Why would I pay someone for 5% returns?

There’s a question I got asked recently at a wedding that’s stuck with me.

I was chatting to someone about what I do. He was an accountant, but clearly a successful entrepreneur too, had multiple businesses, invested his own money, knew his stuff.

He told me he’d spoken to a few financial planners, but wasn’t sold.

“They all said they’d aim for 5 or 6% a year. Why would I pay someone to do that when I can do it myself?”

It’s a fair question.

And honestly, it highlights a huge misconception about financial planning.

We're not in the business of selling returns.

We’re in the business of selling peace of mind.

Returns are just one piece of the puzzle.

A financial planner’s job isn’t to promise a magic number, it’s to understand your entire life picture, filter through the thousands of options available, and build a strategy that works for you.

We're regulated by the FCA, which means the solutions we recommend are also regulated. That regulation doesn’t just protect the system, it protects you.

If we make a recommendation that turns out to be unsuitable, you have recourse.

You can go to the Financial Ombudsman, and if they agree that we didn’t act in your best interest based on the info available at the time, you can be compensated.

Try getting that from a friend who gave you a hot tip about a cryptocurrency or a property deal.

But beyond the compliance side, what you’re really paying for is clarity.

You don’t have to spend your weekends reading about pensions or tax wrappers.

You don’t have to lie awake wondering if you’ve missed something.

You don’t have to keep tweaking your plan every time the Chancellor makes a new announcement.

You can get on with building your business, or raising your family, or just enjoying your life, knowing someone else is keeping watch.

A 5–6% return sounds boring, but it’s the structure around that return that matters.

Whether it’s in an ISA or a pension. Whether you need access to it in 2 years or 20. Whether it actually aligns with what you're trying to do in the first place.

Your financial life isn’t one big bet. It’s a series of interconnected decisions.

The investment portfolio is just one part of it.

If you’re only looking at the percentage on a screen, you’re missing the bigger picture.