For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.
Skip to main content
Financial planning insight image of a girl making a wish
Back to Market and Insights

Looking forward with optimism

06th October, 2021

As we mark the celebration of World Financial Planning Day, the theme of ‘Live your today. Plan your tomorrow’ is one that resonates now more than ever. After such an unprecedented and extended period of disruption to our lives, we can finally look forward with some degree of optimism. Many of us have a renewed sense of hope for what we want to achieve in life and a realisation that we can’t take what we have for granted.

Of course, the current landscape brings its own challenges to our financial futures: Some newer phenomena have arisen such as negative interest rates eroding our savings, while other issues such as a housing shortage and the threat of inflation seem to be rearing their heads once more.

Your personalised financial plan

At Davy, we use a personalised financial plan as the anchor to enable the financial outcomes you desire, helping you to overcome challenges you may face. Through the planning process, we’ll help you clarify what it is that you want to achieve, how best to achieve it and understand any tradeoffs that need to be made.

Your plan will provide an important bridge between your goals and your investment strategy. We purposely leave this as the last step in the process, as only when you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and when, can the most suitable investment strategy be put in place.

Ultimately, your plan will set out your own personal roadmap, in terms of actions, structures and investment portfolio to give you the best chance of success.

Five reasons why a financial plan may be right for you

It's worth noting that even if you already have a financial plan in place, an update may be timely, particularly in this post Covid world, when your circumstances and future aspirations may have changed significantly. We set out the key benefits to financial planning below:

 

1. Bring order to your financial future

Finances and planning for the future can be daunting. While no one has a crystal ball, a financial plan enables you to focus on what you can control. By assessing your specific circumstances and translating your concerns into quantifiable goals, you will get a great sense of your overall picture, and can plan ahead to fill any gaps.

2. Make decisions that are right for you

Just like many things in our lives, our financial needs and desires are unique, and to compound matters they change throughout our lifetime. A one size fits all approach does not work.

A good plan will instigate and drive all the right decisions to help you meet your specific objectives in a timely manner. Importantly, the plan will provide a platform for our team of experts to carry out the heavy lifting on your behalf.

Your financial plan is only the start of your journey. Given our lives are ever changing, and external events can blow us off course, your adviser will factor in any changes as they arise. This will help you make the decisions you need to stay on track.

3. Plan for the best

It’s no surprise that the earlier we plan, the best chance we have of achieving our goals.

Take saving for retirement for example. Pensions remain the most efficient tool available due to the tax savings available. Pensions, however, are often underutilised and misunderstood. Your plan will educate and calculate the pension pot to aim for to meet your lifetime needs. It will also inform how best to do so, what structure is best for you, and how to consolidate your various sources.

For those fortunate enough to have wealth in excess of lifetime needs, succession planning will play a part. Your plan will explore opportunities to transfer funds tax efficiently to the next generations while considering issues such as control of assets, education and alignment with your values.

For business owners, structuring your business for future exit or family succession may be top of mind to ensure that the desired and most tax efficient outcomes can be availed of.

4. ...And prepare for the worst

Unfortunately, death is one of the few certainties in life. Knowing your dependants will be financially secure upon your demise will at least bring some peace of mind. Your plan will explore items such as your will and enduring power of attorney (which governs the management of your wealth should you lose capacity).

It will also explore what insurance cover is right for you. This may involve continuing your cover into retirement, protection for business owners to avoid governance issues upon the death of a shareholder, or specific life policies designed to meet inheritance taxes.

5. Simplify the investment conversation

Your financial plan will ensure your investment approach is tailored to your unique circumstances. For shorter-term goals, for example, a low-risk liquid portfolio makes sense as you are likely to need this money soon. For longer-term goals, given time is on your side to weather any market volatility, growth-oriented assets will be key to delivering returns needed to meet your objectives.  Your attitude to risk and investor profile will be important inputs into the final solution.

Your financial journey can be complex, especially in the current environment. A financial plan will help you to focus on what you control and ultimately give you the best chance of success to achieve the financial outcomes you want to achieve.

We have invested in a team of experts and a wide range of platforms to help you implement and deliver these outcomes. These span across the entire wealth management spectrum including pensions, tax, structuring, succession, philanthropy, protection and investments. 

 

If you’re an existing Davy client now might be a good time to contact your Adviser to review what you already have in place. If you’re not a Davy client, why not request a call today to discuss creating your bespoke financial plan. Let us help you to live your today, plan your tomorrow and together let’s look forward with optimism.

 

 

 

Speak to an Adviser today

We're ready to help you along your journey

Request a call

Speak to an Adviser today

We're ready to help you along your journey

Request a call

Share this article

Other articles you may like