The investment process

A well-diversified asset portfolio that is tailored to your financial goals and risk levels will provide you with financial security.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to investment, which is why we take a consistent approach to understanding your financial objectives. Whether you wish to retain and preserve your capital, grow it or draw income, we will help you to ascertain what is right for you.

Understanding what you need from your money

We spend time with you to understand what you need from your money. Whether growing your wealth is paramount or receiving a regular income that increases over time is crucial; everyone is different. We all want to know that our savings are working for us to provide in retirement whilst avoiding unnecessary Inheritance Tax.

We help you to decide which of your financial objectives is the most important as well as identifying any specific needs that you might have in the future.

Using Cashflow Modelling we can estimate how much money you will need to maintain your lifestyle as well as achieving financial security for your future.

Our risk profiling

We help you to identify investments that align with the level of risk that you are comfortable with but that will still meet your needs. We consider the level of capital growth and income you require whilst not exposing you to unnecessary risk.

A more adventurous investment will incur higher risk level but if your financial objectives are satisfied by a lower risk option, then this is likely to be the right approach for you.

All investments come with a degree of risk but we take the time to ensure that we understand the level of risk you are happy to take.

The right blend of investments

With a clear vision of your investment goals and risk tolerances, we will walk you through the different strategies for investment and create a blend that works for you.

We help to create a diversified portfolio that will meet your long-term financial aims with acceptable levels of risks.

Reducing risk by spreading your money

Including a broad range of asset investments in your portfolio allows us to reduce risk. Investing in real assets such as property, UK companies, international shares, bonds and commodities usually delivers better returns than cash in the long-term. We will also discuss any ethical investment concerns, which will be addressed in our tailored proposals.

Collective Investment Funds

A Collective Investment Funds (or Collective Investment Trust) is a group of pooled accounts held by a bank or trust.

A Collective Investment Fund will reduce your risk by spreading your investment over many holdings rather than just a few. Your money is pooled with other investors to create large funds that hold a broad range of investments selected by a professional management team.

The value of your holdings will change, usually on a daily basis and you can track it daily.

Active or passive fund management?

An actively managed fund will require a fund manager to decide which holdings to buy and sell. A passive fund will seek to replicate the investment sector as a whole.

We tend to find that most investors are suited to a blended mix of both active and passive funds.

Portfolio diversification

A typical portfolio will hold between 20 and 30 funds that in turn will be spread amongst many hundreds of investments.

Discretionary Fund Management (DFM)

Managing a portfolio of funds requires planning for the future whilst also paying attention to what is happening now.

On occasion it is prudent to change from one manager to another quickly so that the portfolio can be adjusted promptly. As such we often work with a Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) who has the research and investment expertise to make these tactical decisions on your behalf.

A DFM will be appointed prior permission to act as your agent to switch between funds immediately. In our experience this approach has delivered additional value to our clients who want to take a more active approach to fund management.

Investment Platforms

Investment platforms allow you to switch money between different funds, quickly and cheaply. Whilst it is possible to buy funds directly from individual fund managers, valuations and administration can be very time consuming.

Investment platforms, whilst a simple concept, have changed the traditional approach to investment; instead of having accounts with individual fund managers, an investor has an account with one wrap provider.

The platform provider can then offer access to any of the individual funds available on the platform – usually several thousand choices from all of the leading investment providers.

Easy and secure portfolio monitoring

When you wish to view your portfolio or make changes to your investment funds, using our secure technology allows you to do this quickly and at little or no cost.

Making tax work for you

Whether ISA, pension or bond, holding your investments within the most tax effective vehicle will have a big effect on your overall return. We will advise you on the best choices according to your tax position.

Portfolio Rebalancing

Some of your funds will be higher risk and some lower risk. This is what is used to calculate the overall risk level of the portfolio. However, the different holdings will not change in value at the same rate. If this process continues unchecked, the risk level of the portfolio will deviate from what we have agreed. As such your portfolio will be moved back to the original risk level on a regular basis.

Ongoing support

In the world of investment, nothing stands still. Our ongoing support service ensures that your investments continue to be monitored with changes made when required.