Planning Process

Point4Future:
Planning Process

We do not believe we have the right to 'tell' you what to do with your money. Instead our planning process will educate and help you understand the decisions you make.

The 'Point4Future Planning Process' consists of the following six steps:

1. Introduction & Instruction

We will explain and document the services to be provided, including details of how we will be paid and by whom.

2. Discovery

Point4Future advisers will take the time to understand your hopes, aspirations and concerns. In turn you will be required to provide information about your assets, liabilities, income and expenditure.

If necessary we will also determine exactly what your existing arrangements are; obtaining with your permission further information directly from your current providers.

3. Analysis & Evaluation

Point4Future will analyze the collated information to assess your current situation and determine what action needs to be taken now and in the future to meet your goals.

4. Creation & Presentation of a Strategic Plan

Your adviser will present their findings and recommendations to you in the form of a written financial plan. This will quantify exactly how close your existing arrangements come to achieving your financial objectives and identify areas of weakness and vulnerability.

Once you have had the opportunity to consider your plan we will discuss it with you personally, helping you understand the recommendations and the rational that sits behind them, whilst addressing any concerns you may have.

5. Implementation

Point4Future will then agree on how best to implement the recommendations. Where appropriate we will co-ordinate the whole process with you and other professionals such as your solicitor and/or your accountant.

6. Review

Finally, you will determine how your strategy will be reviewed, updated and adjusted, if needed, as your life changes

What is the Cost of Advice:

Before we undertake any work on your behalf we will clearly explain and document the cost of the services to be provided.

We believe our clients for whom we act should understand and appreciate the cost of our services. We also believe it is important that we offer flexibility through a variety of payment options and these are outlined as follows;

Fees

Whether or not you purchase financial products through us you will pay a fee for the advice provided. Should we also receive a commission from a product provider we will pass on the full value of that commission to you either by reducing product charges or refunding the commission to you.

Commission

If you purchase a financial product as part of our advice we will normally receive commission from the product provider. Although you do not pay a fee this does not mean that our service is free. Instead you will be paying for our services indirectly through the product's charges. We will tell you how much the commission will be before we implement our recommendations.

Paying by a combination of commission and fee

It is possible to agree a fee for the work involved and use any commission received to offset the fee. If the commission received is higher than the agreed fee we will pass on the balance to you either by reducing product charges or refunding the balance commission to you. Equally, we will also ask you to make up any difference should the commission received be less than the agreed fee.

 

Services:

Investment Management

A properly thought through and balanced investment strategy will have the potential to grow your assets and generate income (if required) whilst letting you sleep soundly at night. However deciding which investments are suitable is far more difficult than it would first appear.

There are literally thousands of investments to choose from and each offers you a different balance between risk and reward and each may perform differently in any one particular economic environment. A simple investment 'truth' should always be remembered, that is the relationship between risk and reward. Generally the greater the potential reward the higher the risk of loss.

For this reason our investment practices give you the ability to understand risk and the opportunity that risk can provide. They are designed to enable you to make an informed choice as to which asset types are the most suitable and to combine these various asset types into a portfolio properly structured to meet your objectives.

The ability to combine asset classes can create portfolios with a wide range of risk/reward characteristics. If equities are too risky, you may prefer to balance your investments by having limited exposure to equities in favour of a larger exposure to less volatile asset classes, such as property or fixed interest.

Consequently, whatever your investment objective and risk profile there will be a suitable portfolio strategy. We can provide that portfolio and through detailed investment research select the best from the thousands of investments available to meet your requirements.

For example, an investment that has achieved excellent short term performance has risked substantial loss in the process. This type of investment can be very rewarding but how much should you invest in it? When should you buy it? And perhaps most importantly, when should you sell it? These are some of the questions that need to be considered. Investing at the wrong time, investing the wrong amount or not selling can make the difference between a very good investment return and a mediocre return. Buying investments without recognizing the associated risk can too easily result in poor performance, unexpected fluctuations in value and ultimately, disappointment.

Planning for your retirement

Planning ahead lets you enjoy the retirement you deserve. The retirement strategy you decide upon now makes a fundamental difference to the degree of financial freedom you'll experience when you do decide to take your pension.

Planning for your retirement and choosing a pension strategy to safeguard your financial security can be a minefield. In the last few years, there have been many changes; the "volatility" of the stock market, reduction of final-salary pension schemes, the rise of buy-to-let property portfolios and changes in taxation and pension legislation. These changes underline the importance of both setting a retirement plan in place and of keeping it up-to-date.

We can help you understand the different retirement strategies and implement a successful retirement plan - taking into account the recent substantial changes in legislation.

Retirement options

With life expectancy increasing the decisions you make when you stop or reduce work are likely to have an impact for much longer. You should therefore look to adopt a strategy that could be required to support a varying lifestyle for many years to come.

As a result of changing lifestyles and expectations there have been a number of changes to pensions legislation which came into effect in April 2006. These mean that you will have greater flexibility to use your pension benefits:

Allowing higher maximum contributions into pension funds

Removing restrictions on the level of income that can be taken from a pension fund

Allowing you to keep working whilst drawing part or your pension if you want to

Protection

It is important that any plan or strategy is protected from unforeseen circumstances such as redundancy, sickness and death.

We will endeavor to ensure that your financial plan is as robust as possible and is able to withstand the implications of personal misfortune.

There are a number of products designed specifically to provide financial help if you fall ill, are diagnosed with a critical illness or die.

We will assist you in choosing the right type of policy, level of cover and, most importantly, get you value for money.

It is equally important to ensure that you are not over-insured and wasting valuable income. We will as part of your strategic plan only recommend policies where they are appropriate in ensuring your long term goals are met.