Plain English
The words around advice, explained.
Advice comes wrapped in jargon. Here's what the common terms actually mean - in plain English, with no agenda.
Independent & impartial
Strictly confidential
Fixed, upfront fees
In-person meetings only
- Best-interest duty
- An obligation to put your interests ahead of the adviser's own. We hold ourselves to this in practice by refusing commissions and product sales.
- Commission
- A payment an adviser receives from a third party (like a product provider) when you buy something. It creates an incentive to recommend that product. We accept none.
- Conflict of interest
- Any situation where what's best for the adviser and what's best for you can pull in different directions. Independence is about removing these, not just disclosing them.
- Decision fatigue
- The decline in the quality of decisions after a long session of decision-making. Big choices made on a tired mind tend to be worse ones.
- Due diligence
- The careful, independent checking of the facts behind a decision or proposal before you commit to it.
- Fixed fee
- A single price for a defined piece of work, agreed in writing before it begins - so you know the full cost upfront, with no hourly meter.
- Independent advice
- Guidance from someone with no financial stake in the outcome - paid only by you, with nothing to sell. It's the core of how we work.
- Opportunity cost
- The value of the next-best option you give up when you choose one path over another. Often the real cost of a decision.
- Reversible decision
- A choice you can undo at modest cost. These deserve speed; irreversible ones deserve far more care.
- Risk tolerance
- How much uncertainty or potential loss you're genuinely comfortable carrying - which is personal, and rarely just about money.
- Scope of work
- A clear, written description of what an engagement will and won't cover, agreed before any paid work starts.
- Second opinion
- An independent review of a proposal, quote or recommendation before you commit - cheap insurance against an expensive mistake.
- Sunk cost
- Money or effort already spent that you can't get back. It shouldn't drive a forward-looking decision, though it often does.
- Statement of advice
- A formal document a licensed financial adviser must give when providing personal financial product advice. We provide decision-support, not product advice, so we don't issue one.
Still not sure what something means?
Ask us - plain answers, no jargon, and your first meeting is on us.