Most people don't know what a first meeting with a financial adviser involves. Here is an honest, step-by-step account of what to expect — and what you'll leave with.
One of the strangest things about the financial advice industry is how little most people know about what actually happens when you walk through the door. The meetings are shrouded in a kind of professional mystique that, in my experience, puts people off before they even make the call.
So I want to demystify it. Below is an honest, step-by-step account of what a first meeting with me actually looks like — what I ask, what I am trying to understand, and what you leave with. You may find it different from what you expected.
Almost everything starts with a short phone call or message — five or ten minutes at most. This is not a sales call. I am not trying to pitch you or establish whether you have enough assets to be worth my time. I am trying to understand whether I can actually help you, and whether it makes sense to spend an hour together.
In that conversation I might ask: what brought you to get in touch? What are you hoping a financial adviser can help with? Is there anything particular that is pressing — a life event, a decision coming up, something you have been putting off?
This gives me enough context to be useful in the first meeting, rather than spending the first forty minutes asking questions we could have answered in advance.
The first formal meeting typically lasts around an hour. It is free, and there is no obligation to go any further. I want to be direct about that: you will not be asked to sign anything, pay anything, or commit to anything in the first meeting.
What you will be asked to do is talk. About your life, not just your finances. A good financial plan is not a spreadsheet of numbers — it is a map of where you are, where you want to go, and what stands in the way. To draw that map, I need to understand you as a person, not just as a collection of assets and liabilities.
So I will ask about your family — who depends on you, and who you depend on. I will ask about your work — whether you are employed or self-employed, what your income looks like, what your employer offers. I will ask about your current financial picture — debts, savings, pension, property. And I will ask about your goals — what does a good financial future actually look like to you?
To be honest, the thing most clients find surprising is how much of the conversation is not about money. We might spend significant time talking about what you want your retirement to feel like. About what you worry about most. About the gap between where you expected to be financially at this point in your life and where you actually are.
That is not fluff. Understanding the emotional and personal context of your finances is what allows me to give advice that actually fits your life, rather than a generic recommendation that could apply to anyone.
You might also be surprised to discover there are things I cannot or will not advise on — and that I will say so clearly. If your situation calls for a specialist I am not qualified to replace (a solicitor for a complex will, for example, or a tax specialist for a very unusual arrangement), I will tell you that, and if I can, I will point you in the right direction.
At the end of the first meeting, you will leave with a clearer picture of your financial situation than you arrived with. Even if we do not go any further, that clarity has value.
If there are obvious gaps or risks I have spotted — if you have a mortgage and young children but no life cover, for instance, or if you have a workplace pension you have never checked — I will flag those. Not to alarm you. Just because it is useful information.
If it makes sense to proceed, I will explain what the next steps would look like and what the cost of my services would be. There will be no pressure. You can think about it, talk to a partner, or simply decide it is not for you. All of those outcomes are fine.
If you decide to work together, the next stage involves a more detailed fact-find and a formal suitability assessment. I gather everything I need to make recommendations that are specific to you — not generic, not off-the-shelf, but genuinely built around your circumstances.
My recommendations are presented in writing, in plain English, with explanations of what each product does, what it costs, and why I am suggesting it over the alternatives. You are always in control. Nothing is implemented without your explicit agreement.
After that, it depends on what you have put in place. Some clients want an annual review. Others get in touch when something changes — a job move, a new baby, a house purchase. I am here for both. The relationship does not end when the paperwork is signed.
Now you know what to expect. The first meeting is free, informal, and genuinely useful — whatever you decide to do afterwards. Why not find out?