Three Counties

What Three Counties does

Three Counties Limited is a privately held Independent Financial Adviser and wealth management firm founded in 1989 and headquartered at Lambton Park Estate, Bournmoor, County Durham, England (registered company no. 02353873). The firm is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference 145005 to provide financial advice to UK-based consumers across three core service lines: Financial Planning (bespoke personal financial plans for individuals and families), Corporate Planning (pension schemes, SIPPs, SSAS, GPPs, shareholder and key-person protection for business owners), and Investment Management (multi-asset advisory portfolios targeting cautious-to-adventurous risk profiles). A stated client base spans individuals/families, business owners and corporate clients, and trustees, with at least one disclosed multi-decade private client relationship evidencing long retention.

Investment management is delivered through a 'Core and Satellite' portfolio construction methodology: passive index-tracking investments form the cost-efficient core, supplemented by actively managed satellite positions selected by an in-house Investment Committee. That committee, led by Andrew Alexander (Head of Investments & Product Strategy), meets monthly to review every advisory portfolio and grounds its research-led decisions in external data from Morningstar (500,000 investment offerings, real-time global market data on 5M+ equities) and Ibbotson Associates (capital market expectations and asset allocation research). The firm is materially a relationship-led IFA rather than a technology platform; technology consists of a client gateway (threecounties.clientgateway.co.uk) for valuations and documents, the firm website with enquiry/financial-review CTAs, an email newsletter, a monthly blog of market commentary, and a Resource Library of downloadable guides on family finance, exits/successions/pensions, and protection planning.

Revenue is generated from two streams: (i) personalised financial advice fees for one-off and ongoing planning engagements, agreed under a service/fee agreement, and (ii) recurring investment management charges on advised portfolios. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the firm uses a 'Free Financial Review' as the initial acquisition offer. Distribution is exclusively direct advisory — face-to-face meetings at the Bournmoor office, supplemented by telephone and email — with no intermediary, marketplace, or partner channel. The firm operates from a single physical location, has no external investors, no parent company, no funding rounds, and no disclosed acquisitions; sister organisations Greaves West & Ayre (financial advisers) and GWA Asset Management (manager of the MGTS Qualis Funds, which outperformed the IA Global sector in 2025) are referenced in team profiles.

Name

Three Counties

Legal name

Three Counties Limited

Website

https://three-counties.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Three Counties is a privately held, FCA-authorised (ref. 145005) Independent Financial Adviser founded in 1989 in County Durham, England, providing financial planning, corporate planning and investment management services to UK-based individuals, families, business owners and trustees, with portfolios managed by an in-house Investment Committee via a Core and Satellite approach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

akta.pro primary industry

Estate Planning, Trust Structuring & Governance (FSAAADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Directed Trust & Trust Advisory Services (FSAAANAK)

Keywords

• Independent financial advice
• Wealth management services
• Investment portfolio management
• Corporate pension planning
• Personal financial planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Independent Financial Advice Fees: Three Counties charges fees for personalised financial planning advice delivered through face-to-face consultations. Advice covers personal financial planning, corporate planning, and investment management. Fees are agreed with clients under a service/fee agreement.
2. Investment Management Charges: The firm manages investment portfolios for clients and charges investment management fees. The 'Core and Satellite' approach is designed to minimise costs (passive core) while providing the opportunity for outperformance through active management satellites. Portfolio management services are tailored to individual client objectives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Three Counties is a UK independent wealth management and financial advisory firm providing financial planning, corporate planning, and investment management services to individuals, business owners, and trustees. It combines bespoke financial planning with discretionary portfolio construction via its Three Counties Advisory Portfolios, governed by an in-house Investment Committee and constructed using a Core and Satellite approach.

Product overview

Three Counties offers a unified wealth management service comprising three core disciplines: Financial Planning (personalised financial plans), Corporate Planning (business financial planning and employee benefits), and Investment Management (advisory portfolio management using a 'Core and Satellite' approach). The firm also provides educational resources and market commentary. Services are coordinated under the Three Counties brand, with advisory portfolios managed by the Three Counties Investment Committee in partnership with Morningstar and Ibbotson Associates research data. The MGTS Qualis Funds managed by GWA Asset Management are referenced within their investment approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning A holistic personal financial planning service covering investment, retirement, tax and estate planning for individuals and families, structured around bespoke advice and ongoing reviews.
• Corporate Planning A corporate advisory service for business owners and corporate clients covering Group Personal Pensions, Group Life Cover, Group Income Protection, and Shareholder/Director's Planning.
• Investment Management A discretionary investment management service overseeing client portfolios through the Three Counties Investment Committee, applying the Core & Satellite approach within the Three Counties Advisory Portfolios.
• Three Counties Advisory Portfolios A range of risk-targeted managed portfolios combining global investment themes within a Core & Satellite construction framework, designed to suit specified risk profiles and ongoing portfolio objectives.

Quantifiable outcome

• MGTS Qualis Growth delivered +14.74% in 2025, outperforming the IA Global sector by +3.92%
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Charles Stanley: UK wealth manager offering discretionary investment management and financial planning to private clients, with a comparable 'adviser-led' service model and similar emphasis on long-term client relationships. Most relevant as a same-category UK IFA/wealth manager.
• EQ Investors: Mid-sized UK wealth manager focused on private clients and families with bespoke financial planning and investment management services. Comparable in scale (sub-£1bn AUM), UK focus, and adviser-led proposition.
• Tilney (now part of Evelyn Partners): UK wealth manager and IFA providing financial planning, investment management, and tax/trust services to private clients and business owners. Directly comparable service mix including later-life and estate planning.
• Smith & Williamson (now Evelyn Partners): UK private client adviser combining investment management, financial planning, and tax/trust services for HNW individuals, families, and business owners. Closely overlaps Three Counties' integrated wealth proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Rathbones Group: Larger UK-listed wealth manager offering discretionary investment management and financial planning. Comparable service set but materially larger scale and broader geographic footprint than Three Counties.
• Quilter plc: UK wealth manager with platform, advice, and investment management businesses. Competes with Three Counties in the IFA-adjacent private client segment but operates at significantly greater scale through its platform and adviser network.
• Brewin Dolphin (now RBC Wealth Management UK): Major UK wealth manager providing discretionary investment management and financial planning to private clients. Comparable offering but materially larger and now part of RBC's global wealth franchise.
• St. James's Place: Largest UK wealth manager, operating a partner model serving HNW private clients with financial planning and investment management. Adjacent business model but far larger scale and restricted/restricted-representative structure differs from Three Counties' independent IFA model.

Emerging players

• Nutmeg: UK digital wealth management platform offering discretionary investment management and ISAs/SIPPs directly to consumers. Competes for the same end-client wallet but via a fully digital, low-cost model that pressures traditional IFA economics.
• Moneybox: UK digital wealth and savings platform serving mass-affluent and younger clients. Not a direct competitor on service depth but increasingly captures the entry-point wealth management relationship that traditionally fed IFAs like Three Counties.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/3CountiesWealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/three-counties-ltd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Three Counties