To operate on a holistic financial management basis it is important that we can provide advice and guidance on all aspects of financial planning. Therefore, our services encompass the following areas:

Retirement planning

No matter how near to or far from retirement it is important to regularly review the retirement provision in place. We will work with our clients to determine the appropriate strategy and as retirement approaches consider all options available to ensure that pension benefits are received in the most tax efficient way as possible.

The aim of the Pension Reforms in April 2006 was to simplify pensions legislation, however, many of the Reforms have created a complex area of financial planning. Through our specialist knowledge we can guide our clients through the legislation to ensure that they are maximising the opportunities available whilst at the same time ensuring the pension fund is held within the most suitable contracts.

At the same time the Pension Reforms introduced greater investment flexibility for pension arrangements, to take advantage of this significantly improved investment choice we have created a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and a Small Self Administered Pension Scheme (SSAS) which allow our clients to capitalise on the significant investment options available to them.

Using specialist retirement planning tools we can determine the level of contributions required to ensure that the level of income received in retirement is sufficient to maintain the desired standard of living.

Estate planning

Inheritance tax was once considered to be a tax on the wealthy; however, nowadays it affects a much larger proportion of the population due to the fact that in recent years assets have been growing at a faster rate than the allowances.

The Budget in 2006 saw the Government introduce measures that reduce the use of some trusts for inheritance tax planning. However, the tax system still provides considerable scope for acceptable and efficient planning. The starting point is to work with our clients to calculate their potential tax liability and explain which assets, if any, are exempt. We will then guide clients through all the options for mitigating the liability including taking into consideration the available gift exemptions, transfer of assets and where deemed to be appropriate establishment of the appropriate trusts or the investment in Inheritance Tax efficient portfolios.

School fees planning

It is widely reported that school fees on average increase on an annual basis significantly more than the rate of inflation. Having made the decision to educate children privately, it is important to ensure that our clients are in a position to fund their children's education throughout their time at school and university.

We will work with our clients to calculate the fee liability over the years to come and then draw up a financial plan for the fees taking into consideration the most tax efficient way to save for and ultimately pay for these fees.

Investment planning

We recognise that underlying any retirement planning or estate planning strategy there is the requirement for a cohesive investment strategy.

The starting point for any investment strategy is to understand our clients’ investment risk tolerance and create a suitable asset allocation aligned to this as well as financial objectives and time horizons.

Using our in house investment expertise we will then recommend appropriate investments to meet with this strategy.

Investment management provides a greater insight to how we approach investment.

Corporate planning

It is not just individuals who require an investment and financial planning strategy, businesses and business owners also benefit from sound, financial planning, we are well positioned to assist in this area too.

We have a team that is dedicated to work with companies in the design, implementation, administration and ongoing monitoring of employee benefit arrangements. In addition, our specialist SSAS department can assist Directors and Senior Executives of businesses to optimise the legislation surrounding pensions whether that is to hold the property within which the business is operated from or invest in shares in the company.