When it comes to investment planning you would not be alone in wondering where on Earth to start. It seems every week a new banking or finance scandal seems to hit the news and directly or indirectly affect our investments.
The first thing to remember is that when it comes to just about any form of financial investment that your fund/shares can go up as well as down, and if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
The key questions you need to be asking yourself and your finance broker when it comes to investment planning are: -
Where are you going to invest your money?
What type of investment portfolio are you going to opt for?
How are you going to choose which assets and managed funds to put in your portfolio from the tens of thousands of finance products currently on the market?
How to minimise the risk to your investments when the global markets are dropping?
How do you go about minimising your tax position? (After all nobody likes paying more tax than they have to)
Investing for growth does not come without risk as many funds that offer the chance for you to grow your capital also carry a lot of risk, and accordingly you would be wisest to take professional financial advice before parting with your money.
These days when it comes to increasing your long term income, then you are not alone in thinking that a traditional bank savings account is not going to see you have a good retirement. Indeed the traditional savings account in the current economic climate looks to be something that will not prove viable as a good investment for some time to come. A good financial advisor will be able to advise you on what low risk alternative investments are available.
ISAs are one alternative investment example to a bank savings account that also helps to minimise your overall tax position.
Indeed when it comes to investment planning then planning your long term tax is definitely something to discuss very early on in the process with your investment manager in order to avoid problems further down the line. Just remember when taking tax advice that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) does not regulate tax advice, and thus care needs to be taken in this area, as you will have no comeback on your tax advisor should the advice they give you prove to be wholly inaccurate. As ever always seek professional investment planning advice.
AF Management offer a wide range of financial advice services in Kent with user friendly information on Investment Advice in East Sussex, Mortgage Advice and much more along with Pension Advice in Kent.
(Note: The opinions expressed on this blog in its posts and replies are the opinions of their respective authors and not those of www.guestbloger.com)
