I start.
Signature
