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INVESTMENTS

 

SEVEN STEPS TO INVESTMENT SUCCESS

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You’re investing because you want your money to work harder

for you.

 

This might simply be to increase your wealth, but could also mean

investing in environmentally friendly companies, to align with

your beliefs.

 

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THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE

You want to feel confident that you are maximising your investment opportunities and are on track to meet your goals. 

 

And your investment strategy needs to help you feel secure and in control, positive about the future, not lying awake at night worrying. 

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But, there are thousands of different funds, strategies and experts to choose from, all sounding wonderful in theory. 

 

If you had a crystal ball it would be easy. You would pick the future winners and be financially secure in no time at all. 

 

So, the question is, how do you pick the solutions that will actually work best for you in practice? 

 

And what does “best” even mean for you? Highest returns, smoothest journey, lowest maintenance, most environmentally friendly, one that lets you sleep easily at night, something else?  

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OUR SEVEN STEPS TO INVESTMENT SUCCESS

STRUCTURE

 

We’ll recommend the right risk/reward profile for your financial and emotional needs.

 

We believe that:

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  • The split between asset classes is the biggest driver of risk/return - the right mix will help align your portfolio to your risk tolerance and capacity for loss. 

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  • Taking a long-term approach will help to smooth out market ups and downs. 

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  • Risk and reward go hand in hand - there is no such thing as high return with low risk. 

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  • Regular rebalancing helps to systemise the process of buying low/selling high and keeps the risk/reward balance aligned to your needs.

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SIMPLICITY

 

We’ll recommend that you keep your finances straightforward and advice costs down.

 

We believe that:

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  • Knowledge builds confidence – it’s best not to invest in products that you don’t understand.

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  • Your focus should be on what you can control, wasting as little time and money as possible on what you can't control.

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DIVERSIFICATION

 

We’ll recommend that you invest widely to reduce country, industry and stock-specific risks.

 

We believe that:

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  • Diversification is a free lunch and that you shouldn’t have all your eggs in one basket. 

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  • Markets are broadly efficient - the price of each stock is “right” and so there should be no such thing as “overvalued” and “undervalued”.

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HONESTY

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We won’t attempt to predict the future or dazzle you with overly complex solutions.

 

We believe that:

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  • Market timing should be avoided as no-one can accurately predict the future.

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  • You don’t need to “beat the market” because the market return should be sufficient. 

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  • No-one knows what the next 30 years will look like – it’s better to be safe than sorry, so be cautious in your return assumptions.

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KEEP COSTS DOWN

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We’ll recommend that you use low-cost investment solutions so that you keep more of

your returns.

 

We believe that:

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  • Cost - the lower the better - is one of the key drivers of returns and is one of the few variables of investing that you can consistently control. 

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  • Investors should be very mindful of the compounding effect of costs because the financial services industry may take half or more of your lifetime returns if you are not vigilant. 

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  • Consistent outperformance via active funds is very rare. Accurately picking them in advance of that good performance is even rarer, therefore such funds are not worth the extra costs.

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TAX EFFICIENCY​

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We’ll help you save tax on your returns where it is legal, sensible and cost-effective to do so.

 

We believe that:

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  • The investment wrappers you use will help determine the net return that you get to keep. 

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  • But we shouldn’t let the tax tail wag the investment dog and recommend investments just because of their tax status. 100% of nothing is still nothing.

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NO CHANGE FOR CHANGE'S SAKE​

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We’ll recommend that you keep your existing investments if they are suitable. 

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We believe that:

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  • It is not our job to dictate to you or to try to shoehorn you into our model portfolios.

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  • There are lots of different versions of “good”, which means that investment suitability can be very subjective.

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YOUR SUCCESSFUL INVESTMENT JOURNEY

When you’re looking back in 20 years’ time there will always be someone whose portfolio performed better than yours. The law of averages dictates this. 

 

The good news is that success isn’t about beating other people – it’s about walking the investment path that best suits you and your family. 

 

If your portfolio leaves you emotionally secure now and financially successful in the future, what more could you ask for? 

 

To find out more about our evidence based approach to investment, please give us a call by clicking here, or by dialling 020 3488 9505. 

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The value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you could get back less

than you invested.

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Tax and Estate planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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