National Chartered Financial Planning-focused firm Fairstone has revamped its client charging structure and cut its ongoing charge for standard clients by 20 basis points to 0.8%.

The firm - one of the largest Financial Planners in the UK - says it has made the changes to reflect the FCA's Consumer Duty changes.

It has simplified its charging structure from three levels to one with the aim reducing complexity and “increasing consistency” across its core offering.

Previous propositions will be merged into one ActivePlan service, moving away from a three-tier structure to one default service and single charging structure.

ActivePlan will have an ongoing advice fee of 80 basis points, 20 basis points lower than Fairstone’s previous top-tier ActivePlan Plus service, however the rate is an increase of 5 basis points for previous standard ActivePlan service clients.

Fairstone says the revamped ActivePlan proposition will give every client the same core level of service, allowing them to add additional features for more specific needs.

Because of the change all clients will be able to receive more of the benefits which were previously only available through its premium level ActivePlan Plus offering, Fairstone says.

Clients with less complex financial needs can now also access Fairstone’s remote advice service Mineral, which offers access to professional advice and personal support via digital channels.

Lee Hartley, CEO at Fairstone said: “Over the last 12 months, we have been working hard to ensure we met our new Consumer Duty obligations as well as looking at a new strategic direction for the group which is aligned to these new standards and focuses on simplicity and consistency.

“This is the first time we have updated our service offering in 15 years and clearly this initiative has required a significant amount of change, however, we are doing this from a position of strength. We know our streamlined proposition will mean we continue to provide the best service for our clients while meeting the requirements of Consumer Duty on an ongoing basis; and ensure less variability in our charging structure.

Fairstone operates from over 55 locations in the UK and Ireland with a head office in Sunderland and a City office. It offers financial management, private wealth, corporate solutions, mortgage solutions and estate planning. The national firm has more than 1,200 staff and regulated advisers and oversees £15bn in funds under management on behalf of more than 55,000 wealth management clients.