Introducing One Life

I started One Life because being an adviser for 10 years before then, frankly, I was fed up. I was fed up with the product focus in the financial services world, I was fed up with clients expecting me to tell them which fund was better than the other fund and I got to the point where I really realised there’s just no way that you could do that without a crystal ball. I wanted to focus on people, and helping people achieve the things that are important to them, and financial planning, when it’s done properly, is exactly that.

Who do we typically work with?

We specialise in pre-retirement planning. So, the vast majority of our work tends to be couples from the local area – St Albans and Welwyn Garden City – who are focused on retirement planning. They tend to be in their early- to mid-50s but our relationships last years, so getting people to retirement is just part of the journey and of course, it extends well beyond that.

What do we do for the people we serve?

We answer big questions. Are we going to be okay? Are we going to run out of money? Can we retire when we want to? These are the big fundamental questions that financial planning is all about. We help people to be clear on what their goals are and what they are planning for. We help create a plan with those goals in mind, what do you actually need to do in order to make sure that you can do those things, but most importantly, we help make sure you’re making progress towards those goals. We will do that over a period of not weeks, not months, but years. We will help you to progress. We will help you to react to the world around you. We will help to make sure that you achieve those things that are important to you in your life.

Why do people choose to work with us?

I think fundamentally, I know it sounds a bit cliche, but it comes down to peace of mind. It’s the knowledge that things are going to be okay. People tell me that one of the things they value most when they come to see me even if it’s year on year is that when they walk out the door, they feel like things are being taken care of. It’s the confidence to make big decisions and the sense of liberation that they’re free to live the life that they want to and achieve the things that are important to them.

Where do meetings take place?

We do most of our meetings face-to-face here in Hatfield. Face-to-face meetings, I think, work best. Financial planning is a very personal thing and although we can do it on a Zoom call, and indeed we do, but it’s just a different experience when you’re face-to-face. Hatfield isn’t a million miles away from St Albans or Welwyn Garden City, and it’s really closely serviced by the A1 (M). So, it’s really down to your preference but I would say at the earliest stages of getting to know each other, it’s best to do face-to-face.

Who don’t we work with?

We don’t work with clients who are looking for one-off consultancy. There’s a place for that, I’m absolutely sure, but it’s not something that we provide. We don’t work with DIY investors who have been looking at the Sunday league tables and looking at the next best buys and expecting us to comment on those things. We generally don’t tend to work with negative people through choice. Ultimately, this is a relationship that hopefully lasts for many years, and it needs to work. We need to enjoy the relationship that we have, as well as you needing to enjoy working with us. Finally, we enjoy working with people most who are delegators; they come to us expecting us to look after them, and they allow us to do what we do and get on with the job.

Who supports our clients?

The good thing about financial planning is very rarely is there anything urgent so if I’m on holiday, generally speaking, everything’s left tidy before I go. If things do come up that are urgent while I’m away, I’m checking my email most days but this is a partnership with myself and Julia. Julia is my right-hand-person, she has a good grasp of everything One Life. She has been with me 11 years and she knows the business really well.

How much do we charge?

The bulk of our work with clients is on an ongoing basis. So, once we’re up and running, our fee model is exceptionally simple. We charge 1% per year of the funds that we manage for you. That’s of course 1% to make sure that the 99% is looked after properly and is doing the right things, in the right places, and that you’re not paying more tax than you need to, etcetera. So, it’s 1% per year on an ongoing basis but to get you up and running, obviously, we have some initial work to do, and it is quite time-consuming. We do two things initially: we build a first financial plan for you, then we harvest together all your existing, legacy arrangements such as pensions and investments. The fixed fee tends to be between £2500 – £5000, depending on the complexity of your affairs when you come to us. But of course, in all cases, whenever we work with you, before any commitment is made, we will provide a pound-based illustration of costs.

Why do you need a financial planner and not a financial adviser?

Financial advice and financial planning. Generally, those terms are interchangeable for many people, but they’re two distinct things. Financial advice, that’s the technical stuff, that’s “What products should I use? How am I going to minimise my tax liability?” It tends to be very focused and blinkered. Financial Planning is much broader. It’s goal-orientated and it’s where you need to start your journey. What are you actually aiming for? What do you need to do in order to achieve that goal? And then, of course, we can talk about how to make your money more efficient with less tax, less charges, better investment returns, which is the mainstay of a financial adviser.

Can you do this yourself?

You absolutely can be your own financial planner, but you can be your own painter and decorator too, but you won’t do it as well as a professional. You can be your own gardener but, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be cutting down plants instead of weeds. Financial planning is different, you’re dealing with much bigger decisions. You’re dealing with things where, if you get them wrong, the cost impact of that can be significant, and not necessarily something that you will feel in that moment. We live in a world of information that is freely available and if you have the time to do your own research and, most importantly, if you know what you need to research (because I would bet that a lot of people don’t know what they don’t know) then there’s nothing to stop you being your own adviser. But I think it’s too important to be left to chance and the relatively modest fee that we charge pays itself back in volumes when it comes to the benefits we can bring to help you achieve your own cherished lifetime financial goals.

What happens at our first meeting?

The first meeting, I like to call it a coffee and a chat. It’s very informal and relaxed. What we’re doing is determining what help you need and what you are aiming for. It’s as simple as that, “What are you aiming for? Can I help you? How will I help you?” We explain to you what our fees are, and we make sure that you know what to expect if you choose to move forward. There is no cost for the initial meeting, and no obligation; we’re simply deciding whether we feel like we want to move forward together.

When is the best time to start a retirement plan?

I may be a little bit biased, but I’ve been doing this job long enough to know that when people come to see me for the first time, very often, once they’ve been through the process, they will say “I wish we started this process earlier.” The simple way to answer your question would be that the best time to start would be 10 years ago, but if you didn’t start 10 years ago, then the next best time, of course, is today. If you want any validation of that, I’d suggest you go and have a look at some of our client videos.

Why choose One Life?

The words “One Life” to me just resonate with what great financial planning is all about – helping you live your life of choice. Money, after all, is the enabler to allow you to do the things that are important to you. So, it’s a case of saying what it is that we do, One Life Wealth, giving you the money you need to live your life of choice.

What do our clients find most surprising about working with us?

Liberating and encouraging them to spend money to do things they didn’t think they could afford to do. To retire a few years earlier, to have that extra holiday that they didn’t think they could afford, proper financial planning liberates you to make these choices and I just find that so valuable.