Wealth Planning

Two minutes with Susie Hillier

In wealth planning we are strategists and technicians in one. You can only help someone think about their retirement planning, investments or tax structuring options if you understand the big picture and the purpose of their wealth. I believe that those firms who focus solely for example on investable assets or retirement planning miss so many opportunities to add value for clients. We are unusual in adopting this broader, holistic perspective.

The most important tool we use is our ears. Very often the first thing we say to a potential client is, “tell me about yourself”. We want to know what our clients think and feel about key issues rather than just understand their financial inflows and outflows. We want to know what drives them and what keeps them awake at night. We listen to what they say and use their responses to help build a strategy for their wealth. These conversations can be very interesting and often have very little to do with money.

We generally start with a financial ‘health check’. We do this for clients, no matter what their level of wealth. This enables us to plot someone’s financial position today against their objectives and highlight areas they should consider. We look at ‘what if’ scenarios and demonstrate the relative impact different life events may have, such as a marriage, the arrival of children, retirement or philanthropy. This is a good start for any strategic conversation. Our clients find our approach refreshing and it helps to set us apart from our peers.

We work with a huge range of clients. At one end of the spectrum, we look after ‘accumulators’ who are in the first stages of building their wealth. They could be the next generation who will inherit and require education, or entrepreneurs starting out with limited disposable income. At the other, we look after ultra-high net worth individuals, including private equity professionals or owner managers exiting businesses for multiple millions.

Being part of a wider international family office has many advantages for our clients. Our broad in-house expertise allows us to advise complex clients in a streamlined and efficient way. Our clients have access to numerous specialists, who they can engage with without building relationships from scratch. They have confidence in us to refer them to the best person for the job, whether inside or outside of the firm.

We are a people business. Technology is revolutionising client expectations around delivery but part of what differentiates us in the marketplace is that we build incredible relationships. We truly understand our clients and have the ability to share knowledge built from years of addressing similar issues faced by other families. We would be hard pushed to replace that with technology.

Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning provide integrated planning and investment advice focused on the needs of UK resident and domiciled, deemed-domiciled clients. Stonehage Fleming denotes that a company is a member of the Stonehage Fleming Family and Partners Group. The information in this article does not constitute an offer or a solicitation and is provided for information purposes only to describe the services offered by Stonehage Fleming and not as the basis for any contract for the purchase or sale of any investment product or service. Investments can fall as well as rise and investments and products mentioned in this presentation may not be suitable for everyone. This article does not take into account the individual circumstances, needs or objectives of the recipient. We do not intend for this information to constitute advice and it should not be relied on as such to enter into a transaction or for any investment decision. Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning accepts no liability for any action you may take or omit to take as a result of this article. It is not the intention to make our services available in any territories where to do so would be unlawful. Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. © Copyright Stonehage Fleming 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, on any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

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Introduction to Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning

Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning provide integrated planning and investment advice focused on the needs of UK resident and domiciled, deemed-domiciled clients.

What is wealth planning?

Kate Boswell and Matthew Brown on helping individuals and families articulate a strategy for their wealth

KB: In its simplest sense, Wealth Planning is about helping individuals and families to articulate a vision for their wealth and then implement the component parts of it. To be a good wealth planner you need to be a strategist – starting by understanding the big picture before drilling down into the individual technical aspects of a client’s affairs.

MB: Wealth planning is about understanding where our clients are currently, where they want to be and then understanding if their affairs are arranged in the most appropriate way to get them efficiently from A to B.

At what point do people tend to come to you for advice?

MB: Rarely, someone will come to us who simply has a sense that their wealth is at a level where they need professional advice. Usually, however, there is a trigger - be it a pension, investment or tax question. However, to deal effectively with the specific issue, we have to look at the broader picture to understand the context of the question asked. Having ascertained a client’s wider financial position, we can often add much more value in many areas of their wealth planning.

How to you get to grips with individual client requirements?

KB: I often ask new clients what sort of help they feel they need, because I think it is important to make sure that the role we play for our clients adds genuine value to their situation. Making the initial process as consultative as possible ensures that.

