COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT WORKING WITH TCG.

The Compass Group is an independent wealth management firm that specialises in cross-border financial planning for expatriates and internationally mobile professionals. We build coordinated financial plans that span multiple countries, currencies and regulatory environments — something that most domestic financial advisers are not equipped to do.

Our services include investment management, pension structuring, asset allocation, corporate finance, corporate services, payment facilitation and international health insurance. We act as a single point of accountability for a client's entire financial picture, regardless of how many countries it touches.

Our typical clients are internationally mobile professionals — people who have worked in two or more countries and have assets, pensions or savings in multiple jurisdictions as a result. Many of our clients are senior executives on international assignments, business owners with operations across borders, or people who have relocated to the Middle East, Asia or Mauritius and found that their existing financial arrangements no longer work properly.

We work with clients across a wide range of asset levels, though our coordinated planning service is most valuable for those with investable assets of £100,000 or more. If you are unsure whether we are the right fit, a complimentary initial conversation is always the best place to start.

The Compass Group operates from three licensed offices. Compass Advisory Services Ltd is based in London at 25 Cabot Square, E14 4QZ. Compass Wealth International Ltd is licensed by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (Global Business Licence No. GB22200341) and operates from Grand Bay, Mauritius. Labuan Financial Ltd is a subsidiary of TCG licensed by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Licence No. BS2019130) under the Labuan Financial Services Act 2010 and operates from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

This multi-jurisdiction structure means we are able to serve clients across a wide range of geographies in a way that is appropriately regulated in each location.

Each TCG entity is regulated in its own jurisdiction. Compass Wealth International Ltd holds a Global Business Licence from the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius. Labuan Financial Ltd is licensed by the Labuan Financial Services Authority in Malaysia. Our London office operates within the applicable UK regulatory framework for the activities undertaken there.

We take regulatory compliance seriously — it is part of the reason we structured TCG across three licensed jurisdictions rather than operating from a single unregulated base. Clients can verify our licences directly with the relevant regulatory bodies.

TCG operates on a fee basis. We do not earn commissions from product providers, and we do not have preferred panels or placement arrangements that would give us a financial incentive to recommend one product over another. Our advice is driven by what is right for the client's circumstances, not by what we are paid to place.

Our fees are discussed clearly at the outset of any engagement. There are no hidden charges and no trail fees. We believe that fee transparency is fundamental to an honest advice relationship, and we welcome direct questions about our charging structure at any point in the process.

A managed portfolio is a professionally managed investment account where TCG makes investment decisions on your behalf within an agreed risk profile and investment mandate. Rather than selecting funds yourself or leaving money in a default account, we actively manage the allocation — rebalancing as markets move and adjusting as your circumstances change.

Our portfolios are built around individual risk profiles, time horizons and currency requirements — factors that matter more for internationally mobile clients than for domestic investors. We offer discretionary management (where we act without needing your approval for each decision) and advisory management (where we recommend and you instruct). The right approach depends on your preference and situation.

The honest answer is that you probably do not need to know before speaking to us. The purpose of our first consultation — which is always complimentary — is to understand your full situation and identify where the most value can be added. Some clients come in expecting to need investment management and find that their pension structuring is the more urgent priority. Others come in thinking they need a complex structure and find that a simple managed portfolio is the right starting point.

We recommend completing our Client Fact Find before your first call — it takes about ten minutes and means your adviser arrives at the conversation already familiar with your situation. This makes the time together more useful for both sides. You can find the Fact Find at /fact-find/ on our website.

Yes. This is one of the specific advantages of working with TCG rather than a domestic adviser. Our three-office structure means we have licensed entities in multiple jurisdictions and experience advising clients who are themselves moving between countries. When a client relocates, we review the financial plan in light of their new tax residency, currency exposure and regulatory position — and adjust as needed.

The financial plan we build is designed to travel with you. It does not break down the moment you move to a new country, as advice from a single-jurisdiction adviser often does. Many of our clients have been with us through two or three relocations.

The first consultation is a 30-45 minute conversation — typically by video call — with one of our senior advisers. There is no charge and no obligation. The purpose is for us to understand your current financial position, the countries involved in your life, and what you are trying to achieve. We will ask about your assets, your income, your tax residency, your pension arrangements and your plans.

At the end of the call, we will be able to tell you clearly whether we can add meaningful value to your situation, and if so, what working with us would look like. If we are not the right fit, we will say so. We do not make recommendations in the first consultation — that comes after a proper analysis — but we will give you a clear picture of next steps. Completing our Fact Find before the call makes this first conversation significantly more productive.

The first step is always analysis — not transfer. Before making any recommendation about what to do with an existing pension, we conduct a full review of the pension's current value, structure, investment allocation and the rules that apply to it in your current country of residence. Only once we understand the full picture do we make a recommendation, and we explain the rationale clearly before any instruction is given.

If a transfer is the right course of action — whether into a new SIPP arrangement, a QROPS structure, or another vehicle — we manage the process on your behalf. If staying in the existing structure is the better option, we will tell you that too. We do not earn a commission for recommending a transfer, which means our recommendation is always based on what is right for you, not what is most profitable for us.

We do not file tax returns — that is the work of a qualified tax accountant and we recommend using one in your country of residence for that specific function. What we do is map the tax landscape so that your financial plan is structured correctly in the first place. We identify which rules apply to you, which treaties are relevant, where the risks lie, and what records you should be keeping.

Where clients need a tax accountant — particularly for cross-border situations involving UK, Australian or US obligations — we are able to refer them to professionals with specific expertise in their situation. We work alongside those advisers rather than in place of them.

The simplest starting point is our Client Fact Find — a short form that takes around ten minutes and gives our advisers the context they need before your first conversation. You can find it at /fact-find/. Once you have submitted it, one of our team will be in touch within one business day to arrange a call.

If you prefer to book directly, you can do so via our Contact page at /contact/. Either way, your first consultation is complimentary and carries no obligation. We would rather you have one honest conversation with us and decide it is not the right fit than never have the conversation at all.