Financial services provider Fair Investment Company has announced it will now be offering investment advice.
The new service, says Fair Investment Company, will offer "expert independent advice, no product of fund bias and competitive charges"
Nick Scarrett, who is head of pensions and investments at the firm, said that a recent survey of Fair Investment customers revealed that although most do not want any advice before making their investment choices, just over a third do, and they felt it was important to cater for this need.
"This service is for those who feel they do want to speak to someone independent before making any decisions about their money," he said.
Fair Investment Company, which already offers a wide range of investment services says the new advisory service has been set up to company with the FSA's Retail Distribution Review (RDR).
The RDR says that from 2013, independent or restricted advisers will need to demonstrate greater knowledge and skills and meet enhanced standards in dealing with clients and Fair Investment Company says it thinks it is important to comply sooner rather than later.
Nick said: "this service is going to be really beneficial to our customers. While many advisers are still not transparent about the way they are paid, our RDR compliant service means that our customers know that now, and going forward, they are getting truly independent advice."
With the new service, when a customer pays by fee and Fair Investment Company receives commission from the product provider when they buy a product, they will be passing the full value of that commission in order to reduce their fee.
"This not only saves the customer money, but it shows that our decisions are not being affected by commission levels so they can be sure we are acting in their best interest at all times,” explains Nick.
The company says that customers can also choose to pay by commission, in which case they do not pay a fee up front but will know exactly how much commission Fair Investment Company will be taking before they complete any investment.