For some people, discussing investments can be pretty intimidating. You might worry about not understanding everything or wonder if you can trust the advice you're getting.

One way to ease these concerns is for firms like ours to be upfront about what new clients can expect. So, in this piece, my job is to walk you through our process at Church House, and then I will hand it over to a client who can share, in their own words, what the experience has been like. 

We start with what we call the Discovery process. This is all about getting to know you so we can establish if we can help and, if so, tailor our advice to fit your needs. This phase is broken down into two parts: creating an Investment Profile and a Personal Profile.

For the Investment Profile, we look at things like your tolerance for risk (how you feel about the ups and downs of investments), your capacity for loss (how losing money would impact you), and your knowledge and experience with investing. When it comes to building a Personal Profile, we will talk to you about your current financial circumstances, make sure we understand your needs, and discuss any plans you might have for using long-term savings.

Once we’ve got all this vital information from the Discovery phase, we move on to crafting a personalised Proposal. 

Our proposals outline recommended investment mandates and the portfolios designed to meet your requirements. These mandates include guidelines for managing your money, such as the level of investment risk you’re comfortable with, any income goals, and your time horizon. The portfolios blend individual investments, such as investment funds, to offer the best mix of risk and reward based on your specific needs and goals. The design will also take into account your tax position and, of course, costs.

Creating these proposals is a team effort between our experienced Client Managers and our expert in-house Portfolio Managers. We give clients all the time they need to review a proposal and encourage them to ask as many questions as they need to make an informed decision.

Should you choose to go ahead with our recommendations, we will then start the Onboarding process. This mostly happens behind the scenes and involves setting up everything necessary to begin investing. This includes tasks like completing an Investment Management Agreement. After that, we will transfer your existing investments or invest the cash provided, depending on what was recommended.

Our Client Managers are available to answer your questions during onboarding, and they are supported by our friendly and experienced Client Services Team based in Sherborne, Dorset.

But our service doesn’t stop there. We provide ongoing management, reporting, and reviews to ensure everything stays on track. Plus, when a question pops up or you need something, we have the people on hand to help.

Hopefully, this gives you a good idea of what it’s like to work with Church House. However, hearing directly from our existing clients is often the best way to understand the experience.

Church House provides an excellent service for investors like me who need to be sure that their savings will deliver a reliable return. Thanks to the expertise of my Church House financial advisor, Daniel Mason, I have every assistance in understanding how my funds are performing and what strategy works best for my circumstances.

I have been a client for many years and have total confidence in the advice I have received. This is thanks to the personal relationship between me and Daniel. I can contact him at any time for advice and also benefit from the annual visit to my home which provides the opportunity for an in-depth review of my investments. It is this personal touch that gives me every reassurance  that my funds are in safe hands.

Sam Smiles