Charles Stanley Direct is to tackle the advice gap with the launch of financial coaching to help people across the UK access a financial expert.
The investment firm today (29 June) launched its OneStep Financial Coaching which provides a free 15-minute call with a qualified financial planner to answer questions about personal finances.
The service is designed to help people make confident decisions by providing them with access to the guidance they need.
A team of four financial advisers will answer money-related questions to help people save and invest without falling foul of common mistakes.
The types of questions that the service can provide guidance on include good financial habits, such as budgeting; understanding financial products, such as ISAs and Sipps; getting started with investing; teeing up for retirement and much more.
Those who would like a more in-depth discussion will be offered a one-hour coaching session via video call at a fixed cost of £150.
“People often need a lot of money before they can get help in traditional financial advice for that reason, they often can’t access financial advisers. The idea of this is we can offer financial advice, guidance and direction without you having to have a whole lot of money and assets. People often asks simple questions that don’t need complicated answers but there is nowhere for them to go – that’s the advice gap- and that’s the problem I want to fix,” Lisa Caplan, director of OneStep Financial Planning at Charles Stanley, told Money Marketing.
Caplan added: “I find I can help a lot of people with information in 15 minutes if they need more than that that’s where the hour-long paid session comes from. It’s enough time to go into more detail about a specific financial question to give them the right information so they know what to do next.”
There are 12.2 million adults in the UK who fall into the so-called ‘advice-gap’.
And 68% of people that fall within this gap are using DIY investment platforms without any guidance, the investment firm said.
OneStep Financial Coaching is a part of Charles Stanley’s OneStep family. It is complementary toOneStep Financial Planning, a service launched last year, which offers a personal financial plan by a qualified planner for a fixed fee of £900.
A OneStep coach will be offered to all new Charles Stanley Direct customers on sign-up to the platform.
Charles Stanley managing director of Central Financial Services John Porteous said: “At Charles Stanley, we are known for our excellence in customer service and the OneStep family builds on our brands expertise in offering personal advice and guidance.
“This is part of our commitment to help address the advice gap in the UK – by using cost-effective tech solutions without losing the human touch.”
Charles Stanley, which traces its origin back to 1792, provides services direct to private clients, charities, trusts and professional institutions.
It also works with financial advisers, legal, accountancy and other professional services firms, supporting them with their client objectives.
It also provides clients with the highest standard of service and peace of mind at every step of their financial journey, delivered by over 800 staff located in 26 offices across the UK.
