Proper Planning
Financial planning, investment planning and wealth management all sound like complex strategies for the wealthy. They're not. In fact these can be very simple ideas that have very productive and long lasting affects to your wealth and happiness.
Before you can think about planning your investments it’s important to know what your financial plan looks like.
That doesn’t mean you need to have a written document full of charts and graphs telling you how wealthy you are. It just means you should have an understanding of where you are now financially, where you want to be and how you plan on getting there, even if it’s just in your own mind.
Financial Planning
Good financial planning should allow you peace of mind. It’s hard enough earning money so the last thing you want is it causing you more stress.
A well thought out financial plan can free you to enjoy your money. The best thing about planning your finances is that the simpler you make it the less hassle it will be to you.
The financial planning process is one that should help you secure your financial future, build upon your existing wealth, and help you enjoy your life.
Click here to learn more about the financial planning process.
Investment Planning
Investment planning is about assigning a role to your money. If every direct debit, every savings account or every investment you have has a role and is working to achieve its task, then you’ve truly got your money working for you.
So investment planning doesn’t mean you have to put everything away until you retire. It’s actually about helping you to strike a balance between enjoying your money now and securing your future.
We can provide you with the information, the tools, the guidance and the investment service to help you secure your future lifestyle.
In broad terms you should be aiming to have:
- a cash reserve that you are comfortable with or are building up to the level you would want it at.
- short term money that will fund your expenditures for the foreseeable future.
- long term investments that have been set aside to grow over time.
Retirement Planning
There is no better incentive to plan for retirement than the thought of achieving a lifestyle where you can choose to do what you want, when you want and all at a pace that suits you.
This is what retirement should feel like. This is what the incentive to plan for retirement should feel like.
Remember the earlier you start the longer your investments will have to grow. All of which means you have a better chance of achieving the retirement income you want.
History of Financial Planning
The traditional 'financial adviser' is slowly being replaced by a more 21st Century 'financial planner'. Perhaps in part due to regulations and partly due to the needs of the investing public in the UK.
The requirement to access quality financial planning information has grown steadily and is now increasing at a much faster rate than ever before.
People are now recognising the importance of financial planning, as opposed to simple financial advice.
Historically financial advice has related to the sale of products by a financial adviser to match a specific need.
Now we see well qualified and more professional financial planners taking a more rounded view of a client's finances, lifestyle, goals and ambitions before making recommendations that will serve them far more effectively than just a single product sale would.
One of the key differences between a financial adviser and a financial planner is that a professional planner will most likely offer cash flow management advice and financial education as part of the advice process. This certainly sets them apart from any normal adviser that typically just wants to recommend a product.
In all the scope of a financial planner could include such areas as risk management and insurance requirements, investment planning issues including investor risk profiling, retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, cash flow management and liability matching. It would also include financial education and lifestyle planning which are fundamental to quality financial planning, investment planning and wealth management.
The art of financial planning really grew out of America with pioneers such as George Kinder associating lifestyle management with financial management. Indeed many professional planners in the UK now are making the move towards lifestyle coaching as part of their full service financial planning offering.
The benefits of this type of approach are that the client takes up much of the conversation to the extent that they in affect write their own plan and therefore tailor their own advice according to their needs.
Armed with the knowledge of what you want to achieve the implementation process of buying financial products actually becomes very simple.
