Should you Self-Administer your own Pension? With the combination of historically low deposit rates, high taxation along with rising property prices and rents, many investors have considered using a portion of their pension funds to purchase a property. Because of the generous tax exemptions within a pension fund, investors can often get a much better [...]
Benefits of Financial Planning – Let’s Make a Plan This week I will look at the benefits of professional financial planning and how it can have an extremely positive effect on you, your family and your business. It can help you plan for the future you want. As with any journey, particularly when it comes [...]
What is Investment Tax Diversification? When it comes to your income and investment returns, it's not only what gross investment return you generate that's important, but what you keep after taxes that really counts. And in the current environment, with higher income, capital gains and inheritance taxes, being mindful of investment tax is more important than ever. According [...]
What are Structured Products? Structured products are a combination of an underlying investment (equities, currencies, bonds, commodities) and one or more derivatives that are structured into one financial instrument. These investment instruments can be tailored specifically to a client’s exact market view in order to match their chosen risk profile and return expectations. They are [...]
Does it pay to be a landlord? In recent years I have encountered many clients who have reluctantly found themselves becoming landlords, accidental landlords if you like. This can happen for various reasons, some may have outgrown their home for which they overpaid, they are left with no option but to rent it out, as [...]
Retirement Planning – A Pleasure or a Pain? All too often people approaching retirement do not place enough importance on personal retirement planning to ensure they take full advantage of the options open to them. I advise my clients to take the time now -- at an early stage in your financial planning process -- [...]
Investments with a difference Planning for your future is crucial, and a good financial planning advisor will work through the right type of investment opportunities for their client’s individual needs; but when a client is looking for something out of the ordinary, there are numerous options that provide an alternative to the three more traditional [...]
How important is life cover for your Family? You never know what is around the corner and in truth nobody really wants to think about getting sick or dying, but life is full of unexpected events and protecting your family is one of the most essential financial decisions you can make. You need to ask [...]
How to find the right financial advisor Picking a financial advisor is not an easy task. With the increasing complexity of financial products and recent volatility in the global markets, professional financial advice is arguably more important now than ever. Deciding on the right advisor for you is not a step that should be taken [...]
Active or Passive Investing – which is better? In the past couple of decades, passive investing has become the strategy of choice for many investors, who are satisfied by duplicating market returns instead of trying to beat them. However, most investment advisers still recommend actively managed portfolios for a substantial element of their clients’ portfolios. [...]
