The distinction between restricted and independent advice was introduced following the Retail Distribution Review to provide greater clarity around how financial advice is delivered.
Both models are designed to help clients achieve suitable outcomes and both require advisers to fully understand a client’s circumstances, objectives and attitude to risk before making recommendations.
Independent advice has the ability to consider products and providers from across the wider market when making recommendations.
Restricted advice operates within a carefully selected and governed range of solutions chosen on the basis of quality, suitability, oversight and consistency.
For investments, Mattioli Woods operates a restricted advice model.
In practice, this means we provide investment advice using a carefully curated range of investment solutions selected through disciplined governance, research and oversight processes. Many of our core investment solutions are managed internally or developed alongside leading external investment managers such as BlackRock, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and T. Rowe Price.
Many of these solutions also utilise open-architecture investment approaches, allowing underlying investments and specialist managers to be selected from across the wider market.
In certain specialist areas – particularly tax-efficient investments, private markets and specialist planning solutions – we may also assess carefully selected third-party solutions from the wider market where we believe additional expertise or investment access may benefit clients.
Our approach is built around curation rather than simply maximising the number of available options. The aim is not to limit choice, but to provide clarity, governance and confidence in the solutions recommended.
