Investment Solutions

The importance of investment

Different investments meet different needs, whether you are an individual, a business or an organisation. Some investments are suited for short term goals like saving for a holiday, a wedding, or a car; others are much more long term such