Why choose us

Long term excellence provides you with peace of mind

We are committed to working with you to create a lasting relationship built on loyalty, trust and excellence. That’s why we have Chartered Financial Planning status, the industry’s gold standard, which demonstrates our pledge to providing you with high quality advice and first-class service.

By taking the time to fully understand your financial position today and future aspirations, we can use our Lifestyle Financial Planning Service and sophisticated software to develop a strategy that is individual to you.

We are completely transparent and unlike most firms, publish our fees on the website click here for more information.

We’re Top Rated

We’re proud to say we are included in the VouchedFor Top Rated Guide for 2024, distributed by the Times and the Mail on Sunday.

The purpose of this guide is to help identify the best advisers throughout the UK based on client feedback.

To learn more, please visit our blog post all about our inclusion by clicking here.

We’re Chartered

We’re proud to be a Chartered firm, as awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute. Chartered status represents the ‘gold standard’ of financial planning. By choosing a Chartered firm, you are working with a business that has proven its technical knowledge and conduct and adheres to industry best practices.

We’re a New Model Adviser Top 100 firm

The NMA Top 100 is a list created to help celebrate the best of the professional financial planning community. We’re absolutely delighted to have been included in both 2022 and 2023. We firmly believe this is yet another example of the quality work carried out by our team.

First class service in a clear and understandable way

In the complex world of finance there is a lot of jargon and complex regulations, but we’ll explain proposals in a clear, unambiguous way, providing you with peace of mind about your wealth and the confidence to plan your next steps.

We’re there when you need us, ready to help in a professional, friendly way. This, and a proven track record in high quality advice, are the qualities our existing clients’ value.

But don’t take our word for it, click on to the client stories page to hear what they think.

The Financial Vulnerability Taskforce.

We are proud to be a part of The Financial Vulnerability Taskforce. This is a newly created independent representative body covering the Personal Finance Sector whose ultimate purpose is to promote greater understanding, encourage appropriate behaviours and establish good practice in respect of consumer vulnerability. At Ardent, we are a safe pair of hands and supporting this new initiative allows us to demonstrate that, especially to those who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances.

We’re a Living Wage Employer

Ardent is proud to announce that we are a certified Living Wage Employer, accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Ardent receive an hourly wage above the government-mandated minimum. We prioritise the welfare and financial stability of our staff. This helps them flourish both personally and professionally and ensures they can provide the best possible service for our clients.

Other accreditations

We’re proud to have a wide ride of accreditations, qualifications and more:

We’re proud to be Resolution accredited
We’re part of the Equity Release Council
Ruth is a part of the Adviser Forum
We’re members of UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF)
We’re SOLLA accredited

Our Google reviews

    
 
 
        
   Chantelle Kirkham 
 October 6, 2023
 
 
  I have worked with Mark and his colleagues on a number of occasions, both professionally and personally, and have received excellent advice on each occasion. Mark is professional yet approachable and makes financial planning simple and straightforward. I will not hesitate to work with Mark and Ardent Financial Planning in the future.
  
 
       
   Richard Staples 
 October 6, 2023
 
 
  I contacted Mark in regards to discussing my existing pension arrangements. I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and I was very satisfied with the service I received. I would happily recommend him and the team at Ardent
  
 
       
   Diane 
 October 5, 2023
 
 
  Absolutely first class service beginning to end would definitely recommend them
  
 
       
   Graham Gillyon 
 September 29, 2023
 
 
  Gary O'Brian of Ardent was recommended to me over 12 years ago to help structure my pensions enabling me to understand and plan my investments and future retirement plans.
Gary has provided an excellent and professional service and his and the teams clear communications equipped me with the knowledge and confidence to retire at the right time.
The excellent support of Gary and his team at the office is on-going - I enjoy my retirement knowing that there is someone there if I need help or advise.
  
 
       
   eric bridges 
 December 5, 2022
 
 
  Great focus from the team. Always prepared for annual reviews and responsive to requests.
  
 
       
   Julia Waite 
 December 1, 2022
 
 
  As someone who needed to take charge of my finances and pension fund after divorce, the team at Ardent gave me excellent, clear and unbiased advice. 2 years on I am reassured they coninue to advise me with the same professional standards.
  
 
       
   Chelsey Pickard 
 March 4, 2022
 
 
  Fantastic service from Ardent, keeping us updated and informed at all times. Highly recommend.
  
 
       
   David Chambers 
 December 8, 2021
 
 
  Excellent Service  . A  good  team  of  professionals with help &  advice.
  
 
       
   Steve T 
 September 10, 2021
 
 
  Whilst I'm knowledgeable about shares/investments/life planning etc, my wife has used Ardent for many years. I can honestly say that Michael, and more latterly Mark Fisher are EXCELLENT, and ensure that your interests come first, unlike some such companies who, in my opinion are likely to put their commissions as their biggest priority. I have no reservation in highly recommending Ardent through our involvement with Mark.
I'd suggest that investors stay clear of the larger, less personal services such as St James's Place and give Ardent a call.

In 2023 we asked our clients to participate in a client survey to make sure we were supplying a service they deserved.

We want to share some of the results with you:

100 %

of clients were very satisfied that we understood their needs

97 %

of clients believe we helped them achieve their financial goals

96 %

of clients would be happy to recommend us to others

We asked our clients “What is the biggest single benefit you get from working with us?” Here are some of our favourite answers:

“Knowing that I am receiving advice that is of a very high standard"

"Trust, reassurance and peace of mind"

"Having someone I feel I can trust taking care of my financial investments"

"Confidence and reassurance that the management of our investments are in very capable hands."

"The continued support, assistance and service, along with the knowledge and experience that you have gained over the years, which has helped in supporting the right decisions for me."

"Clarity regarding my financial position going forward, which has enabled me to retire earlier than I had thought possible."

"Knowing that I have a trusted, dependable, friendly person to discuss my financial affairs with outside of the family."

"Peace of mind that our investments are on track and if the markets change, you're there to help us navigate the ups and downs."

What our clients say

As a company, we strive to give clients excellence. But don’t take our word for it, listen to others who have already worked with us. Click on the following clients and listen to their experience of Ardent and the positive impacts it's had on their life.