What Financial Advice Costs in the UK

The three charging models

Model	Typical range	Best suited to
Fixed fee	£1,000–£5,000+ per project	Defined jobs: a retirement plan, a pension consolidation review
Hourly rate	£150–£350/hour	Narrow questions; second opinions
Percentage of assets	1–3% initial, then 0.5–1% per year ongoing	Ongoing management relationships

Since 2013, UK advisers can't take sales commission on investments and pensions — you pay fees directly (commission still exists for some mortgage and protection business, which the adviser must disclose).

Percentages hide the pounds

"1% initial and 0.75% ongoing" sounds tiny. On a £300,000 pension it's £3,000 up front and roughly £2,250 every year — rising as the pot grows. Over a decade that ongoing charge alone can exceed £25,000. None of which means it's bad value: a good planner can be worth multiples of that around big decisions. It means you should always do the conversion before signing.

Do the conversion yourself

Our fee impact calculator shows what a difference in annual charges compounds into over 10, 20 or 30 years on your own numbers. Take the result into any fee conversation.

The going rates, with sources

We maintain a dedicated advice fee benchmark page: typical UK initial, ongoing, hourly and fixed fees with every figure cited — plus a calculator that turns any quote into pounds over the years you'd stay.

What to ask before you sign

"What will my first year cost, in pounds?" Insist on a cash figure covering initial and ongoing charges.
"What's included in ongoing service — and what triggers extra fees?" Reviews, rebalancing, ad-hoc questions, tax-year-end planning.
"What are the total costs including platform and fund charges?" Adviser fees sit on top of product costs; ask for the all-in figure (advisers must disclose aggregated costs).
"Can I take the initial advice without committing to ongoing service?" The answer tells you a lot about the business model.
"How do I cancel, and what happens to my money if I do?"

Is ongoing advice worth it?

It depends on what you're getting. Ongoing percentage fees are good value when your situation genuinely changes year to year — drawing retirement income, managing tax across multiple wrappers, family changes. They're poor value if the "annual review" is a templated letter while your money sits in an unchanged portfolio. The honest test: list what the adviser actually did for you in the last twelve months, price it at an hourly rate, and compare.

Cheaper and free alternatives

Free guidance: MoneyHelper (general), Pension Wise (pension options at 50+), Citizens Advice (debt).
One-off advice: a growing number of firms sell fixed-fee, single-project advice without ongoing commitment.
Education: for straightforward situations, understanding the system — what this site is for — may be all you need before executing yourself.

Common questions

How much does financial advice cost in the UK?

Typical market ranges: fixed fees of £1,000–£5,000+ for a defined project, hourly rates of £150–£350, or percentage charging of 1–3% initially plus 0.5–1% a year ongoing. The honest comparison is always in pounds: ask any firm what your first year will cost as a cash figure before you sign.

Is paying a percentage of my pension to an adviser normal?

Yes — percentage-of-assets charging is the most common model for ongoing relationships. It isn't automatically bad value, but convert it to pounds on your actual pot size, ask exactly what the ongoing service includes, and compare against firms offering fixed-fee or one-off advice for the same job.

Can I get financial advice for free?

Regulated advice — a personal recommendation — is almost never free. But free, impartial guidance exists: MoneyHelper for general money questions, Pension Wise for over-50s weighing pension options, and Citizens Advice for debt. Many advice firms also offer a free initial meeting, which costs nothing to use for comparison.

Sources and further reading

FCA — understanding the advice market · MoneyHelper — paying for financial advice · Our advice fee benchmark (cited data)

About this guide: fee ranges are illustrative market observations, not quotes, and this is general education — not regulated advice or a personal recommendation. FinancialAdvisor.co.uk is not an FCA-authorised firm. For advice tailored to you, consult an FCA-authorised adviser.