Ciaran Scanlon IMC, ACSI

A challenging, yet thoroughly enjoyable first couple of months setting up on my own.

I feel blessed to have met and taken on such great clients and I look forward to working with many more.

It’s apparent that over recent years financial planning / wealth management has changed drastically.

Cashflow modelling now plays a vital part in planning for the future. It enables me as an adviser to show you what you future looks like based on what you are currently doing, in comparison to what I would recommend, and the noticeable impact my independent advice will have on your future.

I regularly sit with clients that already have an adviser, yet to my amazement, have no cashflow forecast in place!?

Whether you have a financial adviser or not, we should all be asking ourselves the following questions;

Do you know when you can retire?

Are you aware of the level of income you are likely to require during retirement?

Do you know whether you are on track to retire?

Are you contributing enough to a pension / investment to secure your future?

Do you understand what risk your pension / investments are exposed to and more importantly whether it’s in line with your attitude to risk?

Finally, do you have a cashflow forecast in place?

I can’t stress enough the positive impact cashflow modelling will have on your life. Don’t leave your future to chance.

We’re currently experiencing lots of volatility in markets.

It’s super important, in times like this, to remind yourself why you started INVESTING, not TRADING.

Investing is long term. Avoid making short term rash decisions.

Cash Flow Forecasting, a fancy industry term for showing you what your financial future looks like based on what you are currently doing compared to what what’s required in order to retire on your own terms.

The majority of people go through life aimlessly paying into a pension, but the question is, why are you paying into a pension and what’s the end goal?

Are you investing enough to have the retirement that you dream of? Do you know what your income requirements are likely to be during retirement? Have you put a plan in place to retire on your own terms?

We are all a very long time at work not to be able to have the retirement we desire and deserve.

I help people just like you make smart decisions with their finances and plan their future.

The truth is, we spend a huge amount of our lives at work but very few people have a plan in place to be able to retire on their own terms.

If you are paying into a pension, why? Are you paying in enough? What age are you able to retire? Do you know how much income you are going to require for the retirement of your dreams? Have you put a plan in place to get there?

These are all questions you should be asking yourself. So many people go through their working lives aimlessly paying into a pension, having no idea what the end goal is.

How nice would it be to know exactly when you are able to retire and on what level of income!

Whether it be me or any other adviser, seek advice, put a plan in place and work to it. We are all along time at work not to have the retirement we all dream of.

The sooner you put a plan in place the better. If you’d like to have a chat, drop me a message, I’d love to see if I can help.

Wow 2022 already!? Where did that last year go!

What with the current environment, low interest rates and high inflation, there’s never been a better time to make sure you are making the most of your money.

I speak to people daily who think they are making the right decisions with their finances but there’s always so much information most people are unaware of and it’s costing them!

A great example is a recent client of mine who I discovered is paying too much into a pension. They are a high earner which means their annual pension contribution allowance is tapered to £4000.

They have been paying in approximately £15,000 and therefore unnecessarily paying tax on everything above their £4000 allowance via their annual self assessment each year.

Just this discovery alone will save them thousands each year.

A financial adviser will do much more than simply tell you where to put your money. The whole point of advice is to make your money work for you and help you achieve your goals in life. So a good adviser will look at your circumstances as a whole, from your current situation to your short, medium and long-term future, to help you decide upon the best action to take.

For example, if you want advice on how to access your pension, your adviser will first take time to discuss your plans for retirement, and so assess your changing income needs over time. Only then will they start to recommend strategies and products.

Last but not least, an independent or whole-of-market financial adviser can find the most suitable products for you from all that are available – something no comparison site can do. They will also ensure that the chosen product is the best possible fit for your particular circumstances.

Working with an adviser is a two way relationship where the client must trust the advice given and the adviser trust the client and their commitments. It’s imperative both parties work together in order to achieve optimal results.

Accumulating wealth requires a plan, takes discipline and consistency.

If I had £1 for every time I got asked one of these questions, I’d be exceptionally wealthy!

Firstly, they are all fair and good questions and articulates that people are interested in investing which is great.

So let’s take a look at each question.

