HOW TO HIRE · BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL

How to hire a financial adviser in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Financial advice must come from an FCA-authorised firm. Here is how to check the register properly, what to ask, and what the charges letter should say.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a financial adviser in five steps

  1. Check the firm on the FCA registerSearch the firm, read its permissions, and see whether the financial adviser works for it directly or as an appointed representative.
  2. Match the contact detailsUse the phone number and website shown on the register, not the ones in an email or advert. Clone firms copy real names.
  3. Ask how they are paid, before the first meetingAn hourly rate, a fixed fee or a percentage of what you invest, plus any yearly charge for ongoing advice.
  4. Get the recommendation in writingA suitability report that explains why the advice fits your income, goals and attitude to risk.
  5. Never pay into a personal accountMoney for investments goes to the product provider or the authorised firm, never to an individual.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

FCA Financial Services Register

Advising on and arranging investments, pensions and protection are regulated activities, so the firm must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The register shows the firm's status, the permissions it holds, any past enforcement and whether it may hold client money. If you use a firm that is not authorised, the FCA says you are unlikely to have the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme behind you.

Search the firm on the FCA Firm Checker or the register and confirm it has permission for the advice you want. register.fca.org.uk →

Clone firm check and the FCA Warning List

Fraudsters copy the name, address and reference number of genuine authorised firms and add their own phone number or website. A real name on the register is not enough on its own. The FCA publishes warnings about firms and individuals it knows are running scams or trading without authorisation, including clones of real advisers.

Compare every contact detail you were given with the register entry; if anything differs, ring the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Search the firm's name and any web address on the Warning List before you pay or sign anything. fca.org.uk →

Appointed representative

Many financial advisers trade as an appointed representative of a principal firm, which takes responsibility for them. The protection only holds for activities the principal has allowed; outside them you may lose access to the Financial Ombudsman and FSCS.

Read the principal's name on the register entry and check the advice falls within what it permits. fca.org.uk →

Advice that is not regulated

Some services a financial adviser may offer sit outside FCA regulation, including advice on wills, probate and estate planning. There is no Financial Ombudsman or FSCS cover for those parts.

Ask the financial adviser to say in writing which parts of the advice are regulated and which are not. fca.org.uk →

VAT

A fee for financial advice on its own is standard-rated at 20%. Where the advice leads you to take out a product that the financial adviser then arranges as an intermediary, HMRC treats the whole service, the advice included, as exempt. Only taxable fees count towards the £90,000 registration threshold, so an advice firm whose work is mostly exempt may not be registered; one that is shows VAT on an advice-only fee as a separate line.

Ask the financial adviser in writing whether the fee will be exempt because a product is arranged, or carries VAT at 20% as advice alone, and for the firm's VAT number if it does. gov.uk →

“What is your firm's FCA reference number, and are you an appointed representative?”

A good answer: A number that matches the register, the firm's name, and the principal firm if there is one. A financial adviser who bristles at this question is the answer.

“Do you advise on the whole market or a restricted range?”

A good answer: A straight description of which products and providers they can recommend, so you know what you are not being shown.

“How will I pay for the advice, and what is the ongoing charge?”

A good answer: The initial fee as a figure or a percentage, the yearly charge for reviews, and what you get for it. Ask for it in pounds, not just percentages.

“Will I get a suitability report before I commit?”

A good answer: Yes: a written report that sets out your situation, the recommendation and why it suits you, before any money moves.

“Is any part of this advice unregulated?”

A good answer: A clear split: pension and investment advice regulated; will writing or estate planning, if offered, not.

“What happens to my money, and who holds it?”

A good answer: It goes to the product provider or a platform in your name. A financial adviser asking for a transfer to themselves is a stop sign.

“How do I complain if something goes wrong?”

A good answer: The firm's complaints process first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service if it is not resolved.

