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Important Reminder
The information in the following article was accurate at the time of creation but may no longer be reliable due to changes in tax regulations, laws, or other events.
Put simply, an investment platform is a single destination online that enables you to buy, sell and hold a range of different investments including funds, shares, trusts and bonds. Crucially, it provides access to certain tax wrappers that are relevant and work best for our clients, most commonly ISAs and pensions. You can easily log in to monitor your performance and values.
The main reason to use platforms, rather than specific products such as having an ISA with one company and a pension with another, is because of the access it provides to everything in one place. As independent financial advisers, we want to have access to all the funds that may be right for our clients. That's generally what a platform offers – a lot of choices through access to the whole market, meaning there are no barriers to us making the right decisions for our clients.
The sky's the limit in terms of investment opportunity within a platform, as opposed to being limited to the funds of one specific provider. Platforms also provide opportunities for reducing the costs involved in investing. Generally, it's cheaper to buy funds on platforms rather than through the open market, so as advisers we get clients in the right investments at lower costs.
The platform charge tends to vary based on the platform used and the level of funds you are investing, but the platform charge tends to be around 0.2 to 0.3% per annum, in addition to fund and adviser charges.
Investing in line with your risk profile is just one area of robust financial planning so the value of advice lies in all the additional things we look after for you. This includes effective tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning and legacy planning. Some of these can be very complicated and we can add a lot of value when the likes of inheritance tax must be considered.
All of these areas combined are where the value of advice comes in, and it’s what you’re not able to get with a do-it-yourself approach to investing or a robo advice platform. If the advice fee is 1% per year, simply leaving an investment in the wrong place for even a week could see a 1% drop in value, or if you make a mistake in your tax affairs that could easily add up too. When you go over inheritance tax limits, 40% will go to the taxman. Good planning can reduce those costs.
Robo advice is a kind of watered-down version of traditional advice. You go through an online risk profile questionnaire and the platform then narrows the selection of funds down based on your answers. It's very much simplified in that respect, whilst it might help you select funds according to your risk level, you won’t get any of the important wrap-around advice I mentioned such as tailored tax planning, whole-of-market investment strategy and wider financial planning.
There are hundreds of investment platforms, and it can be difficult to decide which is the best for you and your financial objectives. The main aspects to look at are the costs and the capabilities in terms of ease of access and general administration. Most platforms tend to do what they say in terms of allowing you to invest, but if you are looking to withdraw money regularly or do something with your money, that’s often where issues come in. That’s why working with an independent financial adviser is also valuable because at Ascot Lloyd we conduct due diligence on platforms across all these factors so you can be assured we’re using the best one for you.
The only reason we would have to look at moving platforms is if it’s going to work out better for a client based on cost, service, or functionality, and this would be reviewed and discussed at a clients annual review. If there are no taxation issues with transferring, such as if you’re only invested in an ISA or a pension, it’s fairly easy, however, if you've got a general investment account with capital gains in the portfolio, it gets a little more complicated as this could cause tax concerns. To help manage this, you can generally complete an in-specie transfer which moves the funds to the new platform while remaining invested rather than being sold to cash first.
If you are interested in discussing how you can maximise your investment returns with an independent financial adviser, get in touch to arrange a free callback.
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Important Information
Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. Investment involves risk.
The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back any of the amount originally invested. Because of this, an investor is not certain to make a profit on an investment and may lose money. Exchange rate changes may cause the value of overseas investments to rise or fall.
This communication is for information purposes only and is based on our understanding of current UK tax legislation and HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”). Levels and bases of taxation and reliefs are subject to change and their value to you will depend on your personal circumstances. Nothing in this communication constitutes financial, professional or investment advice or a personal recommendation. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future.
The FCA does not regulate inheritance tax planning.
This communication should not be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any securities or related financial instruments in any jurisdiction. No representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained herein, nor is it intended to be a complete statement or summary of the securities, markets or developments referred to in the document.
Any opinions expressed in this document are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by other business areas or companies within the same group as Ascot Lloyd as a result of using different assumptions and criteria.
This communication is issued by Capital Professional Limited, trading as Ascot Lloyd. Ground Floor Reading Bridge House, George Street, Reading, England, RG1 8LS. Capital Professional Limited is registered in England and Wales (number 07584487) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 578614).