How much do I need to start investing? This will vary from one provider to another but the truth is not much at all. With some of the more established DIY providers, an ISA can be opened with £100 and if you opt to contribute on a monthly basis the minimum direct debit is £25.

Can I lose all of my money? This will ultimately depend on what you invest in. If you invest in individual shares, yes you can. However, if you invest in multi asset funds for example, the chances of losing all of your money is extremely unlikely unless there was a complete collapse of the financial system. That being said, always speak with a qualified professional that is able to recommend a solution that meets your attitude to risk.

What’s the best thing to invest in? There are many variables to this question. Everyone’s circumstances differ and what might be best for me may not necessarily be best for you. A great example is a pensioner that is looking to preserve their capital whilst taking a small amount of income compared to a 25yr old looking for capital growth. It’s not a one size fits all approach.

How much should I be investing? This will depend on where you’re at in life. Generally speaking, you should try and invest as much as possible from as young as possible. This approach means you’ll benefit the most from compounding.

What’s the best platform? Platforms are a great way to invest but ultimately all have their pros and cons. Consider what you are looking to do and what’s important to you i.e cost, different wrappers available (ISA, GIA, SIPP etc), investment options (shares, funds etfs), just to name a few. I’ll do a separate post on platforms.

Investing, not trading, it’s important to understand the difference.

Investing and trading are two very different methods of attempting to profit in the financial markets.

Both investors and traders seek profits through market participation.

Generally speaking, investors seek larger returns over an extended period through buying and holding .

Traders, by contrast, use technical and fundamental analysis to take advantage of both rising and falling markets to enter and exit positions over a shorter time frame, taking smaller, more frequent profits.

Trading had become very fashionable online over recent years but the trust is very few traders are consistently profitable.

Investing long term provides the best chance of success.

Time spent in the market as opposed to timing the market, otherwise known as buy and hold!

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A fund is essentially a collective investment vehicle where you pool your money with other people rather than choosing and buying individual shares yourself.

Funds usually contain a range of different asset classes so you can benefit from diversification which helps reduce risk.

The exact choice of investments is decided by the fund manager.

You then buy 'units' in your chosen fund, which rise and fall in line with how well the overall fund performs.

As a rule of thumb, we say invest for a minimum of five years to allow enough time to ride out any bumps in the market.

By working with a financial adviser, they are able to assess your situation and make a recommendation that meets your needs and requirements. They will have oversight of the fund and ensure this fund continues to invest in assets that are in line with you attitude to risk. If for any reason this were to change, they’d swiftly make an alternative recommendation.

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If you don’t, you should consider it. The earlier you start, the better.

I think it’s important to highlight that investing is not a one size fits all approach.

By speaking to a qualified professional they can access your personal situation and establish your attitude towards risk and come up with a suitable solution for your personal circumstances.

You don’t need to have excessive levels of wealth to start.

If you’d like to have a chat and understand how you can start investing, drop me a message, I’d love to help.

If you answered no to any of these questions, it’s time to take action.

Don’t leave your retirement up to fate.

By sitting down with a professional we can work out what age you are able to retire and what your income requirements are likely to be during retirement based on your desired standard of living.

Once we’ve done this, we can then put together a plan to meet these goals and address any shortfalls that may occur along the way.

It’s never too early to start planning your retirement. In fact the earlier you start, the easier it becomes to accumulate wealth due to the effects of compounding, rather than making increased contributions over a shorter period of time.

A stocks & shares ISA – also known as an investment ISA – is a tax-efficient investment account. This means you don’t have to pay income tax or capital gains tax on money you earn from your investments made through the ISA.

ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. A stocks & shares ISA allows you to invest in a wide range of instruments such as shares, funds, investment and unit trusts.

It’s important to understand that the value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may not get back what you invest.

The ISA allowance or annual contribution limit for for the 2021/22 tax year is £20,000. This is a use it or lose it allowance and can NOT be rolled over to future years.

One way to achieve financial freedom is to follow a disciplined process that involves identifying your goals and implementing appropriate financial strategies to help meet them.

Adopting these steps will help map your financial future.

A very high level overview of what it is as advisers / planners we do.

