Investment Strategy – Lee’s story
I met Chris around 20 years ago, and he’s been looking after my finances since then.
I run a commercial heating business and initially I was looking for help with where to invest my money, and he seemed like a genuine guy. Both him and his wife Sam are lovely people to work with and over the years, things have worked out very well.
Why a property isn’t a pension
It was only in 2012 that we started to look at setting up a pension – until then it was something I preferred to put off! I own my own property, so I’d always planned that when I retired, I’d downsize and live off the capital from the sale.
But Chris was right to point out that that money would be outside of my estate, which meant that if my wife and I were to pass away, a lot of that money would go on inheritance tax rather than to my kids.
A better way of doing it would be to open a pension plan. Chris explained that I wouldn’t necessarily have to draw on that when I retired, I could draw on other capital and leave the pension where it was. This would have the advantage of not forming part of my estate, which means my kids wouldn’t have to pay tax on it.
Chris has also helped set up a trust for my other investments, so once again, the investment there doesn’t form part of estate, which means the kids will get that as a tax-free amount.
I’m in a very fortunate position where I’ve got a profitable business and large house. But unfortunately, the government are going to swallow up when you die, even though it’s the family home, so you’ve got to try and minimise that if you can. That’s where careful planning is comes into place.
A comfortable retirement
When I turned 50, Chris reassure me that I had enough money that I could retire quite comfortably, but I’m quite reluctant to do that. I enjoy working and I’d rather the family takes over the business than I sell it, so I’m waiting to see what happens with that.
In the meantime, Chris can adjust my plans for me as and when I decide to retire.
There are always going to be ups and downs in the markets and some things are completely unforeseen. But what Chris has done is put certain measures in place which mean that when the time comes to take the money, I can make the most of it and take advantages of all the tax schemes available.
Knowledgable, friendly and professional
Between Chris and Sam they know an awful lot about the financial industry and they’re just very nice people.
They always have time for you – if you ring them, they’ll always ring you straight back and they do a number of things that are well above and beyond. For example, I had a couple of problems with a bank in London who were charging extortionate fees and Sam intervened on my behalf and got me a good part of the money back. I’m deeply in their debt for that!
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve recommended them – they also helped my daughter get a mortgage – and Chris is a good friend now. I don’t mind paying him for what he does because while he’s earning, I’m earning – it’s a win win!