Investments: The Best Way Forward

In the current climate, it can seem that there is no way of securing any return on your savings and hiding money under the bed is starting to look attractive (this is in jest – you won’t get it back in the event of fire and theft so please don’t do it).

Chartered financial planners at cba financial services Limited are working very closely with clients to try to address this problem and offers a number of tips:

1.       Go back to basics.  Before looking at the detail of individual investments, it is essential to consider your wealth as a whole and what you are trying to achieve.

2.       Diversify – never has it been more important to ensure you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.

3.       Shop around – there are some good deals to be had if you look carefully.

4.       Review – it is essential that you review your investments to ensure they remain relevant following changes to the market and changes to your individual circumstances.  Additionally, many accounts will offer introductory rates and look a lot less attractive when these have ended.

5.       Tax – when returns are already low, giving 20% to the tax man is to be avoided.  Make sure you use all your tax allowances and maximise contributions to any tax-efficient investments such as ISAs, pensions, National Savings and others.

6.       Spread across asset types – holding all your money in deposit accounts is sure to erode the value over time and yet the stockmarket volatility puts off more cautious clients.  It is essential to gain a real understanding of risk and to spread your savings across different asset types-deposits, bonds, stocks, property and alternative investments.

7.       Rebalancing – once you have decided on a strategy you should keep this under review.  If one area performs particularly well then the amount held in that area will increase and your portfolio will be skewed.  We recommend rebalancing on at least an annual basis, and quarterly for large amounts.

8.       Do not let your savings fester.  If you do not have the time, inclination or knowledge then take professional advice.  The annual fee charge should be easily outweighed by increased performance and ensuring a risk level with which you are comfortable.

This is the approach cba financial services ltd takes with its clients, to ensure the returns are as high as possible and yet clients do not have to worry about their money.