Investing for a comfortable income

Your wealth is much like your health; the better you look after it, the longer you’ll have it. By planning carefully and giving proper consideration to your expected outgoings and sources of income, it is possible to ensure long-term prosperity.

Withdrawing lump sums from your savings and investments portfolio will reduce your base capital, meaning your money will have to work harder and may run out sooner.

Inflation is the big enemy of long-term savings pots so it’s vital to make allowances for this in your strategy. Our Investment Managers will work with you to build portfolios designed to preserve and enhance your investments over time.

Despite the possible attractions of managing your own portfolio, most people lack the expertise, confidence and time to manage their investment portfolios effectively by themselves. Our experienced, professional Investment Managers will actively monitor your portfolio on a regular basis, reviewing and optimising it to help keep it on track with your investment objectives.

We also draw on our large in-house research team to provide real-time analysis and insight into investment opportunities across all sectors, territories and asset classes.

There is no one-size fits all answer as the level of income you require is as individual as you are. It depends on your lifestyle, age, health and goals.

Your regular expenses will range from bills and food shopping to potential big ticket items like mortgages and maintenance payments. That’s before you even think about holidays and hobbies or paying for education. The balance is about drawing enough income from your investment without eroding the total value.

Our Financial Planners can do what’s called cash-flow modelling, which aims to predict the amount of income you might need based on your goals and financial situation, and work backwards to figure out how much you can sustainably withdraw from your investments.

There is something reassuring about bricks and mortar. From buy-to-lets to fixer-uppers, the tangible nature of property, and its reputation as a safe, inflation-beating investment, means this asset class remains popular.

The average rental yield on residential property in the UK is about 3.53% but it does vary across the country¹. It is however, becoming less tax efficient and with stamp duty becoming more expensive, residential real estate as an investment is becoming less attractive than it has been in the past.

As an alternative, commercial property funds, known as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), offer a ready-made and professionally managed portfolio of commercial properties – from office blocks to retail parks that you can invest in, commercial property is a widely-held asset class and your Investment Manager will make sure your portfolio is fully diversified to balance risk and performance.

_{¹ Sevencapital.com. Expected rental yields across the UK. Figures correct as at 31 Jan 2020.}