What follows are some ideas for you to think about. We hope that some, if not all, of them will help you in some way if you are considering taking independent financial advice.

• Know your starting line
• Know your finish line
• Think about your debts
• Invest tax efficiently
• Check your Wills
• DIY

Know your starting line

We use a client questionnaire to capture all the relevant facts about our clients. This is an absolute must before we can even consider offering advice. In other words make a list of all your assets and their value. This is a great place to start.

Know your finish line

Think about what you want from your money, how long your timescales are, and the sort of risks you are willing to take. For most people it is the fear of loss rather than the prospect of gain that is more important in defining their attitude to investment risk. If you really cannot tolerate the thought of losing money over any time frame then confine your investment choice to guaranteed, or cash based investment solutions. There are many available that may work more tax efficiently than you could have imagined.

Clearly defined objectives, timescales and investment risk tolerance should make you a much happier investor but not necessarily in the short term.

Think about your debts

It may seem obvious but the number of people who have consulted me for investment advice when they are still immersed in debt is staggering. If possible, it is important to keep your debts under control. For example, keeping a large credit card balance running from month to month and paying interest rates of 15% is not sensible if you are also investing your capital on deposit and receiving 3% after tax. If appropriate, offset mortgage facilities may be another area to investigate, before committing to investment of your hard earned cash.

Invest tax efficiently

It is revealing to understand the difference that tax efficiency can make. For example, holding a fixed interest security with a gross interest rate of 6% will give a basic rate tax payer a net return of 4.8% or a higher rate tax payer 3.6% net.

Such assets held within PEP or ISA rules will yield a gross tax free return to the holder no matter what their income tax position. It is not unusual for clients to have built up PEP funds of £200,000 over the last 20 years. Such holdings in this example could yield an attractive tax free and non declarable income of £12,000 per annum under current rules and tax legislation.

We are each permitted to take a capital gain of £9,200 in the current tax year. Some clients see this as an opportunity to achieve additional tax free income each year. With rising equity markets capital gains are much more achievable. It is important of course to ensure you are in the right investment vehicle to benefit from capital gains tax planning.

Check your Wills

If it is a case of what will? Then make one, and your hard earned wealth can go where you want it to. Where suitable, making full use of the Nil Rate Bands can save inheritance tax of £120,000. Simple as that, as always it is important to seek professional advice in this regard.

DIY

DIY is best left for home improvement. There are too many opportunities to miss by not taking professional investment advice. Most advisers, including The McDevitt Partnership Limited, will offer an initial meeting free of charge, to establish common ground for the basis of advice. Our advice is... take it.

The FSA does not regulate wills