Ask an Adviser: Your Money Questions Answered - June 2026

Ask an Adviser returns this month, continuing the conversation and answering more of your most pressing money questions.

This is your opportunity to ask any questions, gain insights, and receive practical guidance tailored to your needs. Whether you're considering how to help your children get on the property ladder, or need clarification on key topics like wills, funding education and care costs, our experts are here to help. 

In this edition, we are talking about financial advice. Adviser Pooja Shah answers the question: 

"What’s the difference between an independent financial adviser and restricted advice?"

"When choosing a financial adviser, it is helpful to understand the difference between independent and restricted advice. All regulated financial advisers in the UK are required to meet the same professional standards and act in their clients’ best interests. The main distinction lies in how they select the solutions they recommend.

An Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) can consider products and providers from across the whole market. For some clients, this wider scope is appealing because it offers access to the broadest possible range of options.

At Castlefield, we provide restricted advice. Rather than searching the entire market, we focus on a carefully selected range of investments and providers that we believe offer quality, value and alignment with our investment philosophy. This allows us to develop a deeper level of expertise and provide a more consistent approach for our clients.

For those interested in ethical and responsible investing, this can be particularly beneficial. The investment world is increasingly crowded with products making sustainability claims, and it can be difficult to distinguish genuine responsible investment strategies from marketing-led approaches. Our investment team undertakes this work on your behalf, carefully researching and monitoring investments to ensure they meet our standards.

A useful way to think about it is the difference between browsing every product on every shelf versus being presented with a thoughtfully curated selection chosen by specialists. You still have access to a broad range of investment opportunities, but with the reassurance that they have already been rigorously assessed through our Thoughtful Investor approach."

Written by Pooja Shah

Information is accurate as of 22.06.2026. Opinions constitute the adviser's judgement as of this date and are subject to change without warning. This material may not be distributed, published or reproduced in whole or in part. With investment, capital is at risk.