A new partially online Financial Planning firm has no direct rivals and is different to robo-advisers, its founder has told Financial Planning Today.

Guy Myles aims to have attracted 10,000 clients to his new business Flying Colours within 5 years.

Mr Myles, a co-founder of Octopus Investments, said Flying Colours would be the “next generation of advice and investment management”.

Asked what he meant by this and what makes it so different to existing firms, he told Financial Planning Today: “We have utilised technology to reduce our costs while still offering professional, regulated, whole of market independent financial advice from a human. 

“Nobody has successfully combined technology with personalised whole of market independent financial advice to provide a truly affordable solution to UK investors which includes tax and investment advice.

“We believe we are the first company that has successfully utilised technology throughout the client journey with human financial advice to produce a solution which is affordable and accessible to all.

“So while there are many options for UK consumers, which is a good thing, we don’t believe we have direct rivals.”

Flying Colours is “different to robo-advice” because customers are partnered with a human adviser who work to understand their holistic needs and to achieve their financial goals, rather than an automated system, he explained. It employs 12 staff so far.

He said: “Unlike robo-advisers we offer fully independent financial advice, are able to recommend products from the whole of the market and can take tax problems into account.”

He said: “We want to increase the demand for Financial Planning and help change how people see investing in the UK. We are an ambitious company and are targeting 1000 customers by the end of year one and 10,000 within five years. We don’t see ourselves as being in competition with existing financial advisers because we expect to broaden the market to new types of investor.

“We'll offer D2C via a website, and we'll also form partnerships with advisory groups, wealth managers and accountancy firms. Finally we'll acquire clients from firms with portfolios too small to service profitably.”

The service includes phone and online meetings with an independent financial adviser, the creation of a personalised financial plan, long term Financial Planning, and investment management.

The total annual cost for advice, investment management, funds and platform fees was announced as 0.50% - 1.05% with an initial charge of up to 2% for complex Financial Planning with an adviser.

Mr Myles spent 14 years as managing director of Octopus Investments, before leaving in July 2014. He was a fund manager for Mercury Asset Management between 1994 and 2000.

Asked what inspired him to set up the new company, Mr Myles said: “A few years ago I started analysing investment returns and breaking everything down as a fund manager to see how I could improve results. During this work I looked at the experience of investors, how investments were bought and sold and the total costs.

“What shone out was how little was in my control as a fund manager. It was clear that the most important factors to the end result were working to a personalised plan, tax management, investment discipline and low costs. When I looked at the industry I could see structural problems stopping a change for the better and I thought I could do something about it. That was the idea behind Flying Colours.” 

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