Keeping your investments safe

After nearly a decade of low interest rates and central banks pumping money into financial markets, traditional safe haven investments have become expensive, so where could investors look to keep their investments safe?

Gold, the US dollar, ‘defensive’ stocks such as utilities and pharmaceuticals, government bonds, cash – what do they have in common? In times of economic stress and market volatility, they are seen as safe havens for investors. Read more…

Parents putting financial health at risk to fund university costs

When it comes to funding a university education, it is parents and grandparents who typically look to provide the money. But even though this may be the case, last year’s graduates from English universities still left with an average of £44,000 debt (source: Sutton Trust), with some parents still, on average, expecting their children to leave university with £23,000 debt. Read more…

Choosing the right structures can protect assets and give your family lasting benefits

The structures into which you can transfer your assets can have lasting consequences for you and your family, and it is crucial that you choose the right ones. The right structures can protect assets and give your family lasting benefits. A trust can be used to reduce how much Inheritance Tax your estate will have to pay on your death. Read more…

Securing more of your wealth for your loved ones

Protecting your estate is ultimately about securing more of your wealth for your loved ones and planning for what will happen after your death to make the lives of your loved ones much easier.  Read more…

Permitting someone to act on your behalf when you are no longer mentally capable of making decisions

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to give someone else the legal authority to act on your behalf. There are several different types of Power of Attorney. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) – previously called an ‘Enduring Power of Attorney’ – allows your attorneys to make decisions for you when you no longer wish to, or when you lack the mental capacity to do so. Read more…

An essential part of your financial planning

Your will lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions after your death. If you make a will, you can also make sure you don’t pay more Inheritance Tax than you need to. It’s an essential part of your financial planning: not only does it set out your wishes, but, die without a Will, and your estate will generally be divided according to the rules of intestacy, which may not reflect your wishes. Without one, the state directs who inherits, so your loved ones, relatives, friends and favourite charities may get nothing. Read more…

No one is immune to the risk of illness and accidents

No one likes to think that something bad will happen to them. But, if you couldn’t work due to a serious illness, how would you manage financially? Could you survive on savings or sick pay from work? If not, you may need some other way to keep paying the bills – and you might want to consider income protection insurance. Read more…

If the worst does happen, it’s important to make sure you’re financially protected

We never think a critical illness is going to happen to us, especially when we feel fit and healthy, but it can and does. If the worst does happen, it’s important to make sure you’re financially protected against the impact a critical illness could have on you and your family.  Read more…

Guaranteed financial protection that lasts for the rest of your life

A whole-of-life insurance policy is designed to give you a specified amount of cover for the whole of your life and pays out when you die, whenever that is. Because it’s guaranteed that you’ll die at some point (and therefore that the policy will have to pay out), these policies are more expensive than term insurance policies which only pay out if you die within a certain timeframe. Read more…