Why seek financial advice
How can an adviser support you?

Working with an adviser can add value by looking at your financial goals in life and creating and implementing a plan that turns them into reality over the long term. Life is unpredictable, and no matter what it throws at you an adviser can help
Tackling problems

The reasons people gave for seeking advice:

  • I want to save for retirement.
  • Understand retirement options.
  • Insure against death or illness.
  • I received an inheritance.
  • Should I combine pension pots.
  • How to invest for children or grandchildren.
  • How much to spend in retirement.
  • Invest savings in the stock market / investment ISA.
  • Taking income from a pension.
  • Get help with tax planning.
Seeking Financial advice to solve an issue with help from a professional.

Planning for retirement is arguably the most common reason for seeking advice according to our survey, followed by helping to find old pension plans and advising on whether a consolidation is needed.
One of the most important aspects of financial planning is having an adviser that understands where you are in life and where you want to get to. Understanding your lifestyle, your requirements and your attitude to risk, allows them to base their recommendations on your exact needs. Family and financial responsibilities whether you’re married, in a civil partnership, co-habiting or have a growing family is essential that you take steps to safe guard your income and home. Protecting family from impact of illness or premature death advisers can help ensure you select the appropriate cover for your circumstances. An adviser can help set out your retirement expectations and work out how much you’ll need to retire comfortably.
Creating a plan

Setting goals will challenge the way you think about your finances and building a savings plan can make all the difference to your financial future. An adviser can help you identify your financial priorities and put together a plan to help you achieve them.

Saving for a comfortable retirement - an adviser can help you understand what you’ll need to save so you can live the future life you’d like.

Planning for education - saving for school fees or tuition fees for children is often cited as an important objective and by carefully planning ahead this can be achieved.

Supporting children to buy homes - providing deposits for children to buy properties could be achieved in a tax efficient way if done correctly.

Ensuring financial stability - an adviser can help by creating a budgeting or spending plan and working closely with you to understand your short, medium and long term needs giving you that much needed peace of mind.

When it comes to devising an investment strategy, an adviser can help you navigate the choices and help make decisions about where to invest, how much to invest, and how to invest, and how to do it in the most tax efficient manner. You can decide if you’d benefit from advice as part of a long term relationship.
"Having tried something for the first time we often look back and wonder why we hadn’t done it sooner. Speaking to a professional is no different".
Dealing with challenges
A significant two in five people who’ve never sought advice admit that they don’t have a good relationship with money. Yet the majority of people are still prepared to make decisions on their own.

Examples of the challenges in life and the ways an adviser can support you.

Managing income in retirement - Retirement options have never been more flexible. When can I retire? should I bring together all of my pensions? Should I take benefits? What is the most tax efficient option? Can I pass it on to my children? With so many options advice can be particularly valuable. 
Staying invested - There may be times when you may be tempted to sell your assets when they fall in value this can be extremely detrimental to your hard earned savings. An adviser can guide you through these unstable times and could help prevent potential loses.

Divorce - A very difficult time both emotionally and financially. Having a financial expert to provide clarity and help you make the right decisions about your money is key.
Long term care - An adviser can help you make sure you and your finances are taken care of in the most tax efficient manner to finance the best health and support services in old age. This can be a major worry for many and an adviser can help you plan so you have the money set aside to cover these potential costs.

Death - Challenges of inheritance tax requires a very specific set of skills, an adviser can help ensure wealth is passed down to future generations.

 
Myths about financial advice
People can often convince themselves that advice isn’t for them. Here’s a list of some of the common ones that prevent people from benefiting from advice.
  • I can do my own financial planning - For some people, that’s fine but it’s worth questioning what the risks or ultimate cost of taking a DIY approach is for some of the more complex financial decisions. Planning ahead is key to financial management and budgeting, yet three quarters of people don’t have clear financial goals. When it comes to making sense of your options, having an expert by your side makes things simpler, safer and the decisions easier. 

  • Financial advice is only suitable for wealthy people - Another common myth that puts people off seeking advice is thinking that they need to be wealthy to benefit from it, with a quarter of those surveyed thinking advice is only for those with over £100,000 to invest. The fact is an adviser’s expertise and technical knowledge can add real value to those with modest funds to invest, especially if the matter is complex.
  • Financial advice costs too much money - Cost is often seen as a barrier, interestingly the majority say that they didn’t actually know how much advice costs. Advisers do charge and it is important that the value delivered isn’t just seen in monetary terms. Those that have previously taken advice overwhelming state peace of mind as the leading benefit. It’s worth considering how this may benefit you financially but also reduce stress knowing a professional is helping. 

  • I don’t know how to find a good financial adviser - Financial advisers need to have qualifications and meet professional standards to be authorised by the financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. 9 out of 10 people with an adviser rated the service as good or very good. Best approach is to have a list of questions and check their qualifications.
Results from an online search are unlikely to compare to tailored advice that gives you a personal recommendation taking into consideration your individual circumstances. Whether you want to plan for retirement, save in a tax efficient way, manage an inheritance or generate retirement income, getting professional advice can be an invaluable investment.
The value of getting financial advice
An adviser is not all about money, an adviser plays other roles

. Financial advice delivers a mixture of benefits, some that are quantifiable and some that are not. You can point to investment returns as a measurable benefit, however it’s not always as easy to measure the peace of mind and confidence gained from working towards your financial goals. an advisers skill is underlying your goals and desires seeing you on track to achieve them.

  • Review your goals as your circumstances change financially and with family needs. 
  • Help in recognising what you want in life, for the short, medium or long term.
  •  Face difficult life events such as death of a loved one or divorce. In turmoil times having a guide so you don’t panic and make any poor financial decisions, for example selling shares when there are falls in the market.

Having a mixture of technics an adviser can help implement the following strategies.

  • Protecting your family with the correct insurances in place.
  • Calculating the amount you need to save to meet your future needs.
  • Being as tax efficient as possible.
  • Ensure investments are inline with your attitude to risk and are structured correctly to meet future goals.
  • Coach 

Getting you started and have a plan in place.

  •  Navigator  

Guiding you through the potentially difficult times

  •  Protector 

Protection of your wealth by aiming to minimise tax and maximise growth
Three components of Value
Value of advice is valid throughout your life
Peace of Mind

Providing the feeling of knowing that everything has been arranged financially for you and your family.
Protecting Family

Ensuring the correct insurances are in place with life & critical illness cover and income protection if the worst happens.
Happy Retirement

Securing enough income in retirement giving you the lifestyle to do what you want to do and when you want to do it.
NEXT STEPS

How to go about getting financial advice?
The most common approach and where we seem to meet our clients is through recommendations. Word of mouth has always been our preferred method of contact as we know if you are recommended to us it means we have done a good job. It is always worth asking around friends and family to see if there is a local adviser to you, we are fortunate in that our advisers are national, it is rare that we are unable to appoint one of our regulated representatives to come and meet with you in person however we also run a telephone & Skype based service insight of recent events.

We will always insist that you are armed with a list of questions so we can take the time to understand your financial needs through a thorough fact finding process designed to match a solution to your needs.

Our underlying philosophy

  • To be clear and simple at all times. 
  • To offer value for money. 
  • To be impartial and independent of provider, product or service. 
  • To ensure any recommendation made is in the individuals best interest. 
  • To make any recommendation in a timely fashion. 
  • To offer ongoing advice and support ensuring targets are met, loved ones are protected & tax is limited when retiring.
Share by: