Independant Financial Advice - Helping You Take Charge Of Your Life

When you take independant financial advice, it’s possible you may have only a very hazy idea of your financial goals and objectives.

You may be seeking advice because you have a sum of money to invest, or because you are thinking about taking out a personal pension.  However this advice, while sound in itself, may not be very effective because you have little idea of where you are going in your life.   The adviser can help you much better if he or she can fit the advice into its whole-life context.   This means that one very important way to use independant financial advice is for personal financial planning.

So what does financial planning consist of?

If you request help with financial planning, the adviser will first spend time finding out all about you.  What is your current situation?  Where do you see yourself in 10, 15, 20 years’ time?  When do you hope to retire? What kind of lifestyle do you aspire to – now, and in retirement?  It is quite possible you may not have thought about these things before, since you are quite busy enough dealing with your present day-to-day problems!  The adviser will then consider with you how much money you need to fulfil your specific goals.

Once the adviser has arrived at the overall picture, he/she will be clearer about what specific areas your financial planning should focus on.  Some of these could be:

Helping you identify what life-events might arise that could affect your finances – for instance, redundancy, new baby, critical illness.  The IFA can then provide advice on how you can best prepare for these financially.

How to take control of your finances.  Many people go through life feeling at the mercy of events and just hope for the best when it comes to their ultimate financial position.  Financial planning can help you make decisions about how you want to manage, increase and protect your capital and income.

Planning your children’s future.  This can include education costs, investing on behalf of your children, helping them with a deposit on their first home, and possibly even with financial costs of their own children.

Tax planning, including inheritance tax.  Working out the most tax-efficient way to conduct your affairs is complex and technical.  In particular, inheritance tax may become a greater concern for you as you get older.  Financial planning can help you minimise your tax liability and so maximise what you are able to pass on to your family.

Pension and retirement planning.  If you are clear about what your goals are for your retirement, and how you plan to achieve them, it can help you put the whole of the rest of your life into context. 

Financial planning differs from other types of independant financial advice in the sense that it is holistic and provided in the context of your overall life and family situation, rather than on specific issues in isolation   Of course it’s important that you look for your independant financial advice from an adviser who has more than the basic qualification, and at least an Advanced Financial Planning Certificate – don’t be afraid to ask the adviser for clear information about his or her qualifications.  It’s well worth it for the benefit you will receive in taking charge of your own life and financial future.