148 reviews | 3 verified advisers
Review for Toby Band
What could they have done better?
My only minor issue is a rarely seen disconnect between FSW and their partners who manage the IRA (in London) on their behalf. (And this partner uses a 3rd party vendor to actually manage my IRA in the US so it's a bit complicated.) I've asked a few questions to Toby and sometimes he had to go to the fund manager to inquire. This is fine of course, however on one occasion the reply from the partner (after a couple of back and forth emails) was still not answered satisfactorily (in my opinion) so then had to ask this query to my own accountant as it concerned dual taxation. I do feel that for the fees involved some types of general questions should already be known and, ideally, if there is a way to mitigate the issue. There are many US/UK dual nationals (or US citizens living in the UK) and as FSW and their fund manager partner work with them would like to see a FAQ, for example, for clients in a similar situation. (To be fair, the idea for a FAQ just came to me as I was writing this review.)
What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial adviser?
I was planning to retire in the next year, and although had pension funds in the UK and US, realised it could become rather complicated as am a dual citizen so need to be mindful of both countries regulations. I therefore decided to look for an adviser that specialised in this and spoke to 4 different firms. Toby was a cut above all the other firms as he listened to my presentation and asked good questions and offered some advice there and then. He explained, in the right level of detail, the different types of advice First Sentinel Wealth (FSW) offers and what would be most appropriate for my particular circumstances. Many of the others just seemed to be following a script and not really all that interested.
How has Toby helped you?
Frankly, in innumerable ways. A key attribute, although not financial, is his approachability and willingness to listen and then offer advice. These are 'volatile' times and as I'm now at the beginning of my early retirement want to ensure I'm doing the right thing with my private pension/IRAs so it lasts for many more years before I can collect my state pensions in both countries. I've therefore questioned a few things in my IRA portfolio with him and he explained why certain decisions were taken by the fund manager with FSWs partner. At the beginning when he ran various financial models using my income, outgoings and pension/IRA streams, he took great care in explaining all the various scenarios and then we chose the best path forward based on these models. Financially, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the market and, so far, have managed to weather the storm fairly well. I am sure that if I was still just managing everything myself I would not be in the same financial situation.
Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?
Definitely very happy so far and have been working with Toby since last September. Considering the global situation, my IRAs have, for the most part, done reasonably well and I attribute this both to Toby and their fund manager partner. Hopefully I'll be able to carry on working with Toby for the long term too!
Review for Toby Band
How has Toby helped you since your last review?
He helped me with my investment
Review for Toby Band
How has Toby helped you since your last review?
Tobias has been very helpful in regards to administering of the savings plan and also the crystallisation of my pension fund
Review for Toby Band
What could they have done better?
I have been very happy with the service that Toby has provided. He listened to my requirements and came up with a viable proposal that we are now in the process of executing.
What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial adviser?
As I approached retirement I needed a financial advisor who I could trust to deliver good value. I want to spend as little time as possible in my retirement focusing on investment returns when there are able people with strong ethics who can do it for me.
How has Toby helped you?
Before any commitment, Toby and I discussed my financial status and future objectives. We also talked about his own approach to investment and how it aligned with First Sentinel Wealth. Once I was confident that we could work together, I signed up with Toby and the FSW team, which was a very efficiently managed process. At his point Toby set up short, medium and long term plans to deliver the necessary growth to meet the different objectives we discussed and verified that the investment funds did not have exposure to markets that I expressly didn't want to include. We agreed to review these plans on a yearly and five-year basis to make necessary adjustments. I receive a regular newsletter from the FSW team with useful insights and information on the current state of the markets.
Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?
I've only been working with Toby for the last six months during which Trump 2.0 has caused significant market volatility. I'm still trust Toby to deliver good results against the original plans but I'm aware that we might have to adjust those plans over the short term.
Review for Toby Band
What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial adviser?
After receiving some poor advice from another firm I was recommended the services of First Sentinel to help me navigate the complexities of investing as a dual national.
How has Toby helped you?
Toby has helped simplify the process of investing and provided much needed advice on my financial matters.
Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?
Yes, I am happy with how Toby's recommendations have been implemented.
