1. Discovery

Getting to know you

Here we begin to get to know all about you, your financial circumstances and an understanding of your goals, values and aspirations. We also begin the process of assessing your emotional tolerance to risk, need for risk and capacity for loss. This helps us to explore and narrow down suitable strategies for you.

2. Analysis

Assessing your current situation

This is an extremely important step. Here we carry out a full audit of your present position to ensure that we have a true and complete understanding of you, your family and your financial affairs.

Lifetime Cashflow Modelling is a vital part of what we do here. We use this tool to see into your future, removing some of the guesswork and allowing you to make informed decisions. It will help to identify whether you are on track to achieve your goals and what you need to earn, what you need to save, the level of returns needed and how much risk you can afford to take.

We will produce a WealthAnalysis Report. This is a written audit of your current position and provides a basis for our discussions and your life plan. It will allow you to consider the underlying assumptions used and raise any material issues that might need to be resolved prior to moving onto the next stage.

3. Structure

Planning ahead

We will carry out in-depth research and analysis to create a robust and thorough Financial Plan, which will incorporate the following areas:

• Wealth Structure: How best to structure your wealth to meet your current and future lifestyle goals. This will include a review of your existing money purchase pensions, investments, ISAs and cash deposits.
• Investment Strategy: How best to structure your investable assets to manage risk and maximise returns to help increase the likelihood of achieving your goals and aspirations.
• Tax Planning: How best to maximise the use of all available Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax allowances with the view of minimising taxes.
• Contingency Planning: How best to ensure that your wealth can weather the storm through life’s unfortunate events. We will review all your protection needs, wills, trusts and lasting powers of attorney.

These elements will then culminate into the creation and delivery of a personalised WealthStructure Report. This is a full financial planning report that includes your strategic plan, together with the rationale and evidence to support the suitability of our advice and recommendations. This report will also include a revised Lifetime Cashflow based on any recommended changes, showing the impact of our advice when considering your financial objectives and overall life plan.

Outlining the actions required and timescales to complete them, we will then provide transaction details, a timetable and allocate accountability for all practicalities involved in the investment of assets, if applicable, and the necessary administrative framework.

We then implement our recommendations on your behalf. This includes preparing, completing and submitting any applications and ensuring that all the various pieces of the jigsaw are put into place, before your journey commences.

4. Stewardship

Maintaining long-term perspective

Proper financial planning is not a one-off event. It is a dynamic and evolving process to ensure that you meet your goals and aspirations. Your plans will have to adapt to changing conditions and circumstances along the way and for this reason people need ongoing advice, counselling and support.

Our ongoing Advice Service is designed to work with you in an open, transparent and collaborative way.

Our WealthStewardship process provides you with a clear picture of your current position and financial progress based on your stated goals and aspirations.

It starts with the delivery of your bespoke WealthStewardship Report followed by a review meeting with your dedicated financial planner.

We will issue a comprehensive Review Meeting Report covering our discussions and recommended actions. In this we will cover:

• Utilising available allowances, legislative changes, Income Tax planning, Capital Gains Tax planning and Inheritance Tax planning.
• Reappraisal of the ongoing suitability of existing plans.
• Any top-ups to existing ISAs, pensions and investments that we may recommend.

Finally, where required, we will liaise with your accountant and/or solicitor.