Savings and Investments
Whether you intend to save on a regular basis, invest a lump sum or grow the money you already have invested, structured savings and investment advice will help you achieve your aims and goals.
We provide guidance on investment strategy, liquidity, portfolio construction, risk profiling and tax planning opportunities. Whilst all this may sound confusing our experienced financial advisers will explain and guide you through the various stages and options to tailor the right investment portfolio for you.
Investment Risk
A degree of risk is taken with all types of investment but of course they are not all the same. The higher the potential risk is, the higher the potential gain should be. It’s our job to make sure that you understand the potential risks and that they match your own preference for exposure to risk and capacity for loss.
Investing Reviews
All Investment plans should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they are still on track to meet your expectations and goals.
Reviews have an important part to play in the success of long term investing. A review service is available to you where we will discuss all aspects of your investment planning, including performance, suitability, and risk assessment. Keeping you informed and aware of your investment planning is important to us, and it is something the FPC truly believes in.
ISA Investments
You can now invest up to £20,000 in the current tax year into a Individual Savings Account (ISA). You can invest this into various eligible investments (like unit trusts below), cash or a combination of the two up to a total of £20,000. You can also now benefit from being able to transfer from a Stocks and Shares Isa to a Cash Isa and vice versa should your requirements or circumstances change. You can also have separate providers for both accounts.
ISAs enjoy major tax advantages, both capital profits and income receipts are totally free from any liability to tax within the fund.
Unit Trust / OEICS
Basically, OEICs and Unit Trusts are a flexible and relatively cheap way to invest in the stock market. They are run and regulated in a similar way, and you can hold them within an ISA or as a standalone product. There are differences and you will usually find that unit trusts have two prices – the ‘bid’ which is the lower price you receive when you sell, and the higher ‘offer’ price you pay to invest. The difference between the two prices is commonly known as the bid/offer spread. With an OEIC there is just a single price to buy and sell shares.
Values will fluctuate on a daily basis with market conditions.
Pooling your money together with other investors, gives the individual access to a much wider spread of holdings than can normally be achieved with smaller sums of money.
Investment Bonds
An Investment Bond provides a way of investing your money over a medium to long term for potential higher returns than you might get from a Bank or Building Society.
The Bond itself is just a framework as your money is invested in funds of your choice, or pre-defined model portfolios. A wide range of funds are available covering all the main asset classes, allowing you to spread your risk.
Tax advantages include 5% tax deferred withdrawals of the original investment, and the gains have no further liability to Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax for basic rate tax payers.
Investment Bonds are popular for use in Inheritance Tax planning using trusts.
Structured Products
Structured Products come in many forms. They can have varied terms usually between 3 and 6 years and some can last as little as one. The returns you make will usually be linked to a financial index like the FTSE 100. The terms of each plan, including the potential return, are set at the beginning.
Some products will offer tax free returns as they accept Cash Isa transfers and Stocks and Shares Isa’s which are tax free. Other products are liable to tax which will be either savings tax or Capital Gains Tax.
These products always contain a level of protection against stockmarket falls, but capital can be lost under certain circumstances. The plans change every 4-6 weeks, but your adviser can explain the current offerings in detail. These popular plans can be a useful accompaniment to more traditional investments.