Financial planning

Whilst all of these terms are used interchangeably, we are very much a financial planning-led business with a strong research team to help us choose the best financial products for our clients and an experienced investment team who focus on running our clients’ investment portfolios. Below is how we define these three different titles:

A financial planner focuses on understanding your position and objectives and then uses a broad knowledge of the tax, legislative and economic landscape to build strategies to leave you best positioned to meet those objectives. They then typically work with you over time to continue to adjust and refine your planning.

A financial adviser focuses more on recommending financial products such as pensions, investments or protection policies, often as part of wider advice.

A wealth manager tends to be more investment management-focused and quite often will work in tandem with a financial planner. 

In almost all client conversations we have, personal financial security is paramount. We therefore spend time identifying the client’s needs relative to their asset and income bases, make allowance for unforeseen needs (such as future care costs) and then put in place clear strategies for meeting your own needs over time

With that in place, we can then identify which assets and income streams are likely to be surplus to your own requirements and work with you to identify how these can be used to reduce your Inheritance Tax liability and pass on wealth to your desired beneficiaries.

Central to this planning is the financial models we build to stress-test clients’ position and also enable them to visualise their long-term financial position.

The core questions we help clients answer as they approach retirement are:

• Do I have enough to retire?
• Should I be de-risking my investments? What is an appropriate cash reserve for retirement?
• How can I be tax-efficient in retirement? What assets to draw on and when?
• How to plan for the unknowns – inflation, family, care costs etc.?

Good retirement planning isn’t only about a pension pot - it’s about creating a sustainable, flexible income that lasts as long as you do, supported by consistent financial advice from your financial planner and reinforced by clear financial guidance.

There are numerous ways to pass wealth on, each with different tax, timing and control implications. Common approaches include:

• Gifting during your lifetime, either one‑off or regular gifts. Some of these will be immediately exempt from inheritance tax, others will have a ‘seven-year clock’.
• Using trusts to remove the assets from your estate without giving full access to the intended beneficiaries.
• Family companies have become increasingly popular in recent years and can be useful vehicles for transitioning wealth down the family. However, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution and need to be carefully considered and planned.
• Investments – certain investments benefit from inheritance tax relief, and these reliefs can be incredible valuable. It may be that an existing asset already qualifies for relief, or you may need to find a new investment that will qualify.
• Insurance products can provide an interesting way to pass wealth to beneficiaries and/or create a method for funding the inheritance tax liability that will be payable on death.
• Writing a clear and considered Will and keeping it up to date.