How should you choose a financial adviser for £1m?
At £1m, small differences in ongoing percentage fees become large cash amounts, so service depth, tiers and caps matter.
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What service are you actually buying?
At this level, an adviser may offer financial planning, retirement modelling, investment oversight and coordination with tax or legal professionals. Confirm what is genuinely included rather than assuming a higher fee means a broader service.
Ask about tiered and capped fees
A sensible comparison should show how the charging rate changes as assets rise. Some firms reduce the percentage on higher bands or cap the annual cash fee.
Look beyond a high-net-worth label
Ask which client situations the adviser handles most often, whether £1m is a normal client size and what specialist planning experience is relevant to your needs.
Unbundle the wealth before choosing the service
£1m of wealth may be accessible investments, pensions, property, a business or a mixture. Separate ownership, liquidity and commitments. A figure that includes a family home or uncertain business value should not automatically be treated as an investable portfolio.
Identify the actual goals: income, preserving flexibility, retirement, family support or another priority. A larger amount can create more options, but it does not remove trade-offs or make every specialist service necessary.
Ask which parts of the plan require tax or legal input and how the adviser coordinates with those professionals. Clear responsibility is especially useful when trusts, business interests or overseas connections are involved.
Scrutinise the annual cash commitment
On an unchanged £1m, fictional annual adviser rates of 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% represent £5,000, £7,500 and £10,000 before other charges. Ask about marginal tiers, caps, household aggregation and fixed project alternatives where available.
Then compare the work. A comprehensive planning relationship, discretionary investment management and a periodic investment review are different services. If several are bundled, request the costs and responsibilities of each layer.
Ask what would happen if part of the money were used for another purpose. A proposal should explain service and fee changes without making continued asset growth the only way the relationship works.
Keep control and portability clear
Understand who holds the assets, who can make investment decisions and how instructions are verified. Ask how you could change adviser or manager without unnecessarily replacing every account.
For an illustrative household with several providers, consolidated reporting may be valuable, but a single dashboard does not itself establish that moving assets is suitable. Compare the practical benefit with cost, lost features and dependency on one arrangement.
Retain your own records of the plan, costs and professional roles. A more substantial service should make complex decisions easier to understand rather than make the relationship harder to leave or explain.
Sources and further reading
MoneyHelper - Financial adviser fees ↗
MoneyHelper - Choosing a financial adviser ↗
FCA: checking a firm or individual ↗
Advisedly: published financial advice fees research and methodology ↗
