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Professional Financial Planning is the process which aims to help you realise your ambitions. As professional financial advisers we can help you make informed decisions about your financial future, short, medium and long term.
You will almost certainly have plans of one kind or another - buying a home, starting a family, living abroad, perhaps retiring, but such ambitions have financial implications and you can't leave it all to chance. Careful planning aims to help turn your plans into...
Health Insurance is probably one of the most important types of insurance you can own. Without it, an illness or accident can have serious financial implications for you and your family.
Most people will be aware that Health Insurance can cover the cost of private medical treatment for any acute conditions you may suffer in the future. However, there are a number of other types of Health-related Insurance policies which are worthy of serious consideration.
The main purpose of Life Assurance is to provide money for those people who may depend on you financially, in the event that something should happen to you. These people could include family members or business partners.
This type of protection plan is called life 'assurance' because death is at some point inevitable, which means that you are 'assured' that the plan will definitely pay out one day, so long as you have paid all the premiums and you die whilst the plan is in force.
All businesses are exposed to risks in their day-to-day operations. Without insurance cover to provide protection against some of these risks, businesses would find it difficult to operate efficiently and profitably.
Adequate insurance is therefore not a luxury - it is an absolute necessity.
These days, many people are not afraid to seek compensation. No win - no fee advertisements encourage claims, and businesses need to protect themselves against liability claims that could run into millions of pounds.
Accident, Sickness & Unemployment insurance (ASU), is designed to provide you with an income to meet your outgoings in case of absence from work due to illness, an accident or redundancy.
With an accident, sickness & unemployment policy you pay for a monthly premium for the level of cover you need, and if you lose your job or can't work, you will receive that amount of money each month to cover your costs and spend as you wish. Policies usually pay out for up to a year or until you...
If you are in full time employment you should consider the benefits of a redundancy cover plan. We are all vulnerable to the potential of involuntary redundancy and the good old days of knowing that you have 'a job for life' seem to be gone.
Part of the payment protection insurance - PPI - family, redundancy cover provides a tax free monthly amount that can be used to help you manage financially in the event of involuntary unemployment.
Your mortgage is probably the largest financial transaction and commitment you are likely to undertake. Surely then you should seek mortgage advice which is individually tailored to your needs and requirements?
We are not tied to any particular lender, which means that we have the ability to act on your behalf, representing your best interests, in order to establish the most appropriate mortgage solution for you.
When you retire you still need food and shelter as an absolute minimum, but of course you will want to maintain the lifestyle to which you have become accustomed, so unless you can guarantee a large windfall, you need to provide yourself with a secure income for the rest of your life.
A well prepared pension plan which is regularly reviewed should go some way to providing this.
When someone talks about savings and saving money, it could be referring to a piggy bank or a high interest deposit account. Savings are effectively cash or cash instruments, such as deposit accounts, term bonds etc.
Investing is what you do with the savings you have - if you are looking to generate a greater return on your money than is available to you through your savings instruments.
Taxation can be very complicated and the rules, reliefs and allowances often change, so it is worth obtaining a clear grasp of how these taxes work by discussing with a professional adviser the most efficient way to arrange your finances.
An expert will be able to help you plan your taxes in advance, and come up with effective strategies that will use the lawful reliefs and allowances to minimise the amount you have to pay.
Wealth, just like your health, must be carefully preserved. Your assets need to be protected against the potential threats of erosion by taxation, the effects of inflation and investment risks.
Whatever your level of wealth, there is nothing wrong in making the decision to prepare a risk aversion strategy. Risk aversion is a reasonable and prudent strategy for anyone who is sure that they already have ample to provide for themselves and their family into the future.
Here's how we formulate the plan towards your goals:
We meet together to discuss your personal circumstances and your current financial situation. We'll go into detail so that we can draw up a complete picture of where you are now, and where you want to arrive. We'll ask about you, your occupation, your savings & investments, your mortgage, your current liabilities and your tax position, and we'll explain how all of this information builds a profile which will help us to formulate our financial plan.
Next we discuss your objectives and your aspirations, as well as any concerns that may arise. We’ll discuss risk and reward and capacity for loss which together will result in determining your attitude towards investment risk, as this feedback from you will enable us to construct an investment portfolio which is a major part of the plan. You'll see as we move forward in our discussions how all this fits into place in your personal plan and agree the likely cost for our financial advice.
We'll discuss with you our analysis of your current financial position, and outline our initial thoughts for the plan. We'll present our recommendations and actions required for you to potentially achieve your goals.
So now we know where you are and where you want to be. In this phase we present your Personal Financial Plan which maps out the journey to your destination, and we establish the most suitable and most time efficient route to potentially get you there. We discuss with you your current income and expenditure, your assets and liabilities, and how your existing finances can be utilised towards the achievement of your financial goals. Your Personal Financial Plan will also agree the cost of achieving your objectives, and now we ask your approval and confirmation of the plan.
It's time to implement the plan. Every course of action we have recommended and agreed with you is now put into motion.
If required, review dates will be agreed and can take place annually or more regularly if required or requested, ongoing fees will be agreed as to which service level is required. The purpose of regular monitoring of your Personal Financial Plan is to enable you to clearly see progress towards reaching your financial goals, and for us to make any course adjustments that may be required. Working closely with you we will explain overall how the plan is going and agree with you any modifications to keep it on track towards the achievement of your goals.
TAX TREATMENT IS BASED ON INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY DOES NOT REGULATE TAX PLANNING.
THE VALUE OF INVESTMENTS AND INCOME FROM THEM CAN GO DOWN. YOU MAY NOT GET BACK THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT INVESTED.
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Southern Office
252A Berkhampstead Road
Chesham
Bucks
HP5 3ET
Tel: 01494 794 999
Northern Office
3 Skeldergate
York
North Yorkshire
YO1 6DG
Tel: 01904 670 430
Mainestream Financial Services Ltd is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is entered on the Financial Services Register (www.fca.org.uk/register) under reference 541703.
Asprey Harris and Mortgage Advice Service are trading styles of Mainestream Financial Services Ltd.
The guidance and/or advice contained within the website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.