Fernleigh Wearden & Company Ltd
Independent Financial Advisers
Four fields. That’s it.
One of our advisers will ring you back by the end of the next working day, at the time you asked for.
In a hurry? Call us on 01772 864314, 9am–5pm Monday to Friday.
About us
Most people are vulnerable at some point in their lives, usually through no fault of their own and rarely for long. Here is what that means for how we advise you.
Why this page exists
Vulnerability is not a category of person. It is a set of circumstances and most of us will pass through them at least once.
A bereavement. A diagnosis. A stroke that changes what somebody can manage. Caring for a parent while holding down a job. Divorce. Redundancy at fifty-eight. Simply reaching an age where paperwork that used to take an hour now takes a week.
Financial decisions do not politely wait for a good moment. They tend to arrive in exactly the weeks when a person has least capacity to make them and that is when poor advice does the most damage.
The clients we are proudest of helping are usually the ones who arrived at the worst possible time.
Fernleigh Wearden & Company Ltd
We are a member firm. The Taskforce is an independent, cross-industry body promoting good practice in how financial services treats consumers in vulnerable circumstances.
Our commitment
Membership of the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce is voluntary. Nobody made us join and no client would have noticed if we had not.
We joined because the alternative — treating vulnerability as a compliance box rather than a way of working — produces exactly the sort of advice we set this firm up to avoid.
It sits alongside our code of ethics, adopted in full from the Chartered Insurance Institute and our obligations under the FCA’s Consumer Duty.
In practice
Principles are easy to publish. These are the things we do differently and you are welcome to hold us to them.
There is no sales target here and no pressure to proceed. If now is not the right time to be making a decision, we will say so and wait. A decision delayed is almost always cheaper than a decision rushed.
A son or daughter, a friend, a solicitor. It often helps to have a second set of ears and we would far rather you had one than struggled through on your own.
Our recommendations come as a written report in plain English, yours to take away and read again, or show to somebody you trust. Nothing is agreed in a meeting and implemented before you have seen it.
If travelling is difficult, we will visit at home. If a care home is easier, we will meet there. Video works too and we are happy to walk somebody through it the first time.
When somebody dies there is an enormous amount of administration, most of it unfamiliar. We help our clients’ families through it and point towards the right support where it falls outside what we do.
You should not have to explain difficult circumstances twice. We will always endeavour to keep you with the same adviser and where that is not possible whoever helps you will already have read your file.
Where it comes up most
None of these is unusual. All of them are easier with somebody alongside you who has done it before.
Pensions, policies, probate and a great deal of correspondence arriving at once. We help sort out what needs doing now, what can wait and what somebody else should be handling.
Where a client is under a lasting power of attorney we will need to see the registered paperwork and the access codes before we can act. We will explain exactly what is required.
Often a whole family deciding quickly, under pressure, with figures nobody has seen before. There are more options than most people realise.
A diagnosis changes financial priorities quickly. It may change what protection can be arranged and it may change how you want your money to work.
In their words
After a recent bereavement I needed to rely on Mark to give me advice on a number of financial issues. This he did, not only in his usual professional way, giving me sound, clear and concise advice, but also in a caring and considerate manner that I appreciated at that difficult time. Thank you Mark for everything you have done.
Paul has always explained financial advice in the simplest ways so that I can understand and therefore can make a financial decision with confidence. Fernleigh Wearden & Company also advised me on my parent’s affairs after my mum died and lately my dad, which was done with the least fuss. Even the solicitor wanted to speak to him she was so impressed with their work.
Both Sue and I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks for all the financial planning and advice you have undertaken for us over the past 30 years. The expertise and attention to detail with which you, Paul and lately Mark have handled our financial affairs could not be faulted. Particularly reassuring to us is our feeling of certainty in the absolute integrity and commitment of all our dealings.
If you are worried about someone
A great many of the calls we take come from a son or daughter rather than the person themselves. That is completely normal and we are glad to take them.
We cannot discuss an existing client’s affairs with you without their permission, or the right legal authority in place. But we can talk in general terms, explain what would be involved and tell you what to gather before anybody sits down together.
If what you need falls outside financial advice — and often it does — we will point you towards the organisations that can help.
Independent help, free of charge
These are independent organisations. We have no connection to them and receive nothing for listing them here.
Common questions
It is not a judgement about a person. The FCA describes a vulnerable consumer as someone who, because of their circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm — particularly where a firm is not acting with appropriate care.
Those circumstances are usually temporary: a bereavement, an illness, a caring responsibility, a sudden change in income. Most people meet at least one of them during their lifetime.
Yes. Our code of ethics obliges us to act in your best interests and where it is not in your interests to proceed we have to say so — including on the occasions when proceeding would have earned us a fee. There are no sales targets here and nobody is under pressure to place business.
Please do. A family member, a friend, your solicitor or accountant — whoever helps you think clearly. It is very common and we would encourage it for any decision of significance.
We can work with whoever holds a registered lasting power of attorney or a deputyship and we will need to see the paperwork and the relevant access codes before dealing with the affairs concerned. If neither is in place, that becomes the first thing to sort out — and it is a solicitor’s job rather than ours.
Yes. Home visits are available and we are happy to meet at a care home if that suits the family better. Please see our costs page for how travel is charged.
Tell us. Circumstances change and a plan built around the old ones may no longer suit. We review with clients at least annually in any case, but there is no need to wait for that if something significant has happened.
Often relevant alongside this
Care costs, the means test, funding options and what the local authority will and will not pay for.
Read more RelatedThe five commitments we work to, adopted in full from the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Read more RelatedThe six steps, where the decisions sit and what nothing costs until you agree to it.
Read moreOur services
Advice areas overlap. Part of our job is spotting which ones actually apply to you.
Tell us when suits and an adviser will ring you back. The introductory call is free and there is no obligation afterwards.
