Monthly Archives: March 2010

Life assurance

When you should review your life assurance requirements

Life assurance helps your dependants to cope financially in the event of your premature death. When you take out life assurance you set the amount you want the policy to pay out should you die, this is called the ‘sum assured.’ Even if you consider that currently you have sufficient life assurance, you’ll probably need more later on if your circumstances change. If you don’t update your policy as key events happen throughout your life, you may risk being seriously under-insured.

Unit trusts

Participating in a wider range of investments

Unit trusts are a collective investment that allows you to participate in a wider range of investments than can normally be achieved on your own with smaller sums of money. Pooling your money with others also reduces the risk.

50 per cent tax rate

Mitigating the impact of the forthcoming rate increase

An increase in the top rate of personal income tax for all income above £150,000 was announced in the 2009 Budget. The new 50 per cent rate will come into force from 6 April 2010. This is a significant increase (and an increase in the original figure announced in the Pre-Budget Report in November 2008, which stated that the rate would be 45 per cent as of April 2011) and also represents a structural change to the tax planning landscape.

Pooled investments

Providing the potential for capital growth or income, or a combination of both

If you require your money to provide the potential for capital growth or income, or a combination of both, provided you are willing to accept an element of risk pooled investments could just be the solution you are looking for. A pooled investment allows you to invest in a large, professionally managed portfolio of assets with many other investors. As a result of this, the risk is reduced due to the wider spread of investments in the portfolio.

Creating wealth

Solutions for the diverse needs of both our wealthy clients and those who aspire to become wealthy

We provide solutions for the diverse needs of both our wealthy clients and those who aspire to become wealthy, enabling each individual to structure their finances as efficiently as possible.

Inheritance Tax mitigation

Whose wealth is it anyway?

Helping you protect your wealth is an important part of what we do, and one thing is certain, you need to plan to protect your wealth from a potential Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability. Once only the domain of the very wealthy, the wide-scale increase in home ownership and rising property values over the past decade have pushed many estates over the IHT threshold.

Key tax planning tips

What you can do to reduce tax?

With further tax increases on the horizon, there really is no time like the present to consider your tax position carefully and explore what planning can be effectively put in place to help mitigate or defer the upcoming increased income tax liabilities. There are a number of areas that you may like to consider prior to the end of the current fiscal year. Specific matters may be relevant to you or this may be an appropriate moment to review your affairs generally, especially following the announcements in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report.

ISA surgery, use it or lose it

Have you taken advantage of the increased ISA allowance?

If you have not already talked to us about using your 2009/10 Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance, time is running out. Any unused ISA allowance from this current tax year cannot be rolled over to the next tax year and will be lost forever.