Investments

Cash in the bank and no plan for it?

I’ll help you decide how much to keep within reach and what to do with the rest.

Book a discovery meeting

Good years leave cash behind. It sits in a current account or a savings pot because you’re not sure what else to do with it, and every so often someone at work mentions an app.

I can help you make a proper decision about it.

What I do

Start with what the money is for

A house, school fees, stopping work early, or a cushion for a quiet year. The purpose decides nearly everything else.

Agree how much risk suits you

Investments go up and down. We’ll work out how much of that you can live with, using a questionnaire and a proper conversation.

Keep enough in cash

Before anything is invested, we agree what stays where you can get at it. That matters more if your income is uneven.

Choose the investments

I’m independent, so I choose from across the market. In most cases that means a multi-asset fund or a managed portfolio, usually held on a platform where you can see everything in one place.

Use your allowances

ISAs and the other allowances you get each year, where they suit you.

Look at what you already hold

If it’s doing the job, I’ll tell you to leave it alone.

Keep an eye on it

I review your investments with you every year and check they still fit what you want.

Company money

If your business is holding more cash than it needs, we can look at investing some of it.

How I think about investing

Spread it out

In most cases I’ll recommend a multi-asset fund or a managed portfolio. Both spread your money across shares, bonds and other assets, so you’re not relying on one holding.

Match it to you

How much goes into riskier assets depends on how long you’ve got and how much movement you can live with. We settle that before any money moves.

Check before recommending

Every fund and product I recommend has been through due diligence first.

Leave it alone unless there’s a reason

We review it every year. Reacting to markets is where a lot of people go wrong, and part of my job is to help you stick to the plan.

Active or passive?

[Si to answer in two or three sentences: whether he favours active funds, index trackers or a mix, and who manages the portfolios he recommends.]

Things people say to me

“Is now a good time to invest?”

Nobody knows, and that includes me. My job is to make sure you’re investing money you won’t need for years, at a level of risk you’re comfortable with, so that a bad year or two doesn’t force you to sell.

“What if I need the money back?”

Then it shouldn’t all be invested. We decide how much to keep in cash first. Most of what I recommend can be sold if your plans change, though you might get back less than you put in.

“Can’t I do this myself?”

You can. Plenty of people do, and it costs less. What you don’t get is someone who knows your whole position and tells you when to leave it alone.

What it costs and how it works

Investment advice has two fees: an initial fee for the advice and the set up, and 0.68% a year for the ongoing service. Fund and platform charges are separate. You pay nothing until you’ve seen my recommendations and decided to go ahead.

The small print that matters

The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances and may change in future.

Got money sitting there? Run it past me.