At Rose & North, we try to reflect our values in everything we do.
Here are some of the ways we are doing this.
Here are some of the ways we are doing this.
Hopefully our ethics and vulnerability policies speak for themselves but feel free to challenge us!
Ethics & Vulnerability
We believe financial planning has the power to change everyone's lives and we want our team to be advocates of this.
- The Rose & North team has flexible working hours (within our standard business hours which are 10am-5pm) - we believe everyone should be able to build the life they want
- We offer the Rose & North team free financial planning and provide a level of benefits typically associated with much larger firms
- Rose & North is proud to be inclusive as an employer and in relation to our clients; everyone is welcome at Rose & North
- We also have experience working with vulnerable clients (either long-term vulnerability as a result of a disability for example or short-term vulnerability brought about by serious illness for example), ensuring clients get the support they need, in the way they need it - we encourage clients to bring family or friends to meetings if they wish and invite clients to tell us how we can make things easier for them
- We aim to work with clients and other companies who share our ethical approach; we also use the independent business services offered by our clients, friends and local communities wherever we can
- We strive to meet the highest standards in terms of staff welfare, client service, qualifications, experience, ongoing training and life-long development, innovation, inclusion and diversity, regulatory compliance and our community engagement and impact and are happy to be held to account
- This is a long-term commitment to the ongoing development and evolution of Rose & North for the better
Vulnerable Clients
The term vulnerable means different things to different people. For us it means that we might want to take extra care when dealing with you and you might need some additional support from us in order to make the right choices.
If you are elderly or have a disability or long-term illness or condition, and this includes autistic people or those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - collectively known as neurodivergent individuals- and need additional support, please let us know.
You might also feel vulnerable for a period of time for other reasons such as serious illness, a recent bereavement, relationship breakdown or stress. We promise to take this into account in all our dealings with you and encourage you to let us know how we can help. You might not feel vulnerable or describe yourself this way and if we do, please don't take this the wrong way. We are just trying to offer you as much support and protection as we can on your journey with us.
Hayley, our founder and financial planner is proudly autistic and also has ADHD. She understands neurodivergence. She was also seriously ill some years ago. She understands and experiences vulnerability herself and ensures that everyone's needs are considered when dealing with us.
For everyone, we offer:
Email only contact if preferred
Video calls or phone calls for meetings
Captions on video calls for the hard of hearing
The ability to bring along a trusted family member or friend to a meeting/to join a call
Online access to forms and documents
Paper copies of documents on request
For clients using our ongoing services we also offer:
Online portal which you can use to message us and update your information as well as see your current plan values
Online cashflow modelling which you can access from home
Online access to your investment portfolio
Paper copies of documents on request
We can also provide audio assistance and documents in large print.
If there is something else you need, please let us know and we will try to accommodate this. We are trying to improve our support on an ongoing basis.
As we don't do many face to face meetings, we can be very flexible in terms of how we deal with you.
Rose and North is also a supporter of the vulnerability taskforce.
Ethical Investing
We know that some clients prefer to invest ethically if they can.
Recent changes have meant that the fund range available for ethical portfolios is now much greater but this is an area in constant flux at present.
Although we cannot replicate the breadth of asset allocation or performance (there are not funds in every asset class yet) in our ethical portfolios, we are comfortable that they compare well to our non-ethical portfolios.
- We offer optional ethical investment portfolios for all clients alongside standard investment portfolios
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than the amount invested.
Environment
We are regularly reviewing the Rose & North footprint. This is very much a work in progress as we investigate more efficient ways to operate.
- We no longer use a physical office on a day to day basis, working remotely and performing most meetings online and by phone
- We are an 'almost paperless' office; we use encrypted emails, a secure portal and DocuSign where we can to exchange information and sign forms and do not store paperwork (unfortunately, we are still obliged to submit paper forms to some providers but we continue to lobby for change)
Social Responsibility
We believe financial advice should be accessible to everyone.
We know that accessing bespoke financial advice and planning is expensive. Reviewing your situation in detail, obtaining and analysing your existing investments and preparing and implementing a suitable plan takes time and expertise.
- We are working hard to find ways to deliver guidance to as many people as we can so everyone can better assess whether and what type of expert advice they need and make more informed and better financial decisions, this will likely take the form of a library of articles to guide people in financial planning and we are working on this
- We want to empower you to make the choices that suit you in a way that puts you in the best possible position
- Hayley North also runs a new patient advocacy group CDKN2a & Me. Carriers of this rare genetic mutation are pre-disposed to some forms of cancer, including Melanoma
- Members of the Rose & North team are encouraged to contribute their time during working hours to their chosen charitable interests which currently include Shout Online Counselling and CDKN2a & Me.
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