Independent Wealth Management
Call us on 01276 517700 or email advice@professional-wealthcare.co.uk
We recently received an enquiry from someone whose financial adviser had disappeared. The adviser in question used to be an IFA with Inter-Alliance. It occurred to me that this must be an occasional problem for people. You see, financial services companies have come and gone over the years. In fact, I spent four years of my career with Inter-Alliance before setting up Professional Wealthcare in 2001.
Welcome to 2013 and to the world of financial advice following the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).
You may have already heard about the recently implemented RDR. These are the words of The Financial Services Authority:
Firstly; a simple mental arithmetic exercise
1. At what age do you intend or expect to retire?
2. What age are you now?
3. Subtract your age now from your retirement age.
4. Multiply the result by 12.
5. Write down your answer.
This year, more people than ever are reaching age 65 in the UK. In fact, forecasts have predicted that over 800,000 people are reaching this milestone during 2012. The reason of course is due to the post war baby boom. At Professional Wealthcare, we’ve noticed a significant increase in the amount of enquiries we’re receiving from people approaching retirement and we expect this trend to continue.
When choosing how to invest your money, the choices are huge. There are literally thousands of funds available to you, investing in different geographical areas and asset types.
Many people I meet require a managed fund. They want the security of knowing that an’ expert’ is looking after their money and making all the day to day decisions. Managed funds have been around for many years. Increasingly, these days they tend to be risk rated, enabling an investor to be matched with a suitable fund. In recent years, there has been much innovation in this area. A good example of this is the Prudential’s PruFund, which was launched on 25th November 2004.
Do you know that if you are a smoker or have a medical condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or cancer, then you could receive a higher retirement income?
Depending on your medical situation, an enhanced annuity could give you up to 40% higher income than a standard annuity, guaranteed for life.
When discussing retirement planning with our clients, a great deal of attention is always given to fund choice and the corresponding past performance figures.
However, it is important to remember one of the fundamental reasons why pensions should be the investment of choice for retirement planning.
Against a background of political wrangling about pension reform, a growing number of UK individuals face an uncertain – and uncomfortable – retirement.
Total UK personal debt stood at £1,452bn at the end of May 2011, according to figures from Credit Action – almost as much as the whole country has produced in the year to June 2011 and a sum that equates to over £8,000 per household (excluding mortgages).
The following article is quite abrupt and to the point. It is difficult to write about some of the basic, yet important issues surrounding retirement planning without perhaps touching some nerves. So if you’re easily offended, please move on. My objective here is to help people to understand retirement and to successfully plan ahead for later life. This involves waking up to some serious issues. So please read this in the spirit it is meant and please don’t shoot the messenger.
Barry was kind and understanding at a very difficult time, his professional attitude in handling my financial affairs and that of my late husband, given with clarity and ease of understanding, always in a friendly manner. I have found his advice sound and his continued care and concern to be knowledgeable and applicable.
Mrs Ann Greenwood