Getting the quote right

  • The initial advice fee, as a figure in pounds as well as any percentage
  • Who actually attends the fact-find and gives the advice: the financial adviser named on the FCA register, or a paraplanner employed or subcontracted
  • Any ongoing advice charge, how often it is taken and what reviews it pays for
  • Product and platform charges, kept separate from the financial adviser's own fee
  • The VAT number where VAT applies, and VAT at 20% on an advice-only fee shown separately; exempt where the adviser arranges the product
  • Which advice is regulated and which, if any, is not
  • Written, before the fact-find goes further than a first conversation

Walk away if

  • The firm is not on the FCA register, or the contact details differ from the entry
  • The firm appears on the FCA Warning List
  • You are asked to pay money to a personal bank account
  • Guaranteed or unusually high returns are promised
  • Pressure to decide today, or to move a pension quickly
  • No written suitability report before you commit
LOW
£75
TYPICAL
£150
HIGH
£350

What a financial adviser costs: £75–£350 per hour

Financial advisers charge an hourly rate, a fixed fee for a piece of advice, or a percentage of the money invested, often with a yearly charge for ongoing reviews. Financial Advisor price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Financial advisers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. Initial meetingThe financial adviser explains how they charge, what they can advise on and whether the firm is independent or restricted.
  2. Fact-findYour income, savings, pensions, debts, goals and attitude to risk, recorded in detail.
  3. ResearchProducts and providers compared against what you need, within the range the firm covers.
  4. Suitability reportThe written recommendation, the reasons for it and the full costs, sent before anything is set up.
  5. Set-up and reviewApplications made in your name, confirmations sent, and a review date agreed if there is ongoing advice.

Fact-find
The detailed record of your finances and goals the advice is based on.
Suitability report
The written recommendation explaining why the advice fits your circumstances.
Appointed representative
A firm or adviser working under another authorised firm's FCA permissions.
Restricted advice
Advice limited to certain products or providers, rather than the whole market.
Ongoing advice charge
A yearly fee, often a percentage of your investments, for continuing reviews.
FSCS
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which can pay out if an authorised firm fails.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the suitability reportWith the fee agreement and the product documents. If the advice is ever questioned, this is the record of what you were told and why.
Check the money arrivedLog into the pension or investment account and confirm the amounts and the product match the recommendation.
Diary the first reviewIf you pay an ongoing charge, the review should happen. A charge taken with no review is something to raise.
Leave the reviewOnly booked work can be reviewed on Locufy. If the financial adviser fell short, the make-it-right step runs first: they are asked to put it right before the review goes up.

STEP 1Complain to the financial adviser's firmIn writing, saying what went wrong and what you want. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the firm must provide its service with reasonable care and skill.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyIf you rate the financial adviser under four stars you decide whether the firm sees the complaint first. We follow it through, then the review goes live.
STEP 3The Financial Ombudsman ServiceFor regulated advice from an authorised firm, the ombudsman handles complaints the firm has not resolved. If the firm has failed, the FSCS may compensate. Report an unauthorised or clone firm to the FCA.
STEP 4Small claims for a fee disputeA dispute over the financial adviser's fee can go to small claims: up to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 by simple procedure in Scotland, £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a financial adviser: questions people ask

The firm giving regulated advice on investments, pensions or protection must be authorised by the FCA, or the adviser must be an appointed representative of a firm that is. This applies in all four UK nations.

Search the firm on the FCA register, then compare its phone number, email and website with the details you were given. If they differ, ring the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

With an authorised firm, you can take an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the FSCS may pay if the firm has gone out of business. With an unauthorised firm, the FCA says you are unlikely to have either.

£75–£350 an hour, typically around £150; many quote a fixed fee or a percentage instead. The financial adviser price guide has the breakdown; enter your town above to compare advisers near you.

A fee for advice on its own is standard-rated at 20%. If that advice leads you to take out a product which the financial adviser then arranges for you as an intermediary, HMRC treats the whole service as exempt, so ask which applies before you agree the fee.

Not by the FCA. Advice on wills, probate and estate planning is outside FCA regulation, so the Financial Ombudsman and FSCS do not cover it.

MORE GUIDES

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How to hire: Mortgage BrokerHow to hire: Insurance BrokerHow to hire: AccountantHow to hire: Tax AdvisorHow to hire: Wills & ProbateHow to hire: Self-Assessment HelpHow to hire: SolicitorHow to hire: BookkeeperAll 701 hiring guides →

Financial advisers near you

Financial advisers in LondonFinancial advisers in ManchesterFinancial advisers in BirminghamFinancial advisers in GlasgowFinancial advisers in BelfastAll financial advisers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. FCA — how to check a firm or individual is authorised
  2. FCA — using the Financial Services Register
  3. FCA — fake FCA communications and clone firms
  4. FCA — contact us
  5. gov.uk — VAT Notice 701/49: finance
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  8. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  9. VAT Notice 701/49: finance — 9.9 Independent Financial Advisors (advice only is taxable)
  10. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register