Financial Planning
"No portfolio without a plan"
Financial planning involves understanding your goals and objectives and developing and implementing a financial plan that gives you peace of mind. We believe that financial planning is a key part of the retirement planning journey (stage 2 below), helping to achieve the best outcomes.
The terms "financial adviser" and "financial planner" are often used interchangeably, but financial advice and financial planning are two very different things, and it's essential for those looking to work with a professional to understand the difference.
Financial advice is focused on the product (e.g. a pension or an ISA), whereas financial planning focuses on the person.
We are passionate about financial planning, and we believe: "No portfolio without a plan"
Stage 1
Person (Life Planning): Establishing the cost of your current and future desired lifestyle.
Stage 3
Portfolio (Financial Products): Creating an investment 'engine' to deliver the returns your financial plan requires.
Stage 2
Plan (Financial Planning): Building a financial plan to evaluate the feasibility of your retirement goals.
Stage 4
Withdrawal strategy: Constructing a retirement withdrawal strategy and the various 'levers' that can impact the sustainability of your financial plan.
Both Noel and James are Certified Financial Planners, considered the global gold standard in financial planning. This is a Level 7 qualification - the same level as a Master's degree.
Below are the six stages of the financial planning process. This process is iterative, and the value is not in the financial plan (which is the output of the financial planning process) but in the ongoing financial planning process itself. We therefore see little value in "one-off" financial planning exercises.
