How we approach financial planning

Before we talk about financial planning in any detail, it’s worth taking a moment to look at what it really means.

Our robust process takes you through three clear stages to help you identify the future you want for yourself, and how you can achieve it.

It involves a paper plan certainly, but financial planning is much more than that. It’s really an ongoing process that’s designed to help you understand how much money you’ll need to live the life you want to live. It’s about structuring and planning your wealth so that it grows and develops in line with the goals you want to achieve.

It’ll mean answering some questions about your financial situation, your income and spending, where you stand on risk and return, and how you envisage the future. All of that matters because the goal is to make sure that while you’re working to build your wealth, your wealth is also working for you.

What you’ll get in return is a complete financial road map with clarity about your wealth and peace of mind for the future.

Our three stage process

Click on the inner of outer ring to find out what you can expect from us at each stage of your journey.

1. Mapping out your vision

At this stage of the process we’re getting to know each other and we’re finding out exactly how we can help.

What is your vision for your future?

What are the possibilities and opportunities that you don’t want to let pass you by?

How could your money be helping you live a more fulfilling life?

And of course, we’ll answer all your questions about how we can add value and what our help will cost.

Breaking it down

Understanding where you are now

The first step is to understand how your financial picture looks today. You may have things in good order, or you may have a bag of unopened envelopes. It doesn’t matter; at this point we need to get everything on the table so that we (and you) know what we’re working with.
Envisaging the future

Once we know where you’re starting from, it’s time to start mapping out how you want the future to look. We’ll work with you to understand what you’d like to achieve and when. We’ll help you to work out what you’ll need for the lifestyle you want, set achievable goals and start planning your next steps.
Sketching out your Financial Life Plan

We’ll start to shape your plan around you and your goals. We’ll explore your tax position, how you feel about risk, what you could afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle and how comfortable you are with investing. We’ll look at your existing pensions, investments, protection policies, and draw these threads together in line with the goals we’ve agreed.

Delivering your Financial Life Plan

At this point we’ll start recommending the products and investments best suited to helping you reach your goals. We’ll double-check your objectives and time horizon to make sure they’re achievable and we’ll make any amendments where they’re needed. Then we’ll deliver your Financial Life Plan for you to review.
Putting your plan into action

If you like what you see and you’re happy to go ahead, it’s time to implement the recommendations and get your plan underway. But that’s really just the beginning, we’ll make sure that our proposals are set in motion with meticulous attention to detail, meeting the strict compliance standards of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Ongoing monitoring

Working together goes much further than putting your plan into action. We’ll regularly sit down together to assess your progress, understand any changes in your circumstances and make any revisions. We’ll do that at least once a year, but you can pick up the phone and talk to us as little or as often as you want to. Financial planning isn’t something you look at once and then forget about. It’s a continuing process that’s designed to adapt and evolve with you, responding to changes but always staying fixed on your goals.

Our investment philosophy

Talking about an ‘investment philosophy’ can sound a bit lofty, but it’s really just a set of guiding principles that govern the way we manage your money for you.

Learn more