About Us

Phillip Masters Independent Financial Advisers Ltd was established over 15 years ago by Phillip Masters, who is the Managing Director of the Practice.

During the year 2000, Phillip created the Wealth Improvement Programme™ as he saw that the service provided by the major pension providers had not benefited his clients, whereas using a new online fund management system would be a way of improving fund performance at a lower cost and with greater diversification of asset allocation.

He opened it up to the general public after first testing it using his own funds and those of some of his trusting friends. The whole ethos of the programme is that the funds selected are managed by the best fund managers in their sector and once funds are purchased no individual will pay a second initial charge, no matter how many times funds are switched. This is possible due to the advanced online fund management system which results in lower costs when selling and re-purchasing another fund. These savings are passed on to the client and can be as much as 96% less than normal initial charges.

At Phillip Masters IFA Ltd we are able to hold both funds and cash, depending upon which is best for the client. This gives us an ethical trading stance as well as an advantage over the normal pension provider, as we are not put in a position whereby we have to keep money in funds when cash may be a better proposition.

Not only can we show you a better way of investing your pension money but we can also help you with your ongoing investments, Peps, ISAs, unit trust stocks and shares. All can be held within your portfolio.

The programme is designed so that your portfolio will be reviewed by the practice at least four times a year unless circumstances within the global economy deem it beneficial to move from one fund or sector to another before the review would normally take place.

The Wealth Improvement Programme™ is based on impartial professional advice with frequent reviews and our advisers have regular meetings with the top fund managers or their representatives on an ongoing basis. This allows us to formulate our ideas as to which sectors or funds we should be recommending. This along with our online fund management system allows us to cherry-pick the very best funds from the 4000 plus that are available.

Please note that every portfolio is bespoke and an individual arrangement for that client and therefore each portfolio will be slightly different depending on risk, age, and requirement.

If you like our strategies then why not have a free 30 minute no obligation interview with one of our financial advisers? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Disillusioned investors

From our experience, working with our clients, we have found that most people who invest their hard-earned money in a portfolio made up of pensions and other investments (such as Peps, ISAs and Unit Trusts) are frustrated by its performance. They are also worried that their portfolio will not generate enough income to fund their retirement.

Our research shows that investors have a right to be worried. Many pension funds and investment plans under-perform because they are not given the attention they deserve. The danger is that if your portfolio is not managed properly, you may not achieve the financial security you would like in the future.

That is why we created this website to help you understand the extent of the problem, and to show you what can be done to enhance the performance of your plan so you can achieve financial security.

Make better use of existing investments

Many people are sitting on a collection of old pension policies that are languishing in dud investment funds. Often these funds were sold by major banks, building societies and insurance companies. Others may simply be funds that were good performers when they were bought years ago, but have since gone off the boil.

The most common type of fund sold can be found in the UK All Companies sector, where funds look for capital growth – but within the sector, the performance of funds can vary widely. Recent results range from 25% down to 8%, and the compound effect over a number of years can make an enormous difference to the eventual value of your pension pot.

Where to invest?

As an investor, you can choose from a huge number of funds, but only a relative handful are worth considering. These have fund managers who have a consistent track record for good investment decisions – knowing when to buy, and also when to sell.

It is also necessary to be aware of the investment rules for each fund; for instance, it might be obliged to reflect the performance of the FTSE All Share Index or track the movement of the FTSE 100 Index, however poorly these are performing. The funds on offer through banks, building societies and insurance companies are rarely recommended by IFA's, who generally look to active fund managers, and carefully monitor their performance.

In this environment of low inflation and low growth, it is even more important to assess your funds to ensure that they are achieving decent returns.