When it comes to planning your financial future, it is important to seek the help of an independent professional advisor who will be able to guide you through the financial planning process, address your concerns, and answer your questions. Furthermore, such an advisor can be used as a sounding board for your plans and ideas, and help establish your needs. You may already have a good idea of your financial ambitions, but having the support of a professional advisor will help to crystallize your goals and establish realistically how to go about achieving them.

K e y    L i f e    S t a g e s

People's needs and wants change as they progress through life. The financial planning process has to take these changes into account, and it is essential to think well ahead. To identify your needs and focus on your requirements it is helpful to think of your life in 7 stages:

1. Childhood

2. Young Unmarried

3. Young Married

4. Young Married with Children

5. Married with Older Children

6. Post-Family / Pre Retirement

7. Retirement

At each stage, your current needs will be different, and your priorities will change also. For example, a married couple with young children will typically be concerned with buying a home and paying the mortgage. An older couple will be more concerned with protecting future income; while in retirement, concern will be focused on ensuring the value of pension benefits and medical care.

Careful planning will help to alleviate problems that could occur in later life. For example, it is almost certain that anyone under the age of 45 today will not receive a pension at retirement. Careful retirement planning NOW will help mitigate what will surely be one of the major social and financial issues in the Western World in about 20 years' time.

A s s e s s i n g    C u r r e n t    P o s i t i o n    a n d    F u t u r e
F i n a n c i a l    N e e d s

This exercise is crucial in order for a financial advisor to make credible recommendations.

The process is interactive - it should take the form of a discussion, led by the advisor but with as much feedback and comment as possible from the individual investor / client. As no two clients are ever the same, it is not really feasible to conduct this exercise by any method that allows for a one on one consultation.

For further information, simply get in touch with your personal client advisor or contact us directly.