Four principles, and a list of what we will not do.

The principles are not new. Publishing what we refuse, in writing, on a page a client can hold us to, is the part most firms leave out.

Transparency beats hidden costs

Fees explained on one page before you sign. No commission from anyone we recommend, ever, in any form.

Partners carry files

The person in the first meeting does the work. This limits how many engagements we take, deliberately.

Partnership over transaction

We stay on a file through execution. A one-off fee earned by handing over a deck is not the business we want.

Evidence over opinion

Nothing goes in a recommendation that we cannot source. Where we do not know, we say we do not know.

Our NOs

The list, published because it is the most useful thing we can tell you.

No
hidden costs. Every fee, disbursement and third-party cost is on the engagement letter before work starts.
No
commission. We take no consideration from insurers, developers, brokers or vendors we recommend. Employer-paid fees only.
No
unlicensed work. We are not licensed as an insurance broker, intermediary, consultant or third-party administrator, nor as a property broker or clinical provider. Licensed work goes to licensed parties.
No
invented proof. No client name, logo, testimonial or number appears on this site unless it is true and permitted.
No
unstaffed engagements. If a partner cannot carry the file, we decline it rather than resource it thinly.
No
work we would not fund ourselves. If we would not spend our own money on the recommendation, we do not make it.
No
scope creep by invoice. Scope changes are re-agreed in writing before they are worked, not after.

Adapted from the list RedDot Life published and operated by.

The returned cheque

The clearest test of a principle is what it costs. On one mandate the work delivered less than what the client had been led to expect, and the fee was returned rather than argued over. It is on this page because it is the standard we intend to be held to, not because it is a story that flatters us.

What this means in practice

A first call that ends in a referral elsewhere is a good outcome.
Aggregated, anonymised data on any benefits work.
Written files at handover, not slideware.
A limited number of live engagements at any time.

Next step

A 45-minute briefing, no fee, no deck.

Bring the decision you are trying to make. We will tell you whether we are the right firm for it, and what we would do in the first thirty days.

Book a briefing →Email the founder