What are you saving for?

For any savings ISA’s are always a good idea but far fewer new cash Isa savings accounts have been launched at the start of the "Isa season", according to analysis by a data firm, pointing to a "very slow and unoptimistic start to the 2014 Isa season". In past years, the best rates on cash Isas have risen in February and March, this is because so many people rush to use their £5,760 tax-free allowance ahead of the end of the tax year on 5 April. But Sylvia Waycot of Moneyfacts said: “Isa season is the equivalent of Christmas for savers, with lots of competitive rates, fanfares and razzmatazz, but so far this year it is turning out to be a bit of a lame duck." In December 2012, there were a total of 73 cash Isas that were either new launches or new issues of fixed rates. Last month, in comparison, there were only 24. For January, the figure was 91 compared to 27 so far this year.

The average cash Isa rate this year is only 1.64pc, down from 1.87pc a year ago, although there have been marginal improvements in savings rates in the last few months. Rates have been depressed by the Funding for Lending Scheme, aimed at pushing down borrowing rates for mortgages and small businesses. Banks and building societies have been able to tap a separate source of finance, FLS loans from the Bank of England with rates as low as 0.25pc, instead of having to attract deposits from savers .But as the economy improves borrowing rates on money markets should continue to rise which may also lead to marginally better savings rates.


Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Key questions to ask a Financial Adviser

Enable’s IFAs are happy to answer all your questions.

• You might want to start with what type of advice/service do you offer?

• You need to determine the type of advice which they are able to offer you, if they are independent, or if they are restricted to only giving advice on certain products, and what experience and qualifications they have.

• You should understand what the process is to assess your financial needs, what your financial objectives are and how your attitude to risk is assessed.  Remember that your attitude to risk may change over time and it is important that you keep your adviser informed regarding any change in circumstances that may affect your risk profile.

• Ask how Advisors decide what the best investments for you are. The adviser needs to explain the different asset classes and what they would recommend based on your profile.  How are you kept pu to date; face to face, email and written reports, and in what timescales you can expect to receive these - monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

• You should know how much control will I have over your investments and investment decisions, and know who else manages your investments. You should be 100% clear who will be managing your investment for you and who to contact if you have any queries/questions. Then make sure you know the level of service you can expect from your adviser and how often your portfolio will be reviewed.
Finally fees this is a very important question. Know how much you will be paying for advice and how you will be billed.


Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

School Fees - you need to start planning early

The cost of sending a child to private school has risen by around 40pc since 2007, according to figures from the Independent Schools Council. Between 2007 and 2008, the average fee rose by 10pc a term for a private boarding school, soaring above inflation, which was 3.6pc in the same period. Since then, private school fees have risen by around 5pc each year, still well above the average increase in the cost of living.

If its worrying you the best thing to do is start early, based on a monthly savings programme, parents will need to invest at least £200,000 per child on average across 18 years, assuming they will pay private school fees from junior level to sixth form. "The earlier you can start, and the bigger sums early on, the better, as time is on your side and the regular amounts can reduce over time as the investments grow," said Jason Hollands the broker, who calculated the figures.

Grandparents often step in to help with grandchildren's school fees, which can have the added benefit of reducing an inheritance tax liability. Each grandparent can make a gift of up to £3,000 a year that is exempt from inheritance tax. This figure can be carried forward for one year, so a grandparent could give £3,000 for 2012-13 and again for 2013-14 but not for previous years.

There is also an exemption called "normal gifts out of income". Patricia Mock of the accountancy firm Deloitte said grandparents could make gifts from their disposable income that was fully exempt as long it did not affect their standard of living. Any other gifts were "potentially exempt transfers" which means you must survive seven years for them to be completely free of IHT. Grandparents could also set up a trust for their grandchildren, but this requires additional administration.





If you would like any advice on how much you are allowed to give to your grandchildren, then why not give our team of IFA's a call.




Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Watchdogs are good for the business

Enable’s IFA’s come across a wide variety of people who want a mortgage and although enable would always work hard to make sure any borrower clearly understands the implications of taking on a mortgage it is good to see that lenders have been warned more must be done to treat customers in mortgage arrears fairly in some circumstances.

The City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, said recently that the industry had improved since its last review in 2009 but it wants front line staff to have better knowledge so they can make informed decisions on difficult individual circumstances. The regulator found some borrowers dealing with bereavement or terminal illness were still not dealt with sensitively or not passed on to specialist teams which really should be the case with such unforeseen circumstances.

