Questions about financial advice
What an adviser costs, when it's worth paying for one, and how to find an FCA-regulated adviser who specialises in advice for women.
How much does a financial adviser cost?
Advisers have to charge a fee for pension and investment advice, as they can't take commission. MoneyHelper says hourly rates are often £100 to £350. Percentage fees are typically 1% to 3% of the money invested at the start, then 0.5% to 1% a year for ongoing advice. Some advisers charge a fixed fee. Ask for a quote first.
Do I need a financial adviser for my divorce?
Not always, but it helps when there are pensions, a house or a business to divide. A solicitor or mediator deals with the legal agreement. A financial adviser looks at what each option means for your income and retirement, such as asking for a pension share instead of keeping the house, and can help with investing afterwards.
Do I need a financial adviser after a bereavement?
You don't need one to register the death or apply for probate. Advice becomes useful when you inherit money or a pension, need to replace lost income, or have Inheritance Tax to think about. Decisions such as buying an annuity or moving a pension are hard to undo, so it's worth getting advice before you make them rather than after.
Can I ask for a woman adviser?
Yes. You can say so when you send an enquiry, and our female financial advisers page lists the women advisers we work with. Some of the advisers we list are men, and in some areas the nearest woman adviser is further away than the nearest adviser overall. Choosing who you speak to is up to you.
What happens at the first meeting with a financial adviser?
The adviser asks about your situation, what you want to achieve and what you already have: pensions, savings, property, debts and income. They should tell you what the advice will cost before doing any paid work. Some firms charge for a first meeting and some don't, so ask when you book. Bring recent pension and bank statements.
Which areas do your advisers cover?
Mainly the East and South East of England, plus parts of London and the Midlands. We have pages for advisers in Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge, Colchester, Chelmsford, Stevenage, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Peterborough, Leicester, Coventry, Brighton, Tonbridge, Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton, North London, South West London. If no adviser covers your postcode, you can still contact the nearest one.
Is Helena financial advice?
No. Helena.finance and Helena, our AI assistant, give general information, not financial advice. Helena.finance is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. For advice on your own situation, speak to an FCA-regulated adviser. The advisers we list are regulated, and you can check any of them on the FCA Register.
What is Helena.finance?
Helena.finance is a free UK service that connects women going through divorce, bereavement or self-employment with FCA-regulated financial advisers. Helena.finance itself is not FCA-authorised and does not give advice. The site also has free guides, calculators and Helena, an AI assistant that answers general questions.
Is it free?
Yes. Using Helena.finance and sending an enquiry to an adviser costs you nothing. If you then take advice, the adviser charges you their own fee, which they should explain before starting. Anonymous chats with Helena have some limits, and a free account removes most of them.
How is Helena.finance paid?
Helena.finance is free to use. The financial advisers listed here pay us a flat fee to be included. We don't take commission and we don't get paid more if you become a client. Each adviser covers their own postcode areas, so when you search we show you the adviser for your area. If nobody covers your area yet, we recommend the nearest adviser. They work with clients anywhere in the UK, by video or in person. Helena.finance is run by Independent Check Ltd. We're not authorised to give financial advice ourselves; your adviser is.
How accurate are the calculators?
They give estimates based on the figures you enter and the UK rates shown on each calculator page. They are useful for seeing the size of a gap or a lump sum, but they can't account for everything in your circumstances. Check the figures with your pension provider or an adviser before acting on them.
Is my data safe?
Your conversations are not used to train AI models: not Claude (the AI behind Helena, run by Anthropic, which doesn't train on data sent through its API) and not any model of our own. We store your conversations and a short profile of your situation so Helena doesn't ask the same things twice. Data is held on UK/EU servers. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
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