The Building Blocks Of Financial Security
Every financial strategy has a number of core components. Gee & Watson will ensure that the essentials are in place to give you peace of mind and the potential to achieve your objectives.
Cash & savings
Everyone needs to keep some cash in reserve - the classic 'rainy day' fund. We normally suggest that an amount appropriate to a client's individual circumstances be retained in a bank or building society account with easy access and a competitive rate of return. We can advise you on the right home for this portion of your assets.
You may also wish to make regular savings in a building society account. Once again, we can advise on the accounts which meet your requirements pointing out any tax breaks that may be available.
Family protection
Life insurance is essential, not just for breadwinners, but for anyone who contributes to the smooth running of the household. If you have dependants, you need cover, and we can guide you to the right policy at the right price. We can also install appropriate protection plans for those worried about the effect of a serious illness or prolonged incapacity on their family's well-being.
Mortgages
If you need a mortgage to fund a house purchase, or to raise money on your existing property, we can help. Although we do not arrange mortgages ourselves, we can introduce you to tried and trusted independent specialists who can advise you on all aspects of mortgage finance. Please note that your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up mortage repayments on your mortgage.
Investment
There is a bewildering range of investment funds on the market, spanning relatively safe funds invested in UK gilts and fixed interest stocks, to highly speculative funds offering high potential returns but with increased risk of capital loss. Whether you require spendable income, capital growth or a combination of both, talking to us will help you gauge your appetite for risk and help us to whittle down all the available investment options until we identify the right ones for you.
Tax planning
No one likes paying more tax than is strictly necessary. We can often identify well-established legitimate ways to reduce your tax liabilities, thus enabling you to retain more of your hard-earned money.
Pensions
Pensions are simply long-term savings plans which include attractive tax advantages. Anyone concerned in building a financially secure future for themselves or their children and grandchildren needs to explore retirement planning and the use of pensions. We also advise those clients who wish to explore the different ways of drawing retirement benefits from their accumulated pension funds.
Estate planning
Most people naturally wish to pass on their assets, accumulated over a lifetime, to their children and grandchildren. Yet the inheritance tax laws means that this is not always straightforward and expert advice is essential. We can explain and arrange suitable inheritance tax mitigation plans and recommend how your beneficiaries can be put in a position to pay any tax due after your death.
Corporate financial planning
We advise on suitable pension arrangements and protection plans for business people and their staff. We can arrange insurance cover for a company's key employees and put in place partnership or co-shareholder protection plans, which will ensure that a business can survive the death or incapacity of a partner or shareholder.
We can also arrange pre-retirement or pre-redundancy courses for groups of employees on a one-off or regular basis.