Many people think we just advise on investments, of course that’s part of what we do but we also add value in many other ways such as you’ll see here.

As well as understanding the technical side of the industry such as investing, pensions, tax / estate planning etc. we help break it down in an understandable and digestible manner. We also make full use of any of your allowances, encourage consistent investment, educate and hold you accountable to a plan.

Its extremely important you choose an adviser / planner who’s right for you, but it’s equally important for an adviser to do the same and work with clients who a right for them too.

I sometimes describe working with a financial adviser / planner a bit like working with a nutritionist or a personal trainer. They can provide you with the tools / plan but if you’re eating rubbish food or not training as agreed, you’re not going to get the results you desire, which isn’t in the interest of the adviser or client.

Again, therefore it’s very important you choose someone you work well with, trust and holds you accountable.

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Compounding - so simple yet so effective.

Understanding the importance of compounding is going to help you build wealth quicker.

Time is also important. The longer you have to compound or make returns on returns, the better.

In a future video I’ll explain exactly how compounding works. I’ll also highlight the different ways you can start investing, even if you don’t have much money.

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stockmarket

Given the current climate, inflation is a hot topic at the moment. In the UK it’s current running at 2% but many experts expect that figure to increase over coming months.

It’s very important you fully understand the impact of inflation and how it effects the value of cash left in a bank account when interest rates are at all time lows.

In a future video, I will explain how inflation works and why it’s important you keep up with it.

Protection / insurance, the type of policy we have but we hope to never draw upon.

If you have dependants / family, it’s important you have adequate protection in place to serve your loved ones should you be unable to provide for them through illness, an injury or even death.

Becoming ill or death isn’t something we actively like to think about, but it’s an area that should be carefully taken into consideration when planning for the future.

Having a policy in place that can pay out a regular income or a lump sum can really ease the financial strain left on dependants.

By having a conversation with a professional, we can review any existing policies you may already have in place and identify any shortfalls that may have occurred if circumstances have since changed.

Keeping it simple.

Becoming wealthy doesn’t happen overnight, unless you win the lottery of course, but the truth is most people don’t win the lottery (ok, maybe £10 every now and again!).

People rely on earning more money to accumulate wealth, but if you are not disciplined with your spending habits, earning more money becomes irrelevant, people adjust their lifestyle and spend more. More money isn’t the problem, financial literacy is.

By having a structured financial plan in place and a professional to guide you and hold you accountable, you are much more likely to remain consistent and achieve your long term financial goals.

When it comes to pensions most people go through life just hoping to have enough money in retirement.

This should NOT be the case.

Many people I speak to don’t even realise they have a pension, let alone how much it’s worth or where it’s invested. The question is, do you?

If you are employed the chances are you have a pension or possibly even multiple pensions (from previous employment).

As of 2016 it was made mandatory for all employers to provide employees with a pension, this was referred to as auto enrolment.

I can’t stress enough the importance of understanding how your pension is invested and what’s required in order to meet your retirement goals. The earlier you start the easier it becomes.

Drop me a message if you would like to find out more.

There are very few uses for your private / company pension until you reach retirement age which is currently 55 years old in the UK, soon to be 57 in 2028.

Did you realise that you can pay for financial advice to help you achieve your goals out of your pension pot before you reach retirement age?

The earlier you start planning the better.

Drop me a message if you would like to have a completely free, no obligation conversation about your situation and how I can work with you to shape your financial future.

You may have come across the terms Financial Adviser, Financial Planner or even Wealth Manager, essentially these are all industry terms for the same profession.

I help manage the finances of individuals and businesses across the UK. My area of expertise are investments and pensions.

That often means setting up protection policies such as life insurance / income protection and putting in place a structured long term financial plan to help people invest / plan for retirement. I do this in the most tax efficient ways possible.

My goal is to help you make smart decisions with your money, make sure you are adequately protected, reduce your tax liabilities and increase your wealth.

Whether you are looking to invest for growth or income, I can help. These are areas I personally specialise in. I take a tailored approach to your individual circumstances and come up with a suitable solution to meet your goals and aspirations

Ciaran Scanlon IMC, ACSI updated their business hours.