Savings, Investments & Pensions

From childhood most of us are told to put away money to save for the future – perhaps for something special? Or perhaps to be sure that when we really need something we have the funds to acquire it, without taking on debt? Whether you place your money in a piggy bank, or in a multinational investment house, our aims are broadly the same; to provide for our future needs, and to protect ourselves against unexpected causes of expenditure.

Savings are generally funds that you set aside, but can be accessed relatively quickly. These savings are often for a specific need or purchase, like a holiday or a new car. The most common way of ‘saving’ is into a bank account (‘deposit’ account) where the money can be accessed in an emergency, and for every £1 you put in, you will get £1 back and possibly some interest.

Investments

Investments are designed to be held for a longer term, usually at least 5 years. You need to be comfortable with tying up this money for a period of  time, and should not consider investments  unless you have some savings in place. Most investments are not guaranteed to return your money in full, although do offer the prospect of potentially higher returns than deposit accounts. Returns, risk and volatility are the factors that will  determine a  suitable place for your savings.

Pensions are, of course, designed to enable you to save sufficient money during your working life to provide an income stream for you to live comfortably after you have retired.

There are many different ‘tools’ used to save for retirement and the taxation and investment elements of pensions can appear baffling. We specialise in explaining, recommending and monitoring pensions for you. So whether you have existing pensions pot that needs reviewing or want to start looking into your retirement options, one of our qualified advisers can explain the process to you and tailor make their recommendations to achieve your goals.

“The value of your pensions and investments can go down as well as up.”