About Pioneer
You will find us at Pioneer House on the High Street in Chobham, which is near affluent areas such as Sunningdale and Virginia Water and close to the town centres of Guildford and Woking. We offer private secluded on site parking and private offices to meet. For clients with a disability Pioneer is happy to arrange a home visit by appointment, at its own expense.
What is Pioneer?
Pioneer is a forward-thinking financial planning boutique born out of the 2012/13 RDR (Retail Distribution Review). Pioneer was established from a fresh start in 2012.
Our underlying advisory experience however is formed of 15 years. In the very near future we hope that Pioneer as a corporate entity will be approved and qualified as a Chartered Financial Planning firm, however until then our advisory Principal is qualified as a Chartered Financial Planner and this award has been held since 2010. We adhere to a strict professional Code of Ethics and hold our advisory Chartered status proudly.
The firm’s Principal is a graduate of Law and a Chartered Financial Planner. He also holds a number specialist qualifications enabling advice in Long Term Care, Mortgages, Equity Release and specialist Pension solutions.
Pioneer runs a multi-pricing basis for its fees meaning that if the client requires only certain elements of our services these are offered and priced in line with the instructions and remit that we are given.
Our advice is impartial and proven to be so within our advisory process:
- The client will be asked to pay a Fee of the advice that Pioneer gives. If the client prefers to proceed no further then the process ends with advisory services having been rendered and paid for
- If the client wants Pioneer’s help in providing an “implementation” plan to enable its advice to be applied this phase of the process is priced and charged separately using either a direct Fee basis again or using a form of product implementation fee
- “Advice” and “Implementation” are separately defined within our process ensuring that the advice provided is impartial
- It is the advice and financial know-how that Pioneer sells.
The terms such as “holistic” or ”bespoke” are often used to describe professional services and although only too easily and frequently used this is what Pioneer offers wherein disciplined management ensures that our service remains manageable within our resources.
Pioneer - An Owner Managed firm
Pioneer is a small regional boutique firm where provision of a highly personalised service is key. We do though also retain a manageable bank of high net worth City clients.
The service is highly personalised and we retain a very good working relationship with all our clients.
We do not aspire to be a firm that grows beyond its means whilst instead focusing on what we do best, advising clients on their financial arrangements and “helping them to achieve financial independence”.
We answer only to ourselves, our clients, our regulator and our ethics.
What we are not
Pioneer only accepts clients that it can offer services to with fullest commitment and thus enabling those services at good value to the client. There will be some clients that we would decline to act for and so we may not be the right firm for all clients.
Pioneer will not enable the cross-subsidy of clients fees, believing that for each client there is a charge and not one that may need to cover the costs of advising other clients. Our costs for advising and servicing a client are covered solely by that client and no other.
Our advice is chargeable at various points of the advisory process, although the initial familiarisation meeting is undertaken at our expense.
Pioneer does not support “execution only” business. This is where the client proceeds on a particular course without our express advice as to the suitability of such a course. Pioneer feels that it is as important that its clients are advised against making “bad” investments as it is in making “good” investments, so all of our process applies under a full advisory basis. Our process is strictly Advisory rather than Discretionary.
In retaining services that are strictly advisory the client retains valuable assurances such as the control that they retain in all decision-making and the right to complain and seek recompense under the FSCS or FOS compensatory schemes.
Why use a Chartered professional advisory firm?
Adherence to the Chartered status of a firm involves a serious commitment to maintaining very high standards of professional integrity, and ensures customer excellence and professionalism.
This requires the firm to maintain a constant commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD), adherence to its professional Code of Conduct and allegiance to its professional body. For Pioneer our professional body is the PFS (Personal Finance Society). The Chartered status is usually maintained through membership of the CII (Chartered Insurance Institute).
With this comes a valuable element of trust, honesty, integrity and a unique layer of independent non-bias that is very difficult to come by in the modern era.
The Chartered standard is our industry’s Gold Standard and is a status achieved and retained by only a select few advisers. In turn this helps to elevate us to the professional heights of solicitors and accountants. Pioneer is currently seeking approval to be accredited as a Chartered firm.
The Chartered status (granted by the Privy Council) can apply to either or both an adviser and/or a firm – Pioneer holds this accreditation as an adviser and we hope also as a firm shortly.
Is Pioneer right for me?
Yes – if the client requires a firm that “sells” advice and sound innovative financial solutions, then we have some interesting discussions ahead of us.
Remember – if you engage fully with Pioneer this means that our services fit your client profile and as such if you have friends or colleagues who you feel fit a similar profile and you are happy with Pioneer then we ask that you have no hesitation in recommending us, as all good businesses grow on the back of quality services that are referred by and to quality clients.
