Whether you are investing a lump sum or saving for a special occasion or want additional income in a few years time, our Independent Financial Advisers will be able to tailor a solution to match your individual circumstances. Our investment process includes evaluating your existing investments, assessing your attitude and tolerance to investment risk, identifying your investment objectives and determining whether you want to invest a lump sum or save money on a regular monthly basis.
Retirement planning comprises of two distinct phases. The ‘Accumulation Phase’ is when money is saved to build a pension fund. This is followed by the ‘Extraction Phase’, which means taking your pension during retirement.
It is impossible to know how big a pension fund we will need because we don’t know how long we will live in retirement. As retirement approaches, financial planning focuses mainly on how an individual will generate the income they require, with investment and tax planning becoming key areas that need to be addressed.
Our independent financial advisers can help you to understand the relevant planning issues as well as the range of potential solutions that are available.
Estate planning is the process by which you plan during your lifetime how your affairs are to be settled upon your death. The process can provide for certainty regarding beneficiaries and the administration of probate. It can also maximise the size of the inheritance for beneficiaries by minimising any Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability. In 2014-15*, it is estimated that families paid over £3.9 billion to HMRC in Inheritance Tax rather than passing this capital on to their loved ones.
Life is full of uncertainties and whilst we insure cars, houses and even holiday arrangements, when it comes to ourselves and our family, often insurance is over looked and undervalued. The simple truth is we can get too ill to carry on working, or tragically die too soon, either through serious illness or accident. These events are random and they can potentially affect us all. The impact of losing the family breadwinner can be devastating: mortgage repayments missed, savings depleted, your home being sold, your family’s standard of living eroded with stress and worry all too evident. Although state benefits provide some support, few families want to rely on the State to maintain their standard of living.
Our independent financial advisers can help you to protect your family.
A residential mortgage is typically a loan provided to purchase a home. The loan is secured on the property that is purchased and must be repaid in full by the end of the mortgage term.
Buy to let mortgages are specifically designed for properties bought with the intention of letting to tenants, rather than being lived in by the owner.
As independent financial advisers we can help you to integrate your business and personal financial planning. Ongoing planning and protection can ensure you achieve your long-term business and personal objectives. An important consideration is to plan an exit strategy for the time when you want to retire and sell or pass the business on.
Key points to address include ensuring the ongoing operation of your business in the event of long term sickness or death of a co-owner or key employee and providing statutory and discretionary work based employee benefits.
Everyone should make a Will regardless of age, state of health or marital status. A valid Will is the only way that your wishes can be acted upon with certainty when it comes to distributing your assets upon death. It is important to review any existing Will to ensure that it continues to be relevant to your current circumstances.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is an arrangement that is becoming increasingly necessary as we continue to live longer. An LPA gives someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf in case you lack mental capacity at some future time or no longer wish to make decisions for yourself. It is imperative that you put an LPA in place whilst you have full mental capacity as this is a requirement of the Office of the Public Guardian with whom it must be registered.
Our independent financial advisers can help you to put a Will and an LPA in place.
