Evidence

What clients noticed in the work

These notes refer to real engagement types we offer. Names are shortened at the client’s request; the constraints and outcomes are specific to each file.

Comprehensive financial planning review

“Miriam mapped our two workplace pensions against a school-fee timeline we had only scribbled on a kitchen calendar. The written plan told us which ISA to fill first and which contribution to pause — something our previous adviser never put on paper.”
— Tom & Priya R., Surrey

Retirement income review

“James was frank that my proposed drawdown rate looked thin if care costs arrived early. We delayed one holiday home idea and bought a modest annuity slice instead. The meetings ran long, which I minded at first, but the spreadsheet finally matched the life we actually live.”
— Margaret L., after leaving a NHS role

Investment second opinion

“They refused to rubber-stamp a structured note my bank was pushing. Fees alone would have eaten three years of expected upside. I stayed in a simple global tracker inside my ISA and slept better.”
— Daniel K., company director

Protection & estate cover audit

“Sophie found a life policy still written in my maiden name and a critical-illness sum that no longer covered the mortgage. Sorting the trust forms took longer than I hoped, but at least we know the cover would reach the children.”
— Aisha N., Manchester

Extended note

Director exit: aligning pension and share sale timing

A manufacturing director approaching a trade sale needed to know whether to accelerate pension contributions before completion or preserve cash for a house move. North Quay ran a comprehensive planning review alongside the company’s accountant.

Constraints included an incomplete SIPP valuation, a spouse with unused ISA allowance, and a completion date that shifted twice. We delivered a sequenced memorandum: contribution levels for the current tax year, a holding pattern for the bonus expected at sale, and a protection check on key-person cover that the buyer’s lawyers later required.

The client later commissioned a short investment second opinion on the cash proceeds before choosing a discretionary manager. We remained independent of that manager’s fee.

Discuss a similar engagement

Extended note

Early retirement with a defined benefit underpin

A couple with one final-salary pension and two DC pots wanted to leave work at 58. The retirement income review showed that bridging to state pension age required a lower spending figure than they first named, or a part-time consultancy bridge.

They chose the consultancy path for two years. We documented the revised cash-flow and flagged that income protection would lapse when employment ended — a gap they then closed through a separate protection audit.