Q. I am a married 51 year old surgeon, and have several large pension funds which have built up over many years, with a combined value of around £400k. I dont intend to cash in my pensions until age 60 plus, and have recently turned my attention to the subject of Inheritance Tax. Our estate [...]
Should I Wrap My Investments? – Hot Topics Q & A
January 18, 2010 By
Q. I keep reading about ‘Wrap Platforms in the press, and have noticed you also use them for your clients’ investments. My own adviser says he prefers to use the ‘tried and tested’ insurance companies for my ISAs and Pension policies. What are the main advantages of using this way to manage your investments? A. This is [...]
Investment Costs – What Is The ‘Real Deal’?
December 9, 2009 By
We have visited this subject many times, but make no apology for doing so again. If you currently have investments in Unit Trusts, Stocks & Shares ISAs or Pensions, or are planning to do so, then reading this article could save you a small fortune over, say, 10 – 20 years. Let’s take a look [...]
Investment Risk – What’s Your Risk Tolerance?
November 2, 2009 By
As you’ll know, the main global stock markets have been very volatile over the last 12 months or so. And it’s likely that you have money invested in one or more of several investment vehicles: ISAs Personal Pensions Self Invested Personal Pensions Life company funds Unit Trusts Open Ended Investment Companies Investment Trusts For example, [...]
Investing – Cash or Stock Markets? – Hot Topics Q&A
October 18, 2009 By
Q. I have just retired from dental surgery after 35 years hard work, and plan to really enjoy my retirement years by travelling a lot to far away places. With my NHS lump sum and cash from selling my practice I have a large sum of money to invest. I want to put money into the [...]
Summer Ends & Seminar Season Begins…
October 8, 2009 By
No doubt you’re fully back into work as the nights get colder and darker. I know, but don’t worry, next summer will soon come around The last few months have been hectic. Apart from client work, we have a number of events lined up between now and the end of the year: On October 8th [...]
Does Gold Still Sparkle? – Hot Topics Q & A
April 10, 2009 By
Q. I have heard that because of falling returns on ‘normal’ investments, some investors are putting money into Gold. Is this sensible? A. We believe in asset class investing, and do not believe that Gold is in itself an asset class. This is because we think that any asset class must have a way of providing [...]
ISAs – Are They Really That Tax Efficient?
March 12, 2009 By
One of the standard pieces of advice we have always given when it comes to investing in stocks & shares is that it really will pay off to maximise the allowances clients have to ISAs. If a client is looking to invest, this is the first port of call for us as wealth managers. As [...]
Wrap Investment Platforms – What Are The Costs? – Hot Topics Q & A
January 26, 2009 By
Q. As I hold my investments with a number of providers I am looking to consolidate and transfer the money held in the plans to a ‘wrap platform’. I know you have written about this in the past, so whilst I have a good idea about the benefits, what costs are involved? Note: click here and here to [...]
Rebalancing Your Portfolio – A Key Strategy? – Hot Topics Q & A
October 31, 2008 By
Q. I have heard about rebalancing, but am not quite sure what it is and how it could benefit me. I have approx. £210,000 invested in various plans including personal pensions and ISAs. I have not reviewed my investments for a few years now. Can you please tell me more? A. It’s likely your portfolio includes [...]
