The challenge

A senior finance professional recently approached Investec for a second opinion on his current financial plan and investment strategy.

Amid rising inflation and falling investment markets, he was concerned that too much of his wealth was held in cash and looking for opportunities to diversify his portfolio.

Like many professionals and entrepreneurs we work with, this individual had a complex income structure, which consisted of a salary, bonus and a long-term share incentive plan. With two children at university and ambitions to buy a family holiday home and retire within the next few years, he needed to simplify his affairs and outsource the administrative burden.

To help this client align his finances with his goals, we needed a comprehensive view of his current position. First, we created a balance sheet to understand his assets and expenditure, before conducting cash flow analysis to examine his position over the coming years and identify possible surpluses or shortfalls in income or capital.

Having assessed the client’s full financial picture against the backdrop of the current economic climate and previous strategies, we agreed that more of his current cash savings balance should be invested to give the best chance of ensuring that the required standard of living can be maintained throughout retirement.

With a detailed understanding of our client’s hopes for the future, we presented an investment strategy that aimed to deliver returns to support retirement, whilst ensuring that opportunities to reduce tax were taken where appropriate. This meant ensuring that ISAs, Pensions and General Investment Accounts were properly funded for the whole family and invested with their risk appetite in mind. With this foundation agreed, we also considered other tax efficient investment structures which could offer the right balance of tax savings, control and flexibility over the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Investec Private Banking team was able to discuss a bespoke mortgage for the holiday home, with repayments timed to coincide with liquidity events.

With a solid review of legacy arrangements undertaken, our client felt reassured that more of his assets would be protected from inflation erosion and there was alignment between his day-to-day spending, current portfolio and future goals. Bringing his investment assets under one roof significantly reduced his administrative burden, giving him time to focus fully on his career and family life. He aim to retire in five years’ time.

Disclaimer

The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount invested. Your capital is at risk. Investec is not a tax specialist and we recommend that any proposal/advice concerning tax is discussed with your accountant/tax specialist prior to acting.