Clive Adamson, director of supervision at the FCA, said: "We are already working with firms and trade bodies to help them embed a culture centred on delivering the best outcome for customers based on their specific circumstances."

The FCA's review findings follow public statements from all of the major lenders earlier this year on the flooding crisis, with each promising leniency on mortgage repayments for households affected from the after effect of the severe weather conditions we have all been experiencing. Looking forward NatWest has promised "mortgage holidays" of up to three months. Borrowers most at risk of falling into arrears if rates rise should be identified, the regulator said, with plans put in place on how to treat them.

Your home is at risk if you do not keep up your mortgage repayments.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Keeping on top of your pension

At Enable in Bishop’s Stortford our IFA’s know it is not uncommon to collect a number of work and personal pensions during adult life and keeping on top of pension investments isn’t always straightforward. According to research by charity Age UK, one in four people have actually lost track of a pension altogether.  Most of us have the right to move our pensions,  and having them all in one place makes them easier to manage .It isn’t particularly difficult to move your pensions and once they are in one place it will be much easier to establish how well your investments are working for you. This means you will have a much greater chance of achieving the lifestyle you want in retirement.

 The benefits of having your pension in one place are that you can see at a glance the overall size of your pension.  It will be much easier to work out if you have a good mix of high-quality investments and whether they are performing well. You can switch out of poor investments and make the most of those that are performing well. You’ll cut back on the paperwork you need to deal with and you are likely to reduce costs, which mean more of your money will be going towards your future rather than evaporating in fees.

Many people are inclined to leave their pensions where they are because they don’t want to take responsibility for managing their own pension investments so it is important to point out that you don’t have to make all your own investment decisions, with the support of an Independent Financial Advisor it might not be as challenging a s it seems.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

Bank advisors not so available

Some bank’s investment adviser have gone quiet recently and a huge number of people, who in the past have relied on a bank’s adviser, may have found themselves stranded and forced into making important investment decisions alone. In some cases it’s because the bank has decided that it is no longer financially viable to give advice to people with less than £50,000 or even £100,000. (Lloyds is an example of a bank that is no longer offering face-to-face financial advice to those with less than £100,000 in savings and investments.)

So, if you have been feeling as if the banks have pulled the plug on their investment advice services to you it might be of interest  to realise this has largely come about because of something known as RDR – the Retail Distribution Review – which was carried out by the financial regulator to, among other things, make sure people were getting a fair deal from financial services companies. It wanted to stop the all too common practice of advisers selling investments not on merit or suitability for a client but instead because of the commission they were receiving.

A lot of the banks – and other providers of financial advice – have done their sums and realised that in the post-RDR world they just can’t make enough money out of advising people who don’t have a substantial amount of money to invest. So if you are feeling the need for help with your investments Enable's Independent Financial Advisors’s in Bishop’s Stortford might be able to help.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

Will 2014 be another bumper year in the stock market?

For stock market investors, 2013 was not a bad year. Enable’s IFAs and our passive investment philosophy saw the FTSE 100 deliver gains of around 10%, and when you add in dividends, the return was closer to 13%.  The US markets fared even better with the Dow Jones reaching all-time highs and posting a 26% gain, its biggest percentage rise for 18 years.

 It would seem that essentially last year investors finally began to believe that an economic recovery was underway. Without a crystal ball it is impossible to see what is in store for the rest of 2014 but there is defiantly a stronger global economy. The US and UK are building momentum, the EU is climbing out of recession and into growth even if it is slow.  Many think Asia should begin to re-accelerate.  Liquidity is still fairly abundant in the financial system and while stimulus is likely to be trimmed (QE tapering), the Fed is expected to counter this with strong forward guidance – assuring the markets that interest rates will stay at rock bottom levels for the next few years. As Mark Carney has done recently in the UK.  Another factor is that the corporate sector having bee understandably cautious for the last 5 or so years has quite a lot of cash floating around. Rather than invest their profits in expansion, companies have been distributing record dividends or simply allowing cash to pile up. Data from the Bank of England at the beginning of the year showed  that the bank deposits of non-financial corporations rose more than five-fold from £76 billion at the end of 2008 to £419 billion by July 2013. If businesses put that money to work, we see huge scope for profit upgrades.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

How do a young couple buy their dream home?

How can a young couple who have set their sights on a three-bed detached house, and then plan to have children achieve their goal? Living with the parents, might enable them to save and work towards having some sort of deposit 10 -15 K is a good target. Clearing any outstanding debts is also a good thing to do.

