***BackgroundI needed to show that I had received support for this proposed transfer as a FCA regulatory requirement.I had initial discussions with a few IFAs – all were only interested in obtaining (a) the maximum fee they could, explaining the complexity of the regulatory requirement, and the risk to the IFA if they got the advice wrong, and (b) wanting to move forward by tying any support they offered to an ongoing managed investment fee!***WPS AdvisoryAfter such a poor experience with a number of IFAs, I realised that WPS Advisory have been appointed by the trustees of the Vodafone defined benefit pension scheme.I reviewed their website, checked them out on the FCA site (but failed to look further, i.e. Trustpilot). As far as I could tell at that point, everything looked very professional, and it seemed silly for me not to engage with them.I had a couple of introductory calls (I am not very trusting and had a few questions). I was given full details of their process and costs from the outset. Everything was logical (more so if I had read the material fully!). I then completed an online questionnaire (a bit simplistic, which initially worried me, but this was my failure to appreciate the straightforward process that would evolve and which was documented in the material they sent me anyway). Clearly, because of the regulatory requirements, and the positive recommendation I was seeking, I was concerned about the costs involved, particularly as I already mentioned the “money grabbing” IFAs I had already spoken to.Costs were fully documented and (a) subsidised by my pension scheme and (b) a fraction of the cost I had been quoted by others.Longer appointments were scheduled during which I was able to explain in some detail my circumstances, and reason/justification for seeking the transfer of my defined benefits pension fund to a SIPP.I dealt with:• Charlie Bettison CertCII, DipPFS Consultant.Charlie gave me the confidence to move forward after I had a number of questions answered in the initial contact stage. Charming guy, who I immediately trusted.• Simon Litchfield DipPFS BA Hons - Adviser & Technical SpecialistSimon was my key advisor, someone who allowed me to disagree with him (which I did quite a lot!), but also thankfully challenged my thought process behind the reason for transfer and the proposed destination of funds (should I receive a positive recommendation from WPS). Simon contacted me a couple of times during the post-recommendation stage to ensure all was progressing with the transfer.• Rhiannon Richardson - Senior Administrator (Admin Team).Without Rhiannon (and Sharon) who made exceptional efforts to keep me up to date with the paperwork which I needed to complete (once I got a positive recommendation from Simon for the transfer). They marked sections in PDFs where I needed to add additional information (mostly all documentation was pre-completed by Rhiannon & team) and marked the location for the many signatures I needed to provide. Without Rhiannon and team my transfer would not have taken place.***ConclusionI was allowed to transfer my funds from defined benefit to a SIPP due to a positive recommendation. My circumstances supported this. It is a long process, but exceptionally supported by the whole WPS team. Both the level of support by WPS and the (low) cost to me were exceptional.
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WPS Advisory Limited is a firm of independent financial advisers providing access to high quality, affordable financial advice, often via the workplace or pension scheme. Since 2015 we have engaged with over 100,000 individuals and provided Personal Recommendations (advice) to over 40,000 customers.
