Value of advice summary: what to show and how to keep it factual

Much of what a financial planner does for a client is invisible to them. The call that talked them out of selling in a falling market. The pension contribution timed before the tax year end. The paperwork handled after a bereavement. The client sees a fee on a statement every month and a review meeting once a year, and may reasonably wonder what sits between the two.

A value of advice summary makes that work visible. Done well, it is a short, factual account of what the client received for what they paid. Done badly, it becomes a sales brochure that claims credit for market returns and promises more than the firm can show. This guide covers what to include and how to keep it factual.

What a value of advice summary is for

The summary is a client document. Its job is to set out, for one client, what the firm did, what changed as a result and what it cost. It is not the same as three other documents it is often confused with:

• The firm's fair value assessment. That is an internal assessment of whether the firm's service, as distributed, offers fair value across its clients. The client summary can feed into it, but does not replace it.
• The annual review. The review assesses whether recommendations remain suitable. The value summary describes the service delivered.
• Marketing. A value summary is written for an existing client about their own affairs, and should be held to the same standard as any other client communication.

The Consumer Duty gives a working definition of value. PRIN 2A.4.1R says: "(1) value is the relationship between the amount paid by a retail customer for the product and the benefits they can reasonably expect to get from the product; and (2) a product provides fair value where the amount paid for the product is reasonable relative to the benefits of the product." (PRIN 2A.4). A good summary puts both sides of that relationship in front of the client: the amount paid, and the benefits received.

Benefits are not only financial. PRIN 2A.4.10G(1) notes that benefits "may include non-financial benefits such as an enhanced level of customer service". Time saved, worry removed and decisions made with confidence are real, provided they are described honestly.

What the summary should show

A structure that works for most clients runs to five short sections.

1. Where you started and what you wanted. The client's objectives at the outset or at the last review, in their own terms.
2. What we did. The service delivered in the period, with dates: review meetings, recommendations made, contact during the year, work on specific events, and anything done at the client's request.
3. What changed as a result. Concrete outcomes the firm can evidence: allowances used, contributions made, a plan put in place, a will or protection review prompted, a decision taken.
4. What it cost. The firm's charges for the period in pounds, alongside the other costs the client paid.
5. What comes next. The work planned for the coming period, and anything the client needs to do.

The order matters. Putting objectives first frames everything else around the client. Putting cost in its own clear section, rather than hiding it, is what makes the summary credible.

Keeping it factual

A value summary is a client communication like any other. PRIN 2A.5.3R(2) requires firms to "communicate information to retail customers in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading" (PRIN 2A.5). In practice, that means a few firm rules.

Every claim traceable to the file

If the summary says the firm held a review in March, there should be a record of it. If it says the client used their ISA allowance, the platform statement should show it. Write nothing you could not point to.

No credit for the markets

Investment growth in a rising market is not, on its own, evidence of the value of advice. Show investment return accurately, separate from money paid in, and resist presenting it as the firm's achievement.

Careful with estimated savings

Figures such as "tax saved" are tempting and often contestable. If you include one, state the basis of the calculation, the assumptions and that it is an estimate. If you cannot show the working, leave it out.

Include what did not happen

If a planned review slipped, or an action is still outstanding, say so. A summary that only lists successes reads as marketing, and the client will usually remember what is missing.

Consistent across clients

Use the same structure and the same standard of evidence for every client. If the "what we did" section is thin for some clients, that tells the firm something about the service those clients are receiving.

Phrases that help, and phrases to avoid

The figures in the right-hand column are placeholders. The point is the shape: specific, dated and checkable.

Why disclosure alone is not evidence of value

The FCA has been direct about this. In its price and value outcome good and poor practice update, it described as poor practice that firms "relied on the fact that these charges were disclosed to, and agreed by, customers as evidence of fair value" (FCA price and value good and poor practice). It also pointed, for wealth management, to the "risk that customers are paying more than once for overlapping or duplicative activities", and described as good practice controls to spot where "clients were not receiving value from an ongoing service".

A client value summary, written consistently, can be one of those controls. The firm's ongoing service also needs to be clear from the start. The FCA's ongoing advice review said contracts "must at a minimum meet the regulatory requirements ... and be clear on the type and frequency of services to be provided", and listed as good practice "Appropriate record-keeping to make sure firms can evidence delivery of their services where provided" (FCA ongoing advice review). If the scope of work promised the service, the value summary shows it was delivered. See our guide to scope of work in financial planning, and our summary of the FCA's ongoing advice review findings.

Drafting the summary from the meeting

Value summaries can easily become the document advisers mean to write and never do, because each one takes time to draft well. By our estimate, drafting one client document by hand takes about two hours.

Carbon drafts a client value summary from a recorded Fireflies meeting, alongside discovery documents, scopes of work and attitude to risk reports. It writes in the firm's voice using its house style and word list, applies the firm's branding, keeps every version in a document vault and can draft the follow-up email with the document attached. By our estimate, a draft takes about fifteen minutes. The adviser edits it inline, checks every statement against the file and exports to Word or PDF. The firm stays responsible for what the summary says.

Frequently asked questions

What should a value of advice summary include?

The client's objectives, the service delivered with dates, the outcomes the firm can evidence, the cost in pounds and the work planned next. Every statement should be traceable to the client file.

Is a client value summary the same as a fair value assessment?

No. The fair value assessment is the firm's own assessment under PRIN 2A.4. A client summary describes one client's service and costs, and can be part of the evidence the firm uses.

Can we include investment performance in a value summary?

Yes, shown accurately and separately from money paid in. Avoid presenting market growth as evidence of the value of the advice.

See how Carbon drafts a client value summary from a recorded meeting, or book a twenty-minute demo on Microsoft Teams with Adam Booth, run live on a demo firm with nothing to prepare.