Our core service combines financial, investment and tax planning
We are often approached with specific requirements in mind. Whilst we are willing to provide focused advice, most individual aspects of financial planning impact on others, so comprehensive financial planning is the best approach. That is why almost all clients take advantage of our financial planning service.
We firmly believe that financial planning, investment and product related advice should always be aligned with your fundamental, overriding objectives. It is only by really getting to know you, what you want to achieve, how you want to live your life, and the challenges you face, that we may be certain that our financial planning, investment and product related advice is optimum. This is what we call lifestyle financial planning.
The heart of our proposition is our structured financial planning service. The diagram summarises our advisory cycle which incorporates the six stages fundamental to Certified Financial PlannerCM certification, and defined within the requirements of British Standards BS8577:2012 and BS ISO22222:2005.
Sophisticated projections model the future impact of today’s decisions
Most people have very little idea how much money they really need for the rest of their lives
Once we fully understand the lifestyle you wish to lead, the dates you wish to reach key milestones, and the resources you have available, we build sophisticated lifetime cash-flow projections to help answer the questions like ‘how much is enough?’, ‘what do I need to do to retire when I’d like to?, and how much can I afford to give away?.
This powerful tool allows us to check where you’re heading and helps us predict the future impact of the decisions you face, and choices you make, today.
The other important question that should always be asked is ‘what if things don’t go to plan?’. We stress test our proposals for events such as illness, disability, redundancy, and death.
If you’d like to try a very simplistic version of the tool we use, you can do so using by clicking the button below. This will also help give us useful initial context if you decide you would like to make an enquiry.
Our robust investment advice compliments your overall plan
Financial planning and investment planning are inextricably linked. Most areas of financial planning involve investment and most reasons for investing form part of a financial plan. Effective wealth management should combine the two.
Often advisers will ask a series of questions to establish your ‘risk tolerance’ rather like sticking pins in you to determine your pain threshold. They then recommend investments to keep you at or close to that pain threshold.
It is essential for us to fully understand the reasons for investing and the required returns before designing appropriate and bespoke investment strategies. We start by establishing whether you need to invest at all, then agree the parameters.
Thorough risk analysis is fundamental to our advice. We don’t just assess psychological attitude, we carefully consider the level of risk required, capacity for loss and how much risk you would like to take, in the context of your overall financial plan.
We analyse your existing investments. Unlike many of our competitors, being impartial and independent, we are not motivated to recommend changes. We act on your behalf, recommending changes where appropriate and providing you with reassurance when none are required. We put ourselves in your shoes, applying our knowledge, experience, and technology to assist you in making the correct, informed decisions.
When implementing investment strategies we aim to keep costs down, through market research and negotiation with providers.
We work with clients over the long-term, conducting frequent and thorough investment reviews, communicating the results in an open and concise manner.
The best products & providers from the whole market
Independent
Whole of Market
Financial
&
Investment
Advice
Financial products form a crucial part of most financial strategies. It is essential that the adviser you appoint has the necessary knowledge, tools, experience, and ethics not only to recommend the most suitable new products and investments, but to impartially review your existing arrangements.
Whilst non independent whole of market advisers should consider the suitability of your existing arrangements before recommending alternatives, unfortunately it is often in their financial interests to promote their range of solutions.
We thoroughly and impartially review existing arrangements to assess their suitability in the context of your plan.
We clearly explain the charges and compare them with the marketplace. We check for any valuable guarantees. We quantify any penalties on sale or transfer. We summarise the features and options. We analyse the investment performance. We assess the suitability of the existing investment choice and consider whether more suitable investments may be chosen within existing plans. We consider the ongoing tax position and the implications of sale or transfer. We check for any less obvious benefits or issues. We put you in the position of properly understanding what you have got.
Only an IFA can advise on all products and investments from the entire market place. We conduct diligent research before recommending any new products and investments to our clients.