Working With Advisers

Where our role
ends.

Some financial decisions must be made with a regulated adviser. Knowing which ones — and why — is worth understanding before you speak to anybody.

You can check whether any firm is authorised, free of charge, on the Financial Services Register. That includes checking us.

The distinction

Information is not advice.

The difference is not a technicality. It determines who is responsible if something goes wrong, and what protection you have.

General information tells you how something works. Advice tells you what you should do.

Explaining what an ISA is, or how a pension differs from a general investment account, is information. Anyone can provide it.

Telling you that a particular product suits your circumstances is a personal recommendation — and that is a regulated activity. It can only be given by a firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We provide the first. We do not provide the second, and we will not be drawn into it, however the question is phrased.

Why it matters to you

What authorisation actually buys you.

Accountability

A duty to you

Authorised advisers must act in your best interests, assess suitability, and evidence why a recommendation fits your circumstances.

Recourse

The Ombudsman

If regulated advice goes wrong, you can take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at no cost to you.

Protection

The FSCS

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme may cover losses if an authorised firm fails. Limits and eligibility apply.

These protections attach to regulated activity carried out by authorised firms. They do not apply to us, because we are not authorised — which is precisely why we refer regulated matters onward rather than handling them.

Checking any firm

Three minutes, and worth doing every time.

The Financial Services Register is the FCA’s public record of every authorised firm and individual. It is free, and it is the only authoritative source.

Step one

Search the Register

Go to register.fca.org.uk and search the firm’s name or reference number. Type the address yourself rather than following a link someone sent you.

Step two

Match the details

Check the firm’s address, phone number and website against what you were given. Cloned-firm fraud copies genuine details and changes only the contact route.

Step three

Check the permissions

Authorisation is not general. A firm may be authorised for one activity and not another. The Register lists exactly what each firm may do.

Our status

Check us too.

You will not find St James Finance Ltd on the Register as an authorised firm, because we are not one. We would rather you learn that from us, on this page, than discover it later and wonder what else went unsaid.

How we work
Contact

Send an enquiry

Tell us a little about you and we’ll come back to you. This form is for general enquiries only — please don’t include investment instructions, account numbers, or sensitive personal information.

Your details are used only to respond to your enquiry — see our privacy policy. St James Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the FCA, and nothing here constitutes investment advice.