About Us

Our Company

Expert Financial Solutions Ltd are independent financial advisers (IFA) based in Witney, Oxfordshire.

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, our FSA number is 401295.

You can check our FSA authorisation by entering our FSA number 401295 on the FSA register here.

You can also check our individual authorisations.

Our company was formed in October 2004 and is owned and managed by three IFAs who have in excess of 60 years experience between them and are highly qualified at advanced level by professional body examinations to provide independent financial advice. Although we are a small company we pride ourselves on our very high standards of client care and attention as well as the skill and knowledge services that we provide.

Each adviser is a member of the professional body for financial advisers, the Personal Finance Society and our company is a member of The Association of Independent Financial Advisers.

We also work with local professionals including Stanger Stacey and Mason (for pensions on divorce, wills and trusts) and Morgan Harris accountants and business advisors.

Our people

Our people are at the heart of our business and on this page you will find a brief resume of our directors / advisers and office manager. We also provide a list of each adviser’s qualifications so it may be helpful to explain what these are and what they mean.

Financial planning qualifications are awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). The Personal Finance Society (PFS) is part of the CII and is the professional body for financial advisers.

All our IFAs are members of the PFS which has a Code of Ethics and Conduct for members available here.

The minimum qualification for financial advisers is the Certificate in Financial Planning (or its predecessor, the Financial Planning Certificate). Advisers with this qualification are awarded the designation ‘Cert PFS’.

However, this qualification is the bare minimum that advisers need. Many areas of financial advice can be very complicated and demand a higher level of knowledge. More specialist professional qualifications are on offer for complicated areas like pensions, tax planning, trusts and investment.

Advisers with higher-level qualifications are awarded the designation of ‘Dip PFS’ which means Member by Diploma. Advisers follow the syllabus of the Diploma in Financial Planning and the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, run by the CII. This qualification is accredited with the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority (QCA) as “CII level 4 Diploma in Financial Planning”. Level 4 is equivalent to a certificate of higher education, an NVQ or a diploma in occupational education.

Research by IFA Promotion showed that out of around 8,148 advisers registered with them only 1,107 are accredited at Diploma level.

Our IFAs are qualified at least to Diploma level and Dominic Spalding has achieved the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, with the designation APFS, and is a Chartered Financial Planner. This is determined as a QCA level 6 qualification, and is equivalent to an honours degree.

July 2008

Expert Financial Solutions Ltd are independent financial advisers (IFA) / financial planners based in Witney, Oxfordshire. We serve the local community in and around Abingdon, Banbury, Bampton, Bicester, Burford, Chipping Norton, Cheltenham, Cirencester, the Cotswolds, Henley on Thames, Kidlington, Lechlade, Oxford, Wantage, Witney and Woodstock. We specialise in pensions, retirement planning, pension annuities, investments including PEP, ISA, OEIC, unit trusts and investment bonds, and inheritance tax (IHT) mitigation and trust investment. One of our advisers is a Chartered Financial Planner and we are proud of having Oxfordshire's only Resolution qualified and accredited IFA for pensions on divorce.