Family Matters

Here the kind of concerns clients come to us with

Can you help me explore what my retirement could look like?

There’s huge peace of mind to be gained from feeling in control of your retirement plans. We’ll start by making a detailed analysis of your current financial situation and existing provisions. Then we’ll create a visual cash flow model together with a detailed plan that matches your retirement aspirations.

My family and I want a partner we can rely on to look after our financial affairs. How will you work with us?

We know how important it is to have professional advice you can count on. Together, we’ll develop a relationship, so we can best understand what’s most important to you and your family. By identifying your priorities in life, we’ll use our expertise to structure your finances to meet those priorities. However complex your circumstances may be, our role is to make life simple and enjoyable.

I want to invest my money in line with my personal principles. Can you help me do that?

You’re not alone. Many of our clients have similar priorities. It’s why we’ve created sustainable investment strategies that capture the key factors of investment return. So you can choose to invest in funds that:

• demonstrate strict consideration for the environment
• monitor how companies look after their workers
• conform to corporate social responsibility policies
• have to account for their actions of a board under governance.

How can my partner and I make sure we’re using all our various tax efficient allowances?

We’ll be able to decipher which allowances you should use based on your objectives and financial position. That’s including the allowances from your company, your personal allowances and allowances between you and your spouse. You can rest assured that we’re running all your finances as tax efficiently as possible.

I’m worried that my partner, or children, may have to pay tax when I die. What can I do?

We’ll start by working out how much inheritance tax or lifetime allowance charges they may be liable to pay on your death. Then we’ll look at how to mitigate them. We’ll do this in partnership with you, by holding family meetings to discuss intergenerational planning and potential gifts. By working as a family unit, you can be sure that each member has the financial knowledge to manage their inheritance.

My partner used to look after our financial affairs, but now I’m on my own. Can you help me plan so that I don’t have to worry about money, even if eventually I need to go into a care home?

Dealing with complex financial affairs alone, especially when it’s all new to you, can feel like a heavy burden. We’ll partner with you, guiding and advising, so you can make informed decisions with confidence. We’ll help you take a range of considerations into account, including financing future care, should you need it. You can trust us to look after all the paperwork and to be on hand to support you in the years ahead. So you can look forward to a comfortable future.

I’m thinking of selling my business. But if I do go ahead and sell, I need to know my family can still enjoy the lifestyle we had planned. Can you help me make that happen?

Absolutely. Planning for the sale of a business is an exceptional life event. In our experience, the majority of business owners work exceptionally hard and make great sacrifices, so that their families don’t have to. We’ll work with you to help you understand the minimum amount of money you’d need from a sale to give your family the quality of life that you want for them. Then, should you decide to sell, we’ll act on those plans to deliver precisely that.

I have various professional advisers specialising in different fields, but I’d like one main point of contact. Could you liaise with my advisers to make that work?

Yes, we’d be happy to. From the outset, what’s most important to us, is to understand what’s most important to you. Once we appreciate your needs in depth, we can work closely with your existing advisers. Alternatively, and where appropriate, we can help you appoint the high-quality professionals you need. Once we’re established as your main point of contact, you only need to communicate with us – we’ll do the rest.

I want to make a gift to my children/grandchildren, so they’re financially secure in the future. When do you think they’d be mature enough to receive a substantial gift?

This is a frequent concern for parents and grandparents. There’s no hard and fast rule as to when to gift money because all young people mature at different rates. One key deciding factor, however, is an individual’s financial awareness. One of the skills we’ve enjoyed developing here at Mercury is the provision of financial education to the next generation. We can give your family members a solid grounding in planning their finances, so they know how to handle money. Equally important, we can recommend suitable investment vehicles should you want to remain in control for the time being.