Frequently asked questions

Use the enquiry form on our Contact page or call us during office hours. We offer a free 30-minute introductory call, without obligation, to understand your situation and explain how our research and planning support works. If we are not the right fit, we will say so plainly and, where we can, point you towards a suitable alternative.

Nothing formal is required. It helps to have a rough picture of your major assets, any workplace or personal pensions, ISAs, and the goals you are working towards. We do not need account statements or personal identification for an introductory conversation, and we will never ask you to transfer money or share passwords.

Our research and planning support is available to clients across the whole of the United Kingdom. Most of our work is done by video call and secure email, so location rarely matters. For clients who prefer face-to-face meetings, we host appointments at our London office by arrangement.

We publish our fees openly on our Fees page. Research briefs and second-opinion reviews are fixed-fee pieces of work quoted before we start. There are no commissions, no percentage-of-assets charges and no ongoing deductions from your accounts, because we never hold client money in the first place.

A regulated adviser gives personal recommendations and may manage money on your behalf; firms doing that must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. We sit deliberately outside that model. We provide research, education and planning frameworks so that you can make and implement your own decisions. When our work is done, the decisions – and the responsibility for them – remain yours.

Each brief covers the economic backdrop, valuation context across the major asset classes, and the specific themes relevant to your questions – for example, how UK interest-rate expectations interact with bond prices, or what concentration risk looks like in a portfolio dominated by a handful of US technology shares. We explain the reasoning in plain English and flag what would change our view.

As a written framework, not a recommended product list. We explain the role of each asset class – equities, bonds, property, cash and alternatives – and show how different allocations have behaved across past market environments. You choose the platform, funds and shares; we give you the questions to ask before you commit.

No. Naming specific securities as a personal recommendation is a regulated activity, and we are not authorised to conduct it. What we can do is explain how to compare funds – costs, tracking, holdings overlap, style drift – so that when you read a fund factsheet you know exactly what you are looking at.

We do not. Stonehaven Investments never holds, receives or transmits client funds. Any money you invest goes directly between you and the provider you choose – a platform, a pension scheme or a bank. This structural separation is deliberate: it removes an entire category of risk from our relationship.

We do not, and you should treat any firm that does with extreme caution. Investments carry risk: values fall as well as rise. Our role is to help you understand and size those risks, not to pretend they can be wished away. Every document we publish carries this warning.

We process personal data under UK GDPR. Data is stored on encrypted, UK-based systems, access is limited to the consultants working on your file, and we never sell or share your details with third parties for marketing. Our Privacy Policy sets out exactly what we collect, why, and how to have it erased.

Tell us first – most issues are resolved the same week. Write to us and a director who was not involved in the original work will review it and respond within ten working days. Because we do not conduct regulated activities, the Financial Ombudsman Service does not cover our work; we say this openly in our Terms of Service rather than leaving clients to discover it later.

It depends on the engagement. A research brief typically involves one kickoff call and one presentation call. Ongoing planning support includes a scheduled review each quarter, plus reasonable email access in between. We do not believe in calling clients merely to be seen to be busy.

Both. The majority of client conversations happen by video call, which keeps fees down and scheduling flexible. London-based clients can meet at our Fenchurch Avenue office, and we can arrange meetings elsewhere in the UK for larger engagements.

For planning support, no – we work with clients at every stage, from first-time investors to those with established portfolios. For firm clients we occasionally decline work where we genuinely cannot add value; we would rather refer you elsewhere than take a fee for telling you what you already know.

Send the enquiry form or call. We will arrange the free introductory call, agree in writing what work makes sense and what it will cost, and only then begin. Nothing is charged until you have approved a written scope.