Investments to help fund your future

To answer that you first need a clear understanding of your financial goals, as this will help you decide how to balance current against future spending.

Ask yourself: what financial assets do you already have that you can use to achieve your goals? What investment return do you require to achieve your financial objectives? And what additional savings may be required now or in the future? A lot will also depend on your risk appetite. An Independent Financial Adviser will guide you through these questions and establish an investment strategy that gives you the best chance of achieving your long-term financial goals.

The amount of tax you pay on your investments will generally depend on your personal circumstances, the type of investment and whether you are taking income from them. This might be from interest or dividends – or selling, in which case you could be liable for tax on your profits. However, UK tax is complex and there are many useful tax-efficient vehicles, reliefs and allowances. You probably know about ISAs and Pensions but there are others you may need to know about if you are already fully using those.

Find more details on efficient tax planning.

Whatever you do with your hard-earned savings involves a level of risk, even bank deposits. Many people choose to leave a significant sum in cash, oblivious to how inflation can reduce its value over time. Your expected investment return is the financial reward you expect to receive for accepting a degree of investment risk. The more risk you take, the wider the range of potential outcomes. Additional risk can therefore lead to higher or lower actual returns than you would otherwise have achieved. So, you must balance your desire to receive a potentially greater return from a riskier investment with a lower return from a less risky investment. An Independent Financial Adviser will help you make an informed decision about your risk appetite.

When it comes to money, risk is inevitable – but it isn’t wise to take on additional risk by opting to build your own investment portfolio or to take on more risk than you need to in order to meet your goals. Most private investors fail 67% of the time without the right skill and information to hand. By investing in different asset classes and global territories, a portfolio typically becomes less volatile, managing risk by diversity. Our clients want the same thing, the best possible return from the least amount of risk, regardless of whether you are a high or low risk taker.

Independent financial advisers can build investment portfolios with the optimum mix of assets to meet your financial goals and maximise your possible returns for the level of risk you are willing and able to accept.