We’re also very good at being nosy! Really understanding a client means more than knowing their financial ins and outs – it means understanding what motivates them and what genuinely matters to them. Only once you know this can you say that you act as their trusted adviser.

MB: First we want to know about the nuts and bolts - assets and liabilities, income and expenditure. Wealth is only important relative to what you spend. But we also have to know a client’s objectives. Understanding what someone wants to achieve is fundamental to wealth planning. We also ask a client what keeps them awake at night. Those three things - understanding where someone is, financially, what they want to achieve and what concerns they have - form the basis of a strategic plan.

Stonehage Fleming denotes that a company is a member of the Stonehage Fleming Family and Partners Group. The information in this article does not constitute an offer or a solicitation and is provided for information purposes only to describe the services offered by Stonehage Fleming and not as the basis for any contract for the purchase or sale of any investment product or service. Investments can fall as well as rise and investments and products mentioned in this presentation may not be suitable for everyone. This article does not take into account the individual circumstances, needs or objectives of the recipient. We do not intend for this information to constitute advice and it should not be relied on as such to enter into a transaction or for any investment decision. Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning accepts no liability for any action you may take or omit to take as a result of this article. It is not the intention to make our services available in any territories where to do so would be unlawful. Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. © Copyright Stonehage Fleming 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, on any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

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Coronavirus dominates Budget with few changes for private clients

In his maiden budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak struck a brisk, reassuring tone against the backdrop of widespread uncertainty resulting from the outbreak of Coronavirus, repeatedly echoing the Tories’ recent election pledge to “get things done”.

Inevitably, his initial focus was to lay out the government’s short-term measures to combat the challenges posed by the developing pandemic, including a £5bn emergency response fund to support the NHS and other public services in England, a £12bn fiscal stimulus package - with more available if required - and help for both businesses and individuals.

With the Bank of England dropping the base rate to 0.25% this week, the Chancellor clearly believes that low interest rates are here to stay and intends to spend seriously, while borrowing is cheap.

For private clients, there was a relatively small number of announcements, especially for the first budget of a new parliament. However, several interesting changes were made, only some of which had been announced previously.

• The lifetime limit for Entrepreneurs’ Relief is reduced from £10m to £1m in respect of disposals made on or after 11 March 2020.
• From April 2020, the annual allowance taper thresholds for pension contributions will be increased by £90,000, meaning that taxpayers’ income up to £200,000 will benefit from the full annual allowance of £40,000.
• The annual limit for Junior ISAs more than doubling to £9,000 is a surprise on the upside.
• An SDLT surcharge of 2% for non-resident purchasers of residential property in England and Northern Ireland will apply from 1 April 2021, taking the highest rate of SDLT on residential properties to 17%.

Although not a change, corporation tax rate will remain at 19% and not fall to 17% from 1 April 2020, as previously indicated.

With a few notable exceptions, revenue raising measures were limited, with borrowing being the favoured route. The reduction in Entrepreneurs’ relief is expected to raise c£6bn and a further £4.4bn raised by targeting tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.

With a further budget in the autumn, Mr Sunak has an opportunity to implement tax measures later in the year. It would not be a surprise to see Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax come under the spotlight again.

As we near the end of the tax year and continue to deal with the impact of coronavirus on business and markets, please contact us if you wish to discuss any aspect of your financial planning.

Disclaimer: Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning provide integrated planning and investment advice focused on the needs of UK resident and domiciled, deemed-domiciled clients. Stonehage Fleming denotes that a company is a member of the Stonehage Fleming Family and Partners Group. The information in this article does not constitute an offer or a solicitation and is provided for information purposes only to describe the services offered by Stonehage Fleming and not as the basis for any contract for the purchase or sale of any investment product or service. Investments can fall as well as rise and investments and products mentioned in this presentation may not be suitable for everyone. This article does not take into account the individual circumstances, needs or objectives of the recipient. We do not intend for this information to constitute advice or investment research and it should not be relied on as such to enter into a transaction or for any investment decision. Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning accepts no liability for any action you may take or omit to take as a result of this article. It is not the intention to make our services available in any territories where to do so would be unlawful. Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. © Copyright Stonehage Fleming 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, on any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

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