Who Are We

An easy claim to make, but we believe we are the only property biased firm of IFAs (Independent Financial Advisers) in the UK. Try to find another one and let us know if you do, but we doubt you will.

Although the roots of the firm are as ‘conventional’ IFAs dealing with clients’ mortgage, investment, pension, motor & home insurance needs, over a long period of time, our ‘non property’ activities have moved into specialist areas.

At the Bath office, our sole focus is property and mortgages. Most of our work is in the area of advice, where no product is recommended. We have found people appreciate being able to discuss their often complex financial affairs without the fear of being ‘sold to’. We are equally at home giving you advice on the best mortgage deal as we are assisting with the complex issues often found in the development and management of property portfolios.

Independence is something we are particularly proud of. We would prefer to be paid for our time, so we can give you good advice and recommend the best course of action for you, rather than something which pays the most commission. Unlike your bank or a ‘tied agent’ typically found in an estate agency, our focus is valuable advice, taking into account your needs. This can only be achieved when the issue of remuneration is in the open. It is for our help and advice our clients think of us, rather than any product we may recommend, though we are also particularly adept at rooting out the best deals in the marketplace.

The majority of our business comes from personal recommendation – elsewhere on this site you will find testimonials from some of our many satisfied clients.

History

The original Edison Associates company was formed by John Moon in 1992, though clients had been dealing with him for many years whilst he was gaining valuable experience as a commercial and personal lender and underwriter for Nat West and TSB and his time as manager of a small independent finance company in the Bath area.

In 2000, Edison Associates joined forces with Ford and Company Independent Financial Planning of Yate, (founded in the late ’80’s by Mike Ford), their relationship dating back to the early days of Edison Associates, when the two firms cooperated on specialist matters, such as general insurance. This enabled the two businesess to be rationalised, so for example, all John’s clients with general insurance needs are now dealt with by Edison Ford’s Yate office.

John believes it is very important not to lose the personal touch, so often missing when dealing with large institutions. Nevertheless, Edison Ford works with specialists for every area of financial advice.

Although most clients are from the Bath area, many are from all parts of the UK (and some outside too), We are happy to deal by post, phone and e-mail or to meet face to face, usually at our Bath office.

Our Core Principles

We believe once you understand the basic philosophy of how we work and do business, you will want to entrust your financial affairs to us. This is probably far more important than the products we are involved with or our technical knowledge. We believe these principles are fundamental to our relationship with you:

  • Act in your best interests

  • Think long term

  • Care passionately about what we do

  • Add value

  • Do what we say we will do

  • Ensure you fully understand what you are doing and why

What Do We Expect From You?

Any business relationship should be seen as a partnership. Just as we are prepared to make certain commitments to you, we feel it’s important for us to outline how we would like you to deal with us.

We feel you will benefit most from our relationship by bearing in mind to:

  • Keep us updated about your personal situation

  • Be open with us about your circumstances

  • Tell us if we fall short of your expectations

  • Appreciate how we get paid

  • Recommend us to others if you value what we do

How Do We Get Paid?

There is a common misunderstanding financial advice is free. Whilst we are happy to impart valuable advice to our clients without making a specific charge, adding value wherever possible, we believe it is important for us to be properly remunerated for our efforts, especially as we are often able to make or save our clients very substantial sums of money. We have helped create a number of property millionaires.

Some advisers make much of the fact they do not charge to arrange mortgages or spend time with you. We are proud to make a charge as this allows us to be fully independent and to focus on finding you the very best deals in the market place. Some lenders or providers do not pay fees to introducers and yet have attractive deals. Is it likely the ‘fee free’ financial adviser will recommend one of those products to you? Not unless they are a non profit making charity! There is a saying ‘buy cheap, buy twice’. We would ask you to bear this in mind when selecting the kind of adviser you wish to do business with.

For some time, we have offered clients the opportunity to choose how we should be remunerated. Which suits you depends on your circumstances and the work involved.

Not all firms charge for advice in the same way. We will discuss your payment options with you and answer any questions you have. We will not charge you anything until you have agreed how we are to be paid.

Rates

Hourly Rate
Principal/Director/Partner £150-200 per hour

Financial adviser £100-150 per hour

Administration 
£50 per hour
Set Rates

Advising on and arranging a residential or simple ‘buy to let’ mortgage:

Administration fee, non refundable £395 minimum
Arrangement fee £265 minimum, payable upon receipt of mortgage offer.

The fee could be much higher for commercial or difficult cases or those involving a significant amount of expertise or work, but we will tell you if that is the case.

Other Work
Full financial review c.£800
Reviewing your life cover arrangements c.£350

You may ask us for an estimate of how much in total we might charge. You may also ask us not to exceed a given amount without checking with you first. Please ask for our ‘key facts’ documentation and ‘client agreement’ for further details.

Our Relationships

We believe in supporting our local community and worthwhile causes. Our two favoured charities are for the benefit of children in countries where the word poverty has a far greater meaning than in the UK. Our oldest cause is the M’Lop Tapang school for homeless street kids in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, which John Moon has personally visited. Please see their website www.mloptapang.org for more details.

Please support them in any way you can as the work done by the school is fantastic, in very difficult circumstances. We have also supported the work of the U Foundation for the poor children of Zambia. All of the money raised goes to the children – there are no administration or other charges taken out of it. You can donate directly to them by clicking here.

Environmental Responsibility

John Moon has long been an advocate of energy efficiency and the use of less resources. As a service industry where our words are our product, we are limited in what we can cut back on. Nevertheless, we recycle our paper and have streamlined the office to make everything as electronic as possible. Our post is a fraction of what it used to be.

Our office rebuild programme has seen our offices become much better insulated, with the latest energy efficient heating. This is relatively easy for everyone to do and something which could massively reduce the world’s energy needs if adopted universally. It’s very cost effective and has become part of our general financial advice, as the long term benefits are huge.

Finally

We have built our business on forming close relationships with our clients and giving highly personalised advice over a long period of time. However, we are happy to deal with you in whichever way suits you best, whether that be by appointment at our offices, personal visit at your home or office, by post or e-mail. Please contact us using whichever medium you prefer.