Savings and Investments

We all have goals, whether they involve buying a house, saving for a child’s education or planning for retirement.  Formulating a financial plan will help you achieve those goals.

Saving, whether for a rainy day or big life changes, is becoming increasingly important in today’s society. A reduction in state support for retirement, an increase in the cost of raising children, a sharp rise in university fees and an increase in consumer borrowing, means the need to invest for the future is essential.

The rise in property prices over the last decade, longer life expectancy, uncertainty in employment, and many employers cutting back on pension provision for staff are all factors that have taken many by surprise and call for an increase in the amount that we save.

Whether you save on a regular basis or it’s because you’ve inherited money, sold your business or won the lottery, it’s important that your money should be wisely invested so that its spending power is protected for the future.  Leaving large amounts of money on deposit in banks or building societies may not be the best long-term answer.  Although traditionally these accounts have been viewed as safe, interest rates have reduced sharply over the last ten years or so and deposit accounts may not now be keeping the value of your money in line with retail price inflation, especially after taking account tax deducted at source.

Many people recognise that to achieve better long-term protection for their money against the effects of inflation, it is often worth considering equity related investments. These are ones that are linked to changes in the value of company shares and the stock markets, both in the United Kingdom and abroad.  Because of this the value of equity investments can go down as well as up and should you encash them you may not get back the money you initially invested. You can gain access to equity markets either directly through buying shares or indirectly by investing in products such as unit trusts, investment trusts, insurance bonds or perhaps even a life assurance policy.  Shares, unit trusts and investment trusts can be held in tax effective individual savings accounts.

Sometimes our clients ask us to take over the management of their share portfolio or ask us to sell it on their behalf to release funds for other purposes. We are not regulated for share dealing, whether this is on an execution only or advice basis, but we can introduce clients to separately regulated companies who specialise in discretionary portfolio management.

Many clients wish to remain involved to some degree in the management of their investments.  Sense can help you develop an investment strategy which is built around your own timeframes and objectives and which uses the products best suited to your individual attitude to investment risk and tax position.

Back to services page