Our Clients
Broadly speaking our clients tend to be those accumulating wealth, and those who have already created or inherited wealth. Regardless of their wealth and background, financial insecurities are prevalent. People tend to be overly concerned with things which are inconsequential, whilst complacent of issues more serious.
The main reasons why families and individuals suffer financially over the long term are the misallocation of resources and allowing their future and financial well-being to be overly reliant on just one or two outcomes.
A good financial adviser acts as a financial coach and sounding board. They remove the myths and emotions around wealth and distils your options, providing recommendations from an unemotional standpoint in order to optimise your financial position over the long term.
Early Years
Our younger clients are starting out in life need to develop the right financial habits to set the foundations of their future security. They are often those fortunate enough to inherit a legacy or are in a high earning position. Sadly, the British propensity of not talking about money means they tend to be poorly prepared for it. We start by teaching them the difference between income and capital, and then try to instil some “golden rules” for them to live by.
Consolidation Years
As people settle into their careers, life tends to become busy. Usually at this stage the foundations of their lives are set but it is important for people to assess how their assets are held and how they are managed. Understanding of investment risk, and how to use it to one’s advantage is key, as is how to minimise one’s tax exposure.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief is dependent on individual circumstances.
Retirement
Preparing for retirement is daunting, and many people tend to underestimate their life expectancy. Tax planning at this stage is vital, and the right advice will make all the difference. The average UK life expectancy is 81*, and studies show that wealthy people live a decade longer. Since George Osborne introduced Pensions Freedom legislation which allow pensions to be passed on to the next generation, pensions now form a key part of our clients’ legacy planning.
Please note, from April 2027 most pensions will form part of the estate for inheritance tax purposes.
*Source: Office of National Statistics 11.01.2024
Inherited Wealth
Many clients share our view that one never really owns an inheritance. In that although you can benefit from it in your lifetime, you should continue to preserve it for the next generation. Benefitting can be living in a house you inherit or buy with an inheritance, but passing on that house in your Will * – or investing for income which you enjoy, while maintaining the real capital value of the original legacy and protecting it from inflation. Understanding the difference between income, which you can use, and capital, which you should preserve, is important, as is the consideration of risk and inflation in the context of decades and lifetimes. Money does not make happiness, but it helps.
The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
*The writing of a Will involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place. Wills are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Entrepreneurs / Business Owners
For many Entrepreneurs their business is their single most valuable asset. It is their livelihood, their pension and the key to their family’s future financial success. Yet they have little idea of what it is worth and how to sell it. Using a benchmark review we help Entrepreneurs see their businesses from a different angle, and compare themselves to local and national peers. Working with an external UK SME Business Growth Adviser we can help formulate a growth plan, identifying areas of underperformance and how to address them, in order to prepare the business for due diligence, and optimising it for exit. We have access to a wide range of tax planning solutions to help mitigate the inevitable tax liability.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief is dependent on individual circumstances.
Exit strategies may involve the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place.
