What is Wealth Planning?
On the surface the term “wealth planning” sounds a bit odd- it begs the question – does anyone actively plan to be poor? However, what the term actually means is being smart with your money- creating a sensible structure that allows you to maintain your money but also over the years to build on it, helping to make your investments grow in a sensible way.
Why people need it
In simple terms, how we deal with money is becoming more complicated- as more people get married and quite often remarried and they have more children and it is becoming harder to plan for this. With more scrutiny over business practises and austerity measures in place in numerous countries, it can be difficult for people to get unwittingly caught up in tax avoidance schemes and risky investments.
Different types of wealth planning
There are various methods you can adopt to keep a solid structure in place, both in terms of maintaining your assets and ensuring they get passed on to the next generation. Here are a few examples:
• A holding company in a foreign territory
• A trust designed to safeguard assets for the next generation. This is also an ideal way to manage your monies, as you can release funds when the children are old enough to benefit from it and are more likely to be responsible with their money
• A charitable foundation (there are numerous tax benefits to this, plus being philanthropic is often a great bit of positive PR for your business)
• Life insurance designed to put money aside for specific family members
• A professionally organised investor fund that is specifically designed for controlled and optimised investments. This is not about “get rich quick” schemes but instead looking at the best long term spread of investments in order to protect your funds
• Wills and prenuptial agreements – these should be clearly set out so that assets are properly safeguarded.
Usually a wealth planner will use a combination of these methods. A lot of the time they will offer a “bespoke” arrangement that is specifically designed to fit your particular circumstances. What may be appropriate for one client however, may not be for another, so it is important to have a degree of flexibility.
This is why at Larcomes Financial Services we are confident that we can provide the necessary financial expertise combined with a client focused service. Our motto is “big enough to specialise, small enough to care”, in effect providing the right balance that people need in order to get the level of experience they want from their financial representatives while at the same time getting a level of customer service and care they deserve and receive.
If you wish to discuss wealth planning or any other service with us please contact Larcomes Financial Services on our contact page here. We will be happy to consult with you and offer guidance on the most appropriate options to suit your financial services.
In short with the right advice and the right approach we can ensure that your wealth is properly protected, passed on and generally looked after!