Case Study · Montfort Thinking
Don't Get Quotations: Build Your Brief First
One of the most common mistakes in international financial planning happens before the advice even starts: people get quotations before they've built the brief.
- The situation
- A common first step in international planning: asking for a quote before knowing the right question
- Key areas
- Financial CoachingInternational Planning
- The outcome
- A brief built around the client's goals, before any adviser is asked to quote
The situation
One of the most common mistakes we see in international financial planning happens before the advice has even started: people get quotations before they have built the brief.
A customer may approach three advisers and ask, “How much will you charge to transfer my pension overseas?” They believe they are comparing like with like. But what if transferring the pension is not the right thing to do? What if the real issues involve tax, residence, estate planning, investments, pensions in several countries, or where the customer intends to live in five or ten years' time?
If you don't know what you don't know, how can you know the right questions to ask?
Where things became complicated
The wrong starting question
Asking “how much to transfer my pension” assumes the transfer is already the right answer.
FISICs
This is one of the reasons we developed the concept of FISICs, Financially Impacted by Some International Connection. Living, working, investing, retiring or having family and financial interests across different countries can create consequences that are easily missed when each issue is considered separately.
Comparing like with like
Quotations only mean something when every adviser is answering the same, properly constructed brief.
The Montfort approach
01 Build the brief
Before asking advisers for quotations, we help clients build their brief. For many people it starts simply: what do you want your money to achieve, and what do you want to avoid?
02 Educate
From there comes education: what questions should you be asking, what are the risks, which countries and tax systems need considering, and what decisions need making now versus later.
03 Compare properly
Only once the brief is understood can you properly compare the advisers capable of delivering it.
The turning point
Don't start by shopping for quotations. Start by building the right brief.
International financial planning is rarely about finding a single product. It is about understanding the complete picture. The cheapest answer to the wrong question can prove to be a very expensive mistake.
The outcome
This is why education and financial coaching form an important part of the service Montfort provides. We want clients to understand their circumstances well enough to take part in the decisions being made about their financial future.
What this case shows
01 Look at the whole picture
Tax, residence, estate planning, investments and pensions across several countries are often the real issues, not the single product being quoted.
02 A transaction isn't always a solution
A quotation for a transfer answers the wrong question if the transfer isn't the right thing to do.
03 Being informed changes the outcome
Understanding your own brief is what makes it possible to compare advisers properly in the first place.
Understand your financial life
Montfort combines financial planning with education and coaching, so clients understand not just what to decide, but why. Being an informed client is often what makes the right decision possible in the first place.
Client names and certain identifying details have been changed to protect confidentiality. The circumstances and planning challenges described are based on real client experiences.
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