Financial planning advice across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire
Retirement, investments, inheritance and the protection that holds it all together. One plan, in plain English, reviewed as your life changes.
What financial planning actually means
Financial planning is not a product, and it is not the same thing as buying an investment. It is the work of understanding where you are now, what you want life to look like later, and what has to happen in between. Pensions, investments, protection and tax all matter, but only once we know what they are for.
In practice that usually means answering one question first: are we going to be alright? Most people have never had a proper answer, because nobody has ever put the whole picture in front of them. That is what a cashflow plan does, and it is normally the thing clients find most useful.
We are a St. James’s Place Partner Practice based in Stoke Poges, working with clients across South Buckinghamshire, the Windsor and Ascot area and up the Thames Valley into Oxfordshire. However you come to us, the method is the same: we listen first, we set out your options in plain language, we put the recommendation in writing, and we review it with you every year.
What we advise on
Retirement planning
When could you stop, and on what income? We work out what you have, what you will need, and what has to change if you want to bring the date forward. Then we plan how income is actually drawn once you get there, which is the part most people never think about until it arrives.
Investment planning
Money invested in line with your goals, your timescale and how you genuinely feel about risk, rather than how you answered a questionnaire once. We use ISAs, pensions and other allowances properly, and we explain what you own and why.
Inheritance and estate planning
Passing on what you have built without more of it going in tax than it needs to. Gifting, allowances, trusts and how assets are owned, balanced against keeping enough control and enough money for your own life.
Trusts and protection
The parts that make the rest hold up. Life and critical illness cover written into trust, income protection, and trust arrangements that put the right money in the right hands at the right time. Unglamorous, and the first thing we look at.
Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Looking for a mortgage instead?
We advise on mortgages and the protection that should sit alongside them, whether you are buying, moving, remortgaging or building a portfolio.
Four steps, and none of them are a sales pitch
A conversation
Thirty minutes, no obligation. Mostly us listening, and an honest answer at the end about whether we can help.
The whole picture
Income, pensions, property, cover, tax position, and what you actually want the next twenty years to look like.
A written plan
Including a cashflow projection, so you can see the answer rather than take our word for it. Costs set out clearly before anything happens.
Reviewed every year
Because markets move, rules change and life rarely follows the plan exactly. You can call us in between whenever something changes.
Common questions
When can I afford to retire?
That is the question most people actually want answered, and it is answerable. It depends on what you have, what you will spend, and how long it needs to last. We build a cashflow plan that shows you the date and the number, and what has to change if you want to bring the date forward.
What is a cashflow plan?
A projection of your money across the rest of your life: income, spending, assets and the things you know are coming. It turns an abstract question like ‘will I be alright?’ into a picture you can look at and test. It is usually the most useful thing we produce.
How do I reduce inheritance tax?
Through a combination of gifting, allowances, trusts and how your assets are structured and owned. What works depends on your circumstances and on how much control you want to keep. Inheritance tax planning takes time to be effective, so it is worth starting the conversation earlier than feels necessary.
Do I have to move all my money to work with you?
No. Some clients want us to look after everything and some want advice on one specific decision. We will tell you where we can add value and where you are already fine as you are.
How often will we meet?
Usually once a year for a full review, and whenever something changes in between. You can call us at any point; there is no meter running on a phone call.
Let’s start with a conversation
A no-obligation 30-minute call. You do not need your paperwork in order first.