Taking care of business, at work and at home

A successful business owner, James had spent years ignoring his personal finances. Hereā€™s how we helped him and his family.

James had been running a consultancy business for many years.

Much of his time and energy was focused on the business; he had somewhat neglected his personal finances.

He had a young family, so wanted to make sure they were secure. He was also aware that he should be planning for retirement, having worked hard to grow his business for many years.

James decided he wanted to do more to improve his own financial position. However, he didnā€™t have the time, energy or expertise to do this properly on his own.

How we helped.

We initially looked at the profitability of Jamesā€™ business, analysing the balance sheet and retained profits. We worked out that James could be extracting far more from the business if he utilised the full annual pensions allowance for both him and his wife.

We set up an appropriate pension arrangement for him to do so, which allowed for very flexible levels of contributions on both a regular and ad-hoc basis. James and his wife could then extract more money from the business without paying income tax, reducing their corporation tax liabilities over several years by tens of thousands of pounds.

We also worked with Jamesā€™s accountant to ensure his income tax was minimised. We have been monitoring this to make sure he is not affected by the reduced annual allowance. Furthermore, we set up a Relevant Life Policy, which is a very tax-efficient way for James to provide life assurance benefits for his family.

What was the outcome?

James has significantly reduced his reliance on the sale of his business to ensure he has a happy retirement.

By extracting profits through employer pension contributions, he has both capitalised on some of the value of his business and reduced the amount of tax he has paid on the profits.Ā  James now knows he can expect a secure retirement, regardless of what happens to his business in the future.

James has also improved the security of his family by effecting a life assurance plan in a trust paid for by the business, the proceeds of which would be outside of his estate for inheritance tax purposes.

Want to know more?

If you are looking for help or advice, weā€™d be happy to arrange a call or meeting with you. Get in touch on 01962 458 121 or email simon.weeks@red7fm.com. Alternatively, get in touch via our call back form here.

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What do our clients have to say?

I was recommended to Simon when I moved from London to Hampshire around 10 years ago. I wanted top quality financial advice across both my highly intertwined business and personal/family lives, able to be delivered often face to face without too much travel effort. My needs started with tax management advice but quickly spread to how to fund a house purchase and renovation, and then my childrenā€™s education. As I reach my mid-50s, the questions have been more to do with pension, London property and my family investment portfolio. Simon has been beside me all that way. Why? Well, professionally, because he knows his subject, is always well prepared, can explain things quickly and clearly, and is sensible and sincere in his advice. When occasionally I have questioned him toughly, he has proved his advice can withstand that. So, I have learned to trust his recommendations, which always save me time, stress and help me to be financially well prepared. On a personal level, it is always nice to see him as he is friendly, tries really hard to help and makes all his clients, however unimportant in terms of fees, feel looked after and valued. Trust him, itā€™ll be worth it.

James, from St Marybourne

We have used Simon for around 10 years. We started from a point where retirement was a scary thought which we could never afford. Working with Simon we put a plan together and now we feel that financially the future is much clearer. Simon is not one for fancy high risk instant results; he has always made this clear and in the process has steered us away from several ā€˜get rich quickā€™ schemes that have tempted us.

Mike, from Whitchurch

We were looking to invest a windfall for the long term in a tax-efficient way so that it could provide additional support to our disabled child in the future. Simon arranged a plan that provides for this and also combined our various pension schemes onto a consolidated platform. This enables accurate cash flow modelling that would not be possible with a variety of scattered funds. Our regular reviews have been invaluable in reducing any financial uncertainty and concern. Simon has arranged life cover offering greater value for money and with premiums paid directly from my company, effectively reducing the cost.

John, from Godalming

I have been working with Simon for a number of years now and have come to really value his financial planning advice. He first helped me to invest the money I made from selling my business and since then he has continued to advise my husband and I on all aspects of our financial and retirement planning. Simon brings a well-informed, balanced perspective to our financial decision-making that is always reassuring.

Rachel, from Richmond-Upon-Thames

We originally contacted Simon shortly after we married, as we had a diverse portfolio which was proving difficult to manage. Simon helped us to clarify our investment aims for growth and income over our working lives and into retirement, providing the information we needed to select the appropriate risk strategy for our investments. Our portfolio is now well structured and easy to manage, together with regular updates on the value. Simon meets with us at least once a year to discuss our portfolio, is always well informed, providing us with appropriate advice and information to make any decisions.

William, from Southampton