Our first discussion may be by telephone, but is more often by appointment at one of our offices, either in Darwen or in Orrell. This is free and without obligation. The purpose is to enable you to meet us and decide if you wish to engage us, and allows us a brief opportunity to learn a little about you, your needs and to ensure we can help you – before you incur any costs.

There are certain key documents which we must present to you at our first meeting and these will be explained at this time.

Assuming you wish to proceed we can then start to detail your current financial arrangements and your attitude to risk and reward. Everyone has a different way of expressing their concerns and it is vital that we establish a common understanding of yours before we proceed. Once this has been determined we can move on to prioritise your immediate financial aims and timescales for any additional matters. This financial health check is vital for us to understand your situation, needs and aspirations. It enables us to work through your finances in an order of priority which is likely to be sensible for most people; your circumstances will be unique and your priorities are those which we are interested in identifying.

Don't worry if the health check gives you lots to think about and don't worry either if you don't have enough money to cover all your financial goals immediately. You don't have to tackle everything at once - you could concentrate on one or two areas first and move on to the rest later.

During this meeting we will usually ask you to sign a Letter of Authority enabling us to contact your current product providers in order that we can seek clarification about any outstanding details on your behalf.