Investments
Tax efficient savings, high growth investment – what's right for you?
How we can help
The starting point for any successful savings or investment plan is a thorough understanding of your financial goals, your current plans and current financial commitments. Having gone through this initial fact finding process, we would be in a position to make recommendations including the correct plan type and individual fund/investment holdings.
Wynchwood currently looks after assets in excess of £300 million and has a comprehensive and research led approach to investments. The investment funds we recommend have undergone rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis within the relevant fund management companies to ensure they have the best chance of delivering results in line with their stated objectives.
This research is completed by our Investment Manager and the findings discussed by our Investment Committee at their monthly meetings where they make any changes they deem necessary to our investment placing list and model portfolios. Between the three members of the committee there are numerous professional qualifications in investing (including an MSc in Economics and Investment Management Certificate) and in excess of 60-years’ experience investing clients’ money.
Listed below are some of the saving and investment options we would discuss with you if they were felt to be relevant.
Tax efficient savings
Each year, every UK adult has an Individual Savings Account (ISA) subscription allowance, limited to £20,000 for the 2019/20 tax year. All income and interest received and capital gains on these accounts are tax free.
For children under 18 years of age, Junior ISAs are available but with a limit of £4,368 for the 2019/20 tax year. These are subject to separate, although similar, tax efficient rules.
We recommend that all investors consider using their tax-free savings allowance each year by seeking our advice on the suitability of all available options, ranging from a defensive attitude to risk through to very adventurous.
The government recently introduced Lifetime Individual Savings Accounts (LISA). The new LISA can be opened by anyone aged between 18 and 39 and can be used either to fund a first time buyer’s house deposit or as tax free savings for retirement (so long as it is left invested until you are 60).
Eligible individuals will be able to save £4,000 per annum into a LISA and receive tax relief of 25%, as long as certain criteria are met.
Finally, from April 2016 the government launched the Innovative Finance ISA which allows a client to invest up to £20,000 in a tax efficient manner, as a lender through Crowdfunding/Peer-to-Peer lending.
Unit Trusts and OEICs
As a pooled investment, there are many advantages to investing in unit trusts as opposed to individual shares – including reduced risk and costs. Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) also provide opportunities for a diverse combination of investment options.
As with all investments, you should take specialist advice to make sure that this type of investment is right for you and to select an appropriate unit trust in which to invest.
Investment Trusts
These are similar to unit trusts in that they invest in the shares of companies and provide the opportunity for investors to spread risk. When you invest in an investment trust, you buy shares in a company that invests in other companies, not units in a fund.
Like unit trusts, investment trusts provide a variety of different types of investment from medium to relatively high risk. Some investment trusts focus on capital growth whilst others invest for a steady income from dividends. Again, it is essential to take advice before selecting an investment trust as part of your investment portfolio.
Investment Bonds
This is both an investment and life assurance product. It allows you to take out monies in either tranches or regularly if required. It works under different tax rules from Unit Trusts and Investment Trusts, so add diversification to a client’s overall portfolio of products. The bond holder may choose from a list of “life funds” to invest in.
Investment Bonds are versatile, allowing you to save for the medium to long term, create a source of income and/or as part of tax or estate planning with the use of trusts.
The above is a short list of investment products on offer and does not include things like structured products, individual shares, fixed term deposits, derivatives, cryptocurrencies and many others.
Investments may seem complicated, let us simplify it and help you meet your objectives.