Our Investment Philosophy

Managing investments in service of our clients’ retirement plans is a critical piece of the jigsaw. The stakes couldn’t be higher! We manage US based portfolios in USD, UK based portfolios in both GBP and USD and some legacy Malta based portfolios in both GBP and USD. We manage for appropriate growth, but also to avoid permanent loss.

We cannot guarantee performance, but we promise prudent, consistent, accountable, professional management of your money that is coordinated across jurisdictions and currencies and compliant in all with a view to securing yours and your family’s future.

 

When it comes to your investments, here is our philosophy. We:

  • Believe that investment growth is determined by allocation to equities independent of and notwithstanding equity selection and market timing.
  • Determine asset allocation based on your risk tolerance, your goals, and your personal circumstances: Willingness + Ability + Need.
  • Perform massive global diversification across geography and asset classes whilst investing in as few holdings as possible.
  • Invest in equity mainly via passive index funds.
  • Practice regular rebalancing.
  • Construct our portfolios with cost in mind.
  • Believe that economic predictions are pointless and dangerous.
  • Know that strategic management of your investable assets dictates your ability to generate sustainable retirement income, keep pace with inflation, and weather market volatility.
  • Realise that despite all this, financial success is largely driven by investor behaviour.

How We Charge

At Plan First Wealth, our fees are transparent. We communicate with our clients so they understand how their fees are calculated and how much they will be paying.

All fees are explicitly agreed in advance and whilst fee payments may be facilitated by a product provider, trustee or custodian, any fees we receive come directly from our clients and/or their account(s). Nobody pays us but our clients and we are beholden to nobody but them.

Our fees are tiered and differ by product and/or platform (please refer to our ADV for a breakdown), but generally, are the same for everyone for the same account size. Upfront, we may charge an onboarding fee for financial planning or an account opening fee to facilitate a UK pension transfer. On an ongoing basis we charge a percentage of assets under management for an agreed upon level of service. More information, including specific fee breakdowns, can be found in our Form ADV Part 2A.

We do not charge extra fees and we do not discount fees (because that would not be fair to other clients). All our services have already been factored into the fees we charge.

PFW Fee Guarantee

If during your first 6 months as a client of PFW you are dissatisfied with the service we provided, we will refund all advice fees charged during that period.*

*This includes any financial planning and advisory fees. Account Setup fees and fees charged by the platform or trustee are not covered by this guarantee.