Trustnet Magazine 55 October 2019 | Page 22

Your portfolio 22 / 23 [ ADVICE ] A set or hourly rate for financial advice appears to have numerous advantages for clients over traditional percentage-based models. So, asks Anthony Luzio, why do so many investors persist with the latter option? Set & match A n oft-repeated myth about the impact of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) since its inception in 2013 is that it made it uneconomical for financial advisers to offer their services to anyone with a portfolio of less than £250,000. Yet this ignores those firms offering advice for a flat or hourly rate, rather than taking a percentage of the value of the portfolio. However, while a flat fee means that in theory anyone can obtain financial advice, Fowler Drew’s managing director Stuart Fowler says the biggest beneficiaries of flat fees are likely to be the wealthiest clients. “They are otherwise subsidising those with small sums to invest who may FE TRUSTNET trustnet.com