Chartered Financial Planner · Early Retirement Specialist

Wondering if you can retire early? We'll tell you exactly where you stand.

Cadence Finance helps directors and senior professionals in their late 40s and 50s get a clear, honest picture of where they stand — and exactly what to do before retirement arrives. No products. No jargon. No agenda except yours.

Full refund if it's not right for you after Session 1. No questions asked.

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Illustrative cashflow projection — Mark & Claire Henderson, age 44

Without changes

£1m at 60

Pot nearly depleted by 95

With three changes

£1.7m at 60

Lasts comfortably to 95+

Without changes With three changes

The three changes that make the difference

1 Start using Claire's ISA allowance. £0 of £20,000 used in three years.

2 Increase pension contributions by £600 per month combined.

3 Fill the gaps in Claire's state pension record. Cost: £820. Benefit: £1,400 per year for life.

Illustrative only. Fictional clients. Base case: 5% pre-retirement growth, 2.5% post-retirement, lower contributions. Improved: 6% pre-retirement, 4% post-retirement, with increased contributions and better investment strategy.

Watch: a 90-second introduction

A word from Ben

I started Cadence because I kept meeting the same person: successful, capable, and quietly worried about money.

Directors and senior managers who had spent two decades building a career and never quite got around to building a financial plan to match. Not because they didn't care. Because they were busy, because it felt complicated, and because every adviser they'd met seemed more interested in their assets than their actual goals.

This is different. Watch the video and I'll explain what Cadence Finance does, who it's for, and what you'll actually get out of working together.

Chartered Financial Planner — qualified through the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)

Over a decade in financial planning. Specialist in early retirement.

Fee-only. No products, no commission, no agenda.

Flat-fee planning. You know exactly what you are paying.

Sound familiar?

You've spent twenty years being good at everything. But nobody taught you this.

You earn well. You save. But nothing quite joins up.

Pensions from three different employers, an ISA on autopilot, some savings earning very little. You've looked at the statements, you've Googled the questions, you've read the articles. But none of it adds up to a clear picture of where you actually stand.

The advisers you've met wanted to manage your money. Not answer your questions.

You've sat through the meeting where someone reviews your portfolio and recommends a product. You left feeling like the meeting was more useful for them than for you. You're not looking for a fund manager. You're looking for someone to think with.

Retirement is closer than it used to feel.

At 35, retirement was an abstract concept. At 50, it's 10 years away. The question has shifted from "we'll sort it eventually" to "have we left it too late?" You almost certainly haven't. But you need to know for sure.

The service

One service. One price. No agenda.

Most financial services firms sell products and earn ongoing fees from your money. Cadence Finance charges a flat fee for the plan. That is all.

Comprehensive Financial Plan

For directors and senior professionals planning early retirement

Founding client places available

£3,500 one-off flat fee

You will know exactly where you stand within two weeks. Your complete financial picture, your precise retirement number, three specific changes that close the gap, and a written plan you can act on immediately. You answer the questions. We do the work.

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Delivered in 2 weeks

Two sessions. Plan sent before your second session so you arrive with questions, not surprises.

✎

You answer questions. We do the work.

Complete the intake form. Attend two video calls. The plan, the modelling, the writing — that is on us.

🔑

The plan is yours to keep

No ongoing relationship required. No annual fee. Act on it yourself or work with your existing advisers.

Detailed financial intake (both partners where relevant)
Three Timeline cashflow scenarios: base case, with changes, stress test
Full written plan in plain English
Your precise retirement number calculated from your life
Three specific changes, costed and prioritised
Before and after comparison for each change
Session 1: 90-minute discovery and goals session
Session 2: 60-minute plan walkthrough and Q&A
Referrals to trusted regulated advisers where needed
30-day follow-up call included

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Founding client benefit

Cadence Finance is in its early stages. The first clients to come through the door get something the price doesn't reflect: a 3-month check-in call and a 6-month check-in call, included at no extra charge. That is two additional sessions, on top of the 30-day follow-up, to make sure the plan is working as intended.

✓

Satisfaction guarantee

If after Session 1 you feel the process is not right for you, we will refund the full fee. No questions asked. We would rather do that than have you feel you paid for something that did not work for you.

Book your free 15-minute call

Start with a free call. No pitch, no pressure.
If it is a good fit, we go from there.

Not ready to book? Try the free retirement calculator first — enter your numbers and see where you stand in minutes.

A typical IFA on £350k of assets

£8,400 upfront

Initial advice fee at FCA average of 2.4% of assets. Then 0.8% per year ongoing — around £2,800 every year, indefinitely, paid from your portfolio. Plus underlying fund and platform charges.

