Financial advisers at Titan Wealth have been offered a bonus opportunity linked to getting clients to agree to fee changes.
The wealth management and Financial Planner consolidator has offered its advisers a bonus based on moving a set number of clients across to a new charging model in a scheme launched in June.
The bonus scheme was revealed by news organisation Dow Jones who were forwarded a communication which had been sent to Titan Wealth’s advisers.
As a consolidator, Titan Wealth has a number of different charging schemes which have been inherited from acquired firms. The bonus scheme was designed to help move clients onto a single charging structure, bringing greater consistence to client fees across the firm.
When approached by Financial Planning Today, a spokesperson from Titan Wealth said the bonus scheme was part of the firm's efforts to bring more consistency following a large number of acquisitions.
He said: "Whilst we acknowledge that some of the language used in the communication could have been clearer, it is important to view it within the broader context of a wider Consumer Duty driven programme, designed to harmonise client charging structures across acquired businesses.
"The fee harmonisation programme, introduced for new clients from 1 June and being implemented for existing clients through annual reviews, results in fee increases for some clients and fee reductions for others, but importantly consistency for all.
"Adviser remuneration is linked to a broad assessment framework, including KPIs aligned to Consumer Duty and client outcomes, not simply fee levels. The communication highlights the impact of fee increases on remuneration but does not reflect that advisers are equally affected when fees are reduced.
"Any suggestion that advisers are incentivised solely to increase charges does not accurately represent our remuneration framework or the controls we have in place to ensure alignment with Consumer Duty and the delivery of fair value for clients."
Titan Wealth has been acquiring Financial Planning businesses since US private equity firm Parthenon Capital took a controlling stake in the firm in 2023.
In January, Titan Wealth competed its acquisition of Financial Planner IWP, adding £6.9bn of client assets and bringing the firm’s total assets to £44bn. The acquisition added IWP’s two trading businesses (IWP Financial Planning Limited and IWP Investment Management Limited) to Titan Wealth.
There are more major acquisitions currently in the works for the wealth manager and Financial Planner.
The deal will add approximately £900m of assets under advice to Titan’s international business, along with 13 financial advisers. The deal remains subject to regulatory approval.
Formerly part of the Fry Group, Progeny International is a tax-led Financial Planning business with offices in Belgium, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Titan said the deal should significantly strengthen its international presence, as well as enhancing its ability to provide integrated wealth management solutions to clients with international interests.
Other former acquisitions for the firm include LTS Tax Limited, a tax advisory firm in the Channel Islands, £600m AUA Plymouth-based Financial Planning firm Sound Financial Management Limited, £590m AUA Chester-based Financial Planning firm Innes Reid Investment Limited, £650m AUA Bath Financial Planning firm Morgans Limited, and the £2.2bn AUM Blacktower group of companies, a significant player in the international advice market.
It also recently launched a dedicated sports division. The division targets elite athletes and executives with bespoke financial services, education, and career transition pathways.
London-headquartered Titan Wealth was formed in 2021 and has four main divisions, platform, custody, discretionary fund management and Financial Planning. Its Financial Planning division is made up of Titan Financial Planning Ltd (formerly Goldsborough Wealth), Telford Mann Ltd and Prism Financial Advice Ltd.
Titan has also said that it plans on further international expansion for later this year, as well as looking for more acquisitions in the UK and abroad.