The Value of Advice Tree

Achieving your goals branch

8. Pensions freedoms – the freedom to draw your pension benefits was introduced in 2015, initially they were trumpeted as offering great choice for consumers. But over time it has become clear that planning and managing income from a pension pot, that may have to last 35 years or more is far more complex than initially thought. Understanding sequence risk and asset class returns vs inflation; establishing a sustainable withdrawal rate; managing life and health longevity; and planning cashflow over four decades is well beyond most investors – especially as they move into later life.

9. Intergenerational and charity planning – student debt and rising house prices have put huge pressures on the next generation. It is little surprise that parents and grandparents want to help. But what are the most effective and secure routes. How do you gift but retain family control? What are the tax implications of gifts or house purchase? We can help with all these questions to provide confidence and value you seek.

10. Estate planning, wills and Power of Attorney – managing the transition of wealth from one generation to the next is a complex area. We have many years’ experience in this area and work closely with other professionals. We can help simplify the issues, meet your needs and give you the long-term certainty and flexibility you seek.

11. Reducing debt – many people try to save while at the same time have credit card or other expensive debt. We can help build a short-term plan / budget that combines reducing debt, building rainy day savings and looking to the future. For example, we can look at current life cover arrangements with a view to saving money, we can look at pension plans with a view to reducing costs. And we can look at your current savings and ISAs to see if there is not a more efficient and cost-effective way to organise your savings.

12. Avoiding common pitfalls – sticking to a plan can be hard when markets are up or down substantially – and humans are proven to be poor at making good decisions. Our process is designed to help manage the best way through these times. Research shows that investors may be losing up to 2% per year by falling into common traps – we assist in avoiding these.

13. Insurance and trust planning – using trusts, wills, and other strategies we can make sure your money ends up in the hands of the people you want when you want. Poor planning can see up to 40% of your hard-earned savings or life assurance paid to the tax man. This gives you confidence that your wishes are met, your loved ones protected, and / or your business secured.

14. Financial goals – when Alice (in Alice in Wonderland) asks the Cheshire Cat, “Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here?” the Cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to”. It is the same for all of us – the first stage in achieving your long-term financial goals is to have clarity of what they are. This is a key area of our expertise, and we can help discuss, plan and agree a detailed and realistic plan for your financial future.

15. Cashflow modelling – people find it hard (or impossible) to project returns, costs, inflation and their income needs into the future – we use powerful but simple tools that will illustrate this for you. Seeing a picture of your future “money in and out” can really put into perspective how your plan is progressing.

16. Liaising with your accountant / solicitor – our experience of working with accountancy and solicitors’ practices gives a great knowledge of tax and legal matters – both personal and corporate. Having clear and joined up plans is more effective and gives you great peace of mind.