To help them find out exactly how much they could borrow, what type of property they can afford, and what monthly repayments might be an IFA can help like our experienced Independent Financial Advisors at Enable in Bishop’s Stortford. We might advise them to make sure they're on the electoral roll. If not, any application to borrow could fail the credit check.  We would also suggest that they should get their reports together to check there are no errors on their files. Assuming both have good credit ratings, they may be able to apply for a mortgage from 4 to 4.9 times joint income.
Most deals would require a 10 per cent deposit, but they could also look at the Government's Help to Buy scheme. This might potentially enable them to buy with a deposit of just 5 per cent. The Government will then provide a loan for up to 20 per cent – and the couple would then need to take out a mortgage of up to 75 per cent of the purchase price to meet the shortfall.

It’s not necessarily an easy path but with good planning and good advice it is possible to work towards you own dream home.

Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on your mortgage.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Pensions or ISAs?

The popularity of ISAs has continued in recent years as more and more people take advantage of tax-efficient savings even if rates are terribly low they might be better than pensions. Some have even thought to ask Enable’s IFA’s of Bishop's Stortford whether an ISA is actually a better bet when it comes to retirement saving. Undoubtedly both have their benefits but when it comes to saving for retirement, which is better?

The thing about pensions is that you get tax relief up front on contributions so a contribution of £100 becomes £125 in your pension - and higher-rate tax payers can claim higher relief. As growth is on the higher sum, this gives pensions an important advantage, as there is no tax relief available on payments into an ISA. But investments held in both ISAs and pensions enjoy the same tax-favoured treatment of income and capital gains so there is no difference there.  Remember when you come to withdraw money from your ISA no tax is payable whereas pension income is taxable. However, you can take up to a quarter of your pension fund as tax free cash.

Pensions are more complex than ISAs, and governments involvement in changing pension rules in recent times, which has led to uncertainty and it is true you can access your ISA at any time - you have to be at least 55 to benefit from your pension. However, having free access to your money may actually make it more tempting to spend the money saved in your ISA.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

ISA deadlines are on the horizon

The financial year suddenly rushes up on us in no time at all it will be April and no one will have made a decision about their ISA.  Enable’s IFA’s in Bishop's Stortford have noticed that the new ISA products are beginning to hit the market so maybe it is time to start taking a look before the rush. The deadline for this year's Isa allowance is of course not until 5 April. But if you are planning to use any or all of the £11,520 you can shelter from the taxman before the end of the financial year you need to act over the coming weeks. This can be split between cash and stocks and shares, with up to £5,760 held in cash.

HSBC is offering current account holders a loyalty Isa paying up to 1.6% over a year, which does not include a short-term bonus. Premier account holders get the top rate on a minimum investment of £1 up to the maximum Isa allowance of £5,760. Holders of an advance account are paid 1.5%, while those with a basic current account can earn 1.4%.Oliver Cook, head of savings at HSBC, said: "Our customers have told us they always want to receive the best rate we have on offer, without having to switch Isas every year. "We have created an Isa that rewards customers for their loyalty, securing our best rate on their whole balance for 12 months each time they pay in."

More providers are expected to launch accounts over the coming weeks. "It is usually in the next six weeks or so when the frenetic activity takes place. Enables IFA’s can help you take a look at maximising your savings.

Rip-off pensions exposed by City watchdog

Making sure you shop around before you buy your annuity can mean pension savers can get 7% more income.  Enable's Independent Financial advisors in Bishop's Stortford can help you understand all you need to know about setting up and running a pension. After years of saving your annuity turns your pension pots into income for life so you need to use it wisely.

A recent report suggest that major insurers are cashing in at the expense of 150,000 people each year who fail to shop around when they buy an annuity, according to a damning report by the City regulator.  On average, 80 per cent of people choose to buy an annuity from the same company that runs their pension fund but the report suggest that pensioner could get 7 per cent more income if they shopped around on the open market. In some cases they could get 20 per cent more.

The FCA report found that 150,000 people retire each year on lower-paying annuities.  Most likely to lose out are those with small pension pots worth less than £5,000. These savers are offered lower rates than those with larger funds, have less choice of providers and are not always aware that they could potentially take their pension as a lump sum under 'trivial commutation' rules.  The significant findings from a year-long study by the Financial Conduct Authority confirms long-held suspicions about annuities and the regulator will now launch another probe to discover whether insurers have misled their pension customers when selling them annuities.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Save money on your mortgage

At Enable in Bishop's Stortford our IFA’s know that millions of families have saved a fortune on their mortgages since rates were slashed to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent in March 2009. But David Miles, a member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee, warned borrowers and lenders to prepare for the day when rates start to rise. ‘Interest rates will not remain at this level for many years to come,’ he said ‘They need to think very carefully what’s going to happen when the cost of that mortgage moves up.’