Cadence Finance

£3,500 once

Flat fee. No percentage of your assets. No ongoing charge unless you choose it. No products. No commission. The plan is yours to keep and act on.

IFA fee comparison based on FCA research: average initial advice charge of 2.4% of assets invested (Which?, 2025). Cadence Finance is not FCA authorised and does not provide regulated financial advice. Where regulated advice is needed, we refer to trusted specialists.

What's inside

A plan that reflects your life, not a template.

Written in plain English. Built around your numbers and your goals. Here is exactly what you receive.

Download sample report

Section 1

The verdict

The bottom line, first. Where you are heading. Where you could be heading. The three changes that make the difference.

Section 2

Your picture today

Every asset listed and valued. What retirement will cost in your words. The income you can count on automatically. Your gap figure.

Section 3

Three cashflow scenarios

If nothing changes. With the three changes. Stress-tested under lower returns and higher inflation. Produced using Timeline, a professional cashflow modelling tool.

Section 4

The three things

Each change explained in full. What it is. What it costs. What it does to your retirement picture. Before and after for each one.

Section 5

What happens next

The sequence. Who does what and by when. Where regulated advice is needed and who to use. A personal close. A review date 12 months out.

"Most of my clients are smart, senior, successful people who've never sat down and asked: is all of this actually working together? The answer is usually no, and the fix is usually simpler than they feared."

Ben Atherton, Chartered Financial Planner · Cadence Finance

About Cadence Finance

Not a firm. A person. That matters.

I'm Ben Atherton, a Chartered Financial Planner qualified through the Chartered Insurance Institute — one of the highest qualifications in UK financial planning. I've spent over a decade working in financial planning, and I started Cadence Finance because I kept having the same conversation.

Smart, senior professionals — directors, partners, people who run teams and make big decisions every day — who had never had anyone look at their finances and tell them plainly where they stood. Not because they couldn't afford advice. Because every adviser they'd met was tangled up with products, percentages, and someone else's incentives.

This service is different. I don't manage your money. I don't earn commission. I don't have a model portfolio to put you in. I charge a flat fee to build a clear picture of where you stand, model your options properly using professional cashflow software, and give you a written plan you can act on. If you need regulated advice to implement — moving pensions, arranging products — I'll refer you to people I trust and leave you to it.

The clients I work best with are people who are ready to stop deferring the conversation and actually answer the question: are we going to be alright?

Chartered Financial Planner — qualified through the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)

Over a decade in financial planning and cashflow modelling

Fee-only. Never commission-based. No products, no agenda.

Specialist in early retirement for directors and senior professionals

UK-wide, working with clients remotely and in person

Questions

Things people usually ask.

Are you qualified? What are your credentials?

Yes. Ben Atherton is a Chartered Financial Planner qualified through the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) — one of the highest qualifications in UK financial planning. This is the same qualification held by regulated IFAs. The difference is that Cadence Finance does not give regulated financial advice (we don't arrange products or manage investments). We provide financial planning, cashflow modelling, and a written plan. Where you need regulated advice to implement, we refer you to trusted specialists.

Are you regulated by the FCA?

Cadence Finance is not FCA-authorised, and we operate outside of FCA regulation. This means we provide financial education, cashflow modelling, goal-setting, and financial planning — but we do not give personalised investment advice, arrange products, or manage investments. We're transparent about this because we think it matters. Where you need regulated advice, we refer you to trusted, authorised professionals.

Do you earn commission from any products or providers?

No. We are entirely fee-only. We earn nothing from product recommendations, referrals, or platforms. The fee you pay us is the only money we make from working with you. That independence is the whole point.

We're a couple, do both of us need to be involved?

We strongly encourage it. Money decisions made together tend to stick. We're experienced at working with couples who have different attitudes to money, different levels of financial knowledge, and sometimes quite different goals. Creating a shared plan is part of the service.

What's the minimum level of assets or income to work with you?

We work best with couples or individuals earning at least £80,000 per year with investable assets of £300,000 or more. This isn't a hard rule — if you're approaching that level or have just received a significant lump sum, get in touch and we'll be honest about whether we can add real value for you.

Can you help with pensions?

We can help you understand how your pensions work, model what they'll be worth, and think through decisions like consolidation, contribution levels, and retirement timing. We cannot give personalised advice on specific pension products — for that, we'll refer you to a trusted IFA.

How is this different from seeing an IFA?

An IFA is regulated, can give personalised investment advice, and can implement — they can actually arrange products for you. We sit upstream of that. We help you understand your whole financial picture, get clear on your goals, and decide what you actually need — so that when you do see an IFA, you go in informed and confident, not confused.