Direct Independent Financial Consultants (IFC) Ltd. is an independent and privately-owned professional financial services firm. Whether you are looking for personal or corporate advice and guidance, our practice covers all the main areas of financial planning.
Welcome to Direct
Services we offer:
* Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future -Tax planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
About Direct
30 years in the making
The Direct IFC practice was established in 1995 under the management of Forrest Wheeler and Nick Hutton – who together have over 50 years combined experience. Direct IFC has a proven track record in providing optimum financial solutions for a wide spectrum of clients, guiding them to achieve their financial aims and safeguarding their futures.
As we are an independent practice we are able to select from the products and services of a wide range of providers, to find the options that genuinely suit our clients’ needs. As our testimonials show, we enjoy longstanding relationships with our clients who value our efficient and effective financial planning services.
Why Direct IFC?
Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) are professionals trained to assist you in making the most effective financial decisions for your situation. As financial markets fluctuate and tax laws change, you need to be sure your financial decisions remain appropriate. It is the role of the IFA to keep up with developments and changes and advise you accordingly. IFAs are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and, as such, are bound by law to research all suitable options in order to offer the solution best-suited to your needs.
Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future – Tax planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
How can Direct help me ?
At Direct IFC, we pride ourselves on really getting to know our clients in order to fully understand their needs – both now and for the future.
Identifying the optimum solution is a critical element to our work. Our highly-experienced advisers keep abreast of the latest changes in the financial arena and work with sophisticated analysis software to ensure that an appropriate solution is selected to meet our client’s requirements. As an independent practice, products recommended are from a fair and comprehensive analysis of the market.
The Team
Forrest Wheeler, Director
Forrest, a Chartered Financial Planner, is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (FPFS), the highest honour available to independent financial advisers. Fewer than 3% of UK advisers have been awarded this prestigious status, which means he joins a very select group who have proved their skill and ethical good practice across a wide range of subjects.
Nick Hutton, Director
Nick joined the financial services industry over 32 years ago amassing a vast amount of experience primarily in customer- focused roles.
Together with Forrest Wheeler, Nick set up Direct IFC in 1995 where he works as a general practitioner, using his in-depth knowledge to specialise in protection both for individuals and businesses alike with Investments, Pensions and inheritance tax planning.
Products & Services
A range of services to help plan your future
Both in business and personal life it is vital to protect against the effects of unforeseen circumstances.
For companies with a responsibility to employees and shareholders or individuals who have financial commitments, Direct offer a wide range of flexible plans to cover all your needs. planning.
Personal
- Term Assurance
- Whole of Life
- Long Term Care
- Death in Service
- Income Protection
- Critical Illness
- Private Health Schemes
- Succession Planning
Corporate
- Key Man Policies
- Share Protection
- Partnership Protection
- Income Protection
- Private Medical Insurance
Most people can now expect to enjoy many years of retirement and, with this in mind, it is vital to ensure your plans are in place to ensure those years can be enjoyable and relaxing.
Personal
- Personal Pension Plans
- Stakeholder Pension Advice
Corporate
- Executive Pension Plans
- Small Self-Administered Schemes
- Final Salary Schemes
- Funded Unapproved Retirement benefit Schemes
- Stakeholder Pension Advice
Maximising your investment potential can be a complex and intricate activity. Direct will work with you to help meet your investment objection.
Personal
- Ethical Investment Planning
- National Savings
- Individual Savings Accounts (ISA’s)
- GILTS
- Investment Bonds
- Unit Trusts
- Investment Trusts
- Portfolio Planning
Corporate
- Offshore Investment
- Succession Planning
- Deposit Accounts
Investments: We help people to get the best from their investments where possible and make sure they are happy with the level of risk they are taking. We take into account peoples view on ESG ( Environmental Social and Governance ) and them incorporate this. We look at the levels of charges people are paying. They have to be paid for a service but we ensure they are at the right level.
Pensions: We are still helping people on their Journey to build pensions for their retirement. It’s pleasing after many years to see clients retire and we’ve been able to give them a good income for their retirement. It’s especially good when we can exceed their expectations and it does happen. We offer clients a mix of solutions to meet their individual needs.
All parents want to give their children the best possible educational start in life. Direct may be able help you do this with affordable planning schemes to suit your situation, ensuring that school fees are not an endless drain on your budget at a time when you need to have available funds to enjoy leisure time with your family.
Determining what happens to your money at the end of your life is very important – many families have been burdened with unforeseen tax responsibilities following the death of a loved one. Direct will ensure that when the time comes, your finances are perfectly organised to cause the least possible problems and that all your plans are carried out in line with your wishes.
- Mitigation
- Will Planning
- Trusts
We at Direct, know that Divorce can be an exceptionally stressful experience. Direct may be able to help you through this difficult time by organising your financial affairs, leaving you more time to cope with other aspects of the situation.
- Settlement Planning
- Pension Scheme Evaluation
- Independence Planning
Professional connections
We understand that sometimes your clients will have complex and specific needs that require drawing on the skills of different professionals, to allow you to provide a truly holistic offering. At Direct IFC, we pride ourselves on providing a bespoke service to a number of solicitors and accountants, across a wide range of specialist areas.
With a proven track record in offering outstanding solutions, we believe this is achieved by exceptional levels of specialist development. In fact, we are proud to say we hold some of the most prestigious qualifications in the industry.
If you are an accountancy firm or solicitors practice, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss how our services could work for you.
We regularly hold seminars to help you keep up to date with the changing markets and importantly provide insight into current or forthcoming legislation that may impact your clients. These sessions also have the added benefit of qualifying for your CPD. If you would like to be added to our mailing list for future events, please click the button below*.
*Email communication are not secure and for this reason Direct Independent Financial Consultants Ltd cannot guarantee the security of the email, its contents or that it remains virus free once sent.
Code of conduct
Together with the legal requirements imposed on advisers by the Financial Services & Markets Act and other legislation, Direct Independent Financial Consultants Ltd. strive to achieve the following:
To behave with complete integrity at all times
To comply both with the law and best practice in all activities
To give due and proper consideration to the requirements and the interests of all clients and respect the confidentiality of information
Useful Information
eSmart Money
Click on the button below to read the latest edition of eSmartmoney. The digital personal finance magazine.
May/ June 2025 issue