Bank governor Mark Carney last week hinted that rates could rise early next year for the first time since July 2007 but vowed that the MPC ‘will not take risks with the recovery’. He insisted any increases will be ‘gradual’ and ‘limited’ – bolstering expectations that rates will not rise above 3 per cent before the end of the decade.

But it is important to remember many borrowers have got used to record low mortgage costs. Graham Beale, chief executive of lender Nationwide, last week warned ‘a whole generation of borrowers have never experienced increases in their monthly mortgage payments’. A sharp fall in inflation however, to a four-year low of 1.9 per cent in January, according to official figures released today, has eased pressure on the Bank to raise rates. Keeping your mortgage right for you is part of what Enable’s IFA’s are here to do.


Remember - Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. 
 

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

How to Invest passively

When most people think of an investment fund manager, they imagine a city professional staring at a screen of numbers yelling "buy" or "sell". It involves a human element of decision making; someone who is taking strategic decisions about whether to hold the shares of a certain company within the fund, trying to constantly achieve the optimum mix of shares and other assets to give their investors top returns. The human element in markets means that no fund manager will outperform year in year out. And naturally, this extra involvement doesn't come for free, so actively managed funds are generally more expensive than their passive equivalent and as much research shows they do not  regularly outperforming, the markets.

At Enable we believe Passive investments work best for wealth management; you might as well just track an index at a much lower cost, safe in the knowledge that whilst you probably won't outperform the market, your investments are less likely to significantly underperform the market, giving you peace of mind that your portfolio performance will always be there or thereabouts. Choosing a passive fund usually starts with deciding which index to track, such as the FTSE 100.



Needless to say, there are different types of passive funds. The funds which will most closely resemble the index they are tracking are known as full replication; they hold the same proportion of every share that makes up the index they are tracking. This is a simple but effective way of following an index. However, for smaller funds it can be so expensive to buy so many different shares that the charges would simply cancel out the lower cost benefit of a passive fund. As a result, these smaller funds will often buy a selection of shares to try and simulate the market, but this of course involves decision making about which shares to buy; again introducing the human element and possibility of underperformance compared to the market. The true benefits of passive investment for any portfolio are to try and achieve accurate index tracking with very low charges something Enables IFA’s  of Bishop’s Stortford will always be trying to do for you.


Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Healthy finances for healthy relationships

With Valentines Day upon us again Enable’s IFA’s wonder if it might be worth reflection on some key steps thought to maintain healthy finances for your relationship.

Most relationships especially if you’re married or living together, will have experienced  “a money fight”. One of the biggest causes of problems in relationships is differences in values and goals and habits when it comes to money, and especially communication about money issues.

Money can’t buy you love, but we have all seen it tear relationships apart. Two simple steps can help alleviate the risk of this happening firstly learn how to talk about money with your partner, and secondly learn how to align your financial goals. If you can do those two things, you’ve done more than most couples, and you will have taken a significant step in the right direction to keeping your relationship on solid ground.

Then make sure you develop a system for finances that works for both of you. In order to put your financial plan into action, you’ll need to work out how you’re going to pay your bills, pay debt, deposit into savings, have money for extra expenditure treats adventures and hobbies.  You can think about each taking  responsibility for each part of the system (it’s better if you’re both involved, but you should find what works best for you as a couple).

Some couple even have weekly financial meetings. Just because you have common financial goals and a plan and a system doesn’t mean that everything is fine it still has to run and be reviewed. One way of having regular catch ups is for couples to see their Independent Financial Advisor together.  Enable know that by working together as a team families achieve better financial outcomes.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Any Investment starts with assessing risk.



If you are new to wealth management Enable’s experienced Independent Financial Advisors in Bishop’s Stortford will always begin with, discussing how much risk you are willing and able to accept with your money. This of course may be different for individual aspects of your portfolio, for example you may wish to have a higher level of risk on your long term pension fund, whilst preferring to be more cautious with your ISAs.



It is also important to agree investment objectives, to help you achieve your goals, it is important for us to understand why you are investing. Do you want to save for your Children's education? Do you want to retire early? Are you trying to achieve a certain standard of living in retirement? Do you need a minimum level of income now? Or it could be as simple as wanting to find the best home to grow your savings over the longer term. Understanding your goals and aspirations enables us to position your portfolio optimally for your needs.



