A vertically-integrated adviser is one who is authorised to operate under the licence of a company, such as a bank, that also sells financial products. These ‘advisers’ are often criticized because their ‘advice’ almost always includes a recommendation to buy one of their bank’s products. We choose to be licenced by what is known as a non-aligned licencee. That means that there are no ‘in-house’ products for us to sell. This article appears in Money Management magazine – a publication meant mostly for financial advisers, not their clients!