Financial Planning
Understanding your financial options can be complicated and confusing, however at Alexander Ross Mortgages & Financial Planning we can help provide a clearer understanding of your Financial Future.
Should you require further information, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 01257-441580.
SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS
Whether you wish to invest a lump sum or save a regular amount to build up a sum of money, our independent adviser can help you understand the options available to you and can provide a recommendation to help you meet your needs and objectives.
Before making any recommendations, we will assess your investment risk tolerance, capacity for financial loss and together agree on the level of risk you feel comfortable taking. When considering the level of risk you may wish to take, it is important to focus on the potential for positive returns as well as financial loss.
Objectives and timescale are also important considerations as more risk may be taken for longer-term objectives such as retirement planning, whereas less risk or no risk may be more desirable for short-term objectives such as saving for a new car or holidays.
The next step is to ensure that you have enough liquid funds available as an emergency fund. These funds are usually held in an instant access deposit account or Cash ISA.
Once the amount remaining available for savings or investments has been established, our adviser will guide you through your options and provide a recommendation based on your agreed attitude to financial risk and objectives.
Regular reviews to keep you on course
We offer an ongoing service to monitor how your investments behave on an annual basis and try to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Please note that this services comes at an additional cost.
The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount that you originally invested.
PROFESSIONAL PARTNERS
We recognise that, where appropriate, professions such as accountants, solicitors, HR consultants and independent financial advisers need to work together to provide the best possible outcome for their clients.
If you wish to know more about this, please contact our independent financial adviser who will be happy to discuss it further with you.
WILLS, TRUSTS AND LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY
People put off making a Will for a variety of reasons but the reality is that putting it off until it is too late can cause lots of problems for those left behind. Without a Will:
- You cannot be sure that those you would wish to benefit will actually do so
- Your spouse or partner may not automatically inherit all of your estate
- ‘Common Law’ partners will not receive anything
- Children will be taken into the state care system until Guardians are appointed
- There could be lengthy delays and disputes for your beneficiaries to deal with
Protecting your wealth and your family’s future
The simple fact is that everyone needs to have a Will and we will be happy to arrange this for you.
Our adviser may recommend the use of Trusts as part of a financial planning exercise to protect your assets in the future from taxation, care fees and bloodline issues such as divorce. Trusts can be set up during lifetime or on death as part of a Will and may be used in conjunction with other financial products or investments to achieve an objective.
Just as important as making a Will is the setting up of a Lasting Power of Attorney. There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney: ‘Health & Welfare’ and ‘Property and Finance’ that enable you to appoint one or more people to act on your behalf should you lose mental capacity. Not having these in place will leave your family having to apply to the Court of Protection to deal with your affairs, which can be costly and take several months to sort out.
Our adviser can provide help and advice on other matters including Power of Attorney and Probate; and is accredited by the Institute of Professional Willwriters.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Estate planning, Wills and Trusts.
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RETIREMENT PLANNING
Retirement planning has two distinct stages: the accumulation phase, during which you build up and grow your assets during your working life and the decumulation phase, when you use those assets to provide capital and income in retirement, whether that be full or semi retirement.
A personal plan for a perfect retirement
There are many different ways of funding retirement, from traditional private and workplace pension plans to building up an investment property portfolio. Whether or not you use one or all of the strategies available to you, professional planning is essential to ensure you have a sufficient level of income after taxes to provide for your essential and non-essential expenses.
During your working life, our adviser will help you plan and build up funds to provide for you when you retire. He will discuss with you the amount of income you require and the various ways of providing it and then recommend an appropriate solution for you, which should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure it remains on target.
Peace of mind income for your entire retirement
When you decide to stop work or reduce your working hours and want to draw benefits from your plans, our adviser will help you consider all of your options to structure your assets in the most appropriate and tax efficient way to provide the income you require.
It is not uncommon for a person stopping work now to expect to live for another thirty years. It is important, therefore, that careful planning and advice are received and regular reviews take place to ensure that a person’s assets will provide for them over a long period of time.
The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount that you originally invested.
SCHOOL FEES FUNDING
Most parents want their children to receive the best possible education. For some, this means the state school system until the age of 18 followed by higher education at university and for others, this means privately funded primary and secondary education followed by university.
Preparing for the future you want your children to have
Whichever route your child is likely to take, at some point there will be costs to pay. Compounding this, although paying for one child’s education can be within a family budget, difficulty often arises when there are two or more children. Overlapping years can place stress on household budgets and increase stress and worry and could result in having to take children out of their schools or universities. Effective planning to forecast and manage these costs can avoid serious problems.
Planning ahead is essential and effective at any point in time but the earlier you start the better. It is common for both parents and grandparents to want to help with the funding of a child’s education.
Our adviser will meet with you and discuss your requirements and the education path you would like your child or children to follow. An assessment of your current financial situation will be carried out, along with an assessment of the likely cost of the education, then your adviser will develop a strategy with you to provide the funding needed at the time it is required. Your adviser will carry out regular reviews with you at least once a year to ensure that the strategy is on track. Please note that annual reviews are a part of our ongoing service and comes at an additional charge.
The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount that you originally invested.
TAX PLANNING & MITIGATION
The most well known taxes in the UK are income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and VAT but of course there are many more that we pay during our lives whether we realise it or not.
Professional tax planning to reduce liabilities
Planning to mitigate tax is not illegal or immoral and in fact has been actively encouraged by successive Governments’ which allow products with tax incentives to encourage saving, pension contributions and funding into smaller growing UK businesses.
There are many ways to save or reduce tax liabilities which can involve effective structured planning or the purchase of insurance, investment and pension plans. Our adviser is able to assess your current financial situation and plans for the future and offer advice on how to become as tax efficient as possible, both now and in the future.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Tax Planning.
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