Making sure your wealth has the most appropriate Tax Wrapper for you is also vital.  What we mean by tax wrapper, is the most appropriate mix of tax treatment, accessibility and complexity for the investments in question. Examples of the most widely used tax wrappers are Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), Pensions, Onshore and Offshore Investment Bonds and Unit Trusts/OEICs. For the more sophisticated investors, Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) can be beneficial in certain circumstances. We will of course be able to explain to you how each of these types of tax wrapper work, and recommend whether they deserve a place in your portfolio.



Whether you are a new investor or have been with us some time reviewing  and rebalancing is ongoing so Enable’s IFA’s can help to ensure your portfolio remains optimized for your requirements.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Making the most of your capital gains entitlement in 2014

Captial Gains is one of those little understood taxes that can make people more fearful of growth than necessary.

At Enable we want to remind clients that for 2013/2014, individuals are entitled to an annual exemption of £10,900 and trusts of up to £5,450 (this is reduced where the settler has set up several trusts, subject to a minimum of £1,090 per trust).

 Enable’s IFA'ss would recommend that if you think that your investments have made substantial unrealised gains and you have not yet made use of your annual allowance, you should consider talking to one of our Independent financial Advisors as you may be able to utilise your annual allowance, or put it to similar good use. You could for example, consider reinvestment in an ISA (subject to the ISA limits), or suing it for reinvestment by a spouse/civil partner or reinvestment into a similar holding. Consideration should be given to transferring assets between spouses/civil partners before encashment of any gains to enable each member of the family to use their annual allowance to maximize your family’s management of its wealth.

It can also be important to consider whether any investments have made a loss and whether any excess gains from other sources could be used to offset by any losses. Losses can be carried forward indefinitely, so it is important to include gains, losses and the annual exemption in any calculation to determine how to maximize any Capital gains relief.

Enables IFA’s are available to help you look at how best to manage your capital gains.


Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

How to keep your wrap fees low...

One of the most confusing issues to many investors is determining exactly what fees they are paying on their investments and investment programs. Fees are often a key factor in the choice of advisors, so making a decision without full and accurate information can have a significant impact on the ultimate success of an investment program.

The fee issue has taken on added significance as the number of advisors that charge an asset based fee has increased appreciably over the past decade. Historically, many advisors did not charge a fee per se for their services but rather were paid a portion of the commission costs on trades made in client accounts. Charging an asset-based fee is considered to be more beneficial to the client as both parties share a common goal of growing the overall value of the account.

At Enable our carefully constructed risk graded range of of portfolios are carefully selected to keep fees low.  All the asset classes used in our portfolios are accessed using very low cost passively managed funds. We currently use institutional class funds from Legal & General and Dimensional Fund Advisors plus Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) from iShares and Lyxor but are constantly looking to improve our offer to clients. The resulting total composite Annual Management Charges (including all trading costs, custodian fees etc) being in the region of 0.19% - 0.54% p.a. depending on the size of the portfolio and the risk grade selected.

(Please note that Enable’s fees and the investment platform/investment wrapper fees are in addition to these.)

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

How to make money on your investment portfolios...

At Enable our Investment Philosophy rests on ‘passive’ rather than ‘active’ investment management. To put it in the simplest terms we look to try and extract as much of the market return as possible for the least possible cost. This is not the message that you will hear from the majority of investment advisers, stockbrokers or IFAs, but our view, backed by a wealth of research, leads us to conclude that most active fund managers rarely live up to  their hype.

The idea behind the active approach is that it is possible to consistently outperform ‘the market’. If it was so easy then why do the majority of money manager fail to achieve this? Depending on which research you read, only 25% of funds consistently beat their benchmark so you have a one in four chance of picking the right one? 

The research that Enable and others have carried out has demonstrated that over the long term, risk and reward are inextricably linked. In other words, the expectation of higher return will require a tolerance to higher volatility (risk). Moreover, equity investment has delivered the best long term returns when compared with cash, fixed interest securities (such as Gilts etc) and property, although it has certainly not been a smooth ride.  At Enable we have constructed a range of graded portfolios that blend lower risk/return assets with higher risk/return assets to achieve the desired portfolio characteristics. We then model the historic returns to ensure that our theory is backed up by real results.  If you want to explore making the most of your capital Enable's IFA’s are here to help.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE