Investment Planning In Norwich, Norfolk

It is often said that the most important aspect of financial planning is to get your asset allocation strategy right. After all, when one asset class is appreciating in value, another might be falling, so spreading your investments can make good sense.

This is true; but it only really works when put into the context of the time-scales over which investments are to be held.

For example, investing in shares when access to the money is required is unlikely to appeal because values over the short term are volatile and trading costs take time to be exceeded by capital growth. Conversely, investing in cash over the longer term is unlikely to offer the same potential for long-term growth as equities or property. And, again, having all your investments in property when you come to retire could make it difficult to realise assets just when you want them, because it can take time to sell property.

So investment success is all about timing as well as balancing asset classes. It is also, of course, essential to take account of the individual investor’s attitude towards different types of investment risk, such as:

• Overall under performance – the risk that values will fail to keep up with inflation;
• Relative under performance – the risk that values will perform worse than other similar investments;
• Absolute under performance – the risk that part or all of the original investment will be lost; or
• Volatility – the risk that values will fall suddenly just when access to the money is required.

We are experienced in helping you to identify the right asset balance to suit your requirements and then go on to recommend specific investment strategies. We are not averse to “thinking outside the box” and will even review the use of cash deposit accounts to ensure that the facilities used offer the best possible interest rates (as opposed to the interest rates paid by high street banks).

We are also able to recommend on the tax effectiveness of different investment options, including using Individual Savings Accounts, National Savings and Pensions as part of an integrated investment strategy, in order to minimise exposure to income and capital gains tax.