Academy of Life Planning
Investigator™
Investment due diligence — seven stages of independent review · What is this?
Stage 1 of 7 — Document & basics
Let's start with the investment
Upload a prospectus or terms document if you have one — Investigator will read it and pre-fill what it can. Or enter the details manually below.
Drop a PDF or image here
Prospectus, investment summary, terms document, or scanned page
Used in Stage 5 to pre-build your public data searches. If pre-filled from your document, check it is correct.
Where is the investment based or regulated?
Your best understanding at this stage — we explore this further in Stage 4.
How did this come to your attention?
How much are you considering investing, relative to your overall savings?
Stage 2 of 7 — Client classification
Are you being asked to waive your protections?
Being asked to self-certify as a "sophisticated" or "high net worth" investor is a significant legal act — not a formality. It removes most FCA retail protections.
Signing a self-certification removes your right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman, eliminates FSCS protection, and may mean you have no recourse if you suffer a loss.
Are you being asked to sign any of the following?
Do you genuinely meet the criteria for that classification?
High net worth: net assets over £250,000 (excluding home and pension) or annual income over £100,000. Sophisticated: prior investment in unlisted companies, or director of a company with £1m+ turnover, or certified by an FCA-authorised firm in the last 36 months.
Were you clearly told what protections you are waiving by signing?
A legitimate firm will explain this explicitly. Rushing you through paperwork or burying it in small print is a warning sign.
Were you given adequate time to read and consider the classification documents?
Stage 3 of 7 — Consent & pressure
Are the conditions for genuine consent present?
Informed consent requires time, full information, and genuine freedom. These questions test whether those conditions exist.
If you feel rushed, watched, or embarrassed to say no — those feelings are sometimes deliberately engineered. You are entitled to take as long as you need before making any decision.
Have you been given a deadline or sense of urgency?
"Offer closes Friday" and "only three places left" are pressure tactics, not real constraints. Legitimate investments do not expire in 48 hours.
Have you been discouraged from seeking independent advice?
"Advisers won't understand this" or "this is exclusive — don't mention it to your IFA" are serious warning signs.
Do you feel genuinely free to say no without consequence?
Social obligation, fear of embarrassment, or concern about a relationship can undermine real consent — even without anyone saying anything explicit.
Have you been asked to keep this investment confidential?
Being told not to tell your family, partner, or adviser about an investment is one of the clearest indicators of a scam. Legitimate investments do not require secrecy.
Has anyone offered early returns, a bonus, or a "taster" payment?
Early payments funded by new investors — not genuine returns — are a hallmark of Ponzi structures. Receiving money early can feel reassuring, but it is not evidence the underlying investment is real.
Stage 4 of 7 — Offshore & jurisdictional risk
Where does this investment actually sit?
Offshore registration is not automatically a problem — but it adds layers of risk around regulatory oversight, compensation cover, and your ability to seek redress if things go wrong.
Where is the investment vehicle registered or domiciled?
This may differ from where the firm marketing it is based. Check the prospectus or Key Information Document — not the website.
Is an overseas regulator named — and is it a genuine, active regulator?
Some jurisdictions have regulatory frameworks that exist on paper but offer little practical oversight or enforcement. A logo on a website is not the same as genuine regulatory cover.
Is there a compensation scheme that would apply if the investment fails?
The UK FSCS covers up to £85,000 for regulated investments. Many offshore structures have no equivalent — or a nominal one with no real funding behind it.
If there is a dispute, which country's courts would hear it?
Contracts specifying an offshore or remote jurisdiction may be practically unenforceable for a UK investor — even if you are legally in the right. A court judgment you cannot enforce is not real protection.
Is there a UK-regulated entity that is actually responsible to you in the chain?
A UK firm marketing an offshore product may itself be FCA-regulated — but that does not make the underlying investment regulated. What matters is what the UK entity is legally responsible for.
Stage 5 of 7 — Automated public checks
What public data says — one click per check
Each button opens the right source with your firm name pre-filled where possible. Open the link, review what you find, then mark the result below it. These feed into your final summary.
Stage 6 of 7 — Asymmetry & consequences
Who controls what — and what happens if it goes wrong
Every investment agreement has two sides. This stage maps the structural imbalance and the real-life consequences of a loss — before you decide.
Power and information asymmetry
Who controls when you can access your money?
You → if liquid
Them → if locked
Who is legally liable if the investment fails?
You → if unregulated
Them → if regulated + FSCS
Who determines whether returns are paid?
You → if contractual
Them → if discretionary
Who has access to full information about the investment?
You → if fully disclosed
Them → if opaque
Who bears the financial loss if this is wrong?
Almost always you
Rarely them
Looking at those five: how many asymmetries favour the other party?
If you lost all of this money, what would the real impact be on your life?
Not a financial impact — a life impact. Housing security, retirement plans, relationships, options that would be closed off.
Do you understand the exit terms — and have you actually read them?
Early exit fees, penalty clauses, and automatic rollovers are sometimes buried in small print. Not reading the terms is itself a risk.
Do you understand what happens to your money if the company becomes insolvent?
In many unregulated investments, investors are unsecured creditors — often the last to receive anything after administrators, HMRC, and secured lenders are paid.
What is your honest reason for considering this investment?
There is no wrong answer. Naming the real reason — income need, fear of missing out, trust in a person, hope for something better — helps you check whether this product actually meets that need.
Stage 7 of 7 — Investigation summary
Your plain-language picture
Based on what you have worked through. This supports your independent thinking — it does not replace regulated financial advice.