Bristol Financial Planning firm Frazer James has scrapped its advice initial fee, “to remove the barriers that stop people from getting great financial advice.”

The firm said that until recently it charged £4,000 to £6,000 for a comprehensive financial plan.

Now it provides new clients with a plan for no charge and reckons its move will improve relationships with clients and encourage more people to get Financial Planning advice.

The axing of the firm's initial advice charge comes after FCA research revealed that only 9% of consumers pay for financial advice.

Chris Hindle, operations director at Frazer James, told Financial Planning Today: “If you survey clients about financial advice, it is almost always positive with many valuing advisers highly. But if you survey the public their view is almost always largely negative.

“We want to close that experience gap. We want to make financial advice more affordable and accessible.”

In a blog post explaining to clients why it's decided to scrap initial fees, the company said: “We’d rather earn trust first and be paid later. If that means giving up some revenue in the short term to build genuine, long-term relationships, we’re more than happy with that.”

The firm reckons a typical adviser charges a 2% initial fee and a 1% implementation fee, while it says it now charges nothing upfront.

The firm said: “Good advice shouldn't start with a big bill. Most financial advisers still charge hefty upfront fees. On a £500,000 investment portfolio, that’s £5,000–£10,000 before anything actually happens.”

Frazer James does still charge fees for ongoing advice, quoting up to 0.9% a year on its website, an amount that hasn’t been changed or increased to make up for the lost fees, according to Mr Hindle.

He said the move to scrap the fees is not a marketing or commercial decision. He said: “Initial fees make up just 7% of our revenue. We’ve just written those off. They’re a small part our business but represent a large barrier.”

He added: “We’d rather concentrate on delivering a continuous Financial Planning experience where we can be more collaborative with the client.”

Will other firms follow the move to scrap initial fees? Mr Hindle said that’s not really the point: “We’re just doing what we think is best for clients.”

In its blog, the company said: “Over time, we’ve seen the impact that quality advice can have. We’ve helped people retire earlier, invest more intelligently, reduce tax and make life-changing decisions with confidence. But we’ve also seen how large upfront fees can cause hesitation - and get in the way of real progress. 

“So we decided to change that.”

The firm has a client base of 115 households across the country and manages £105m of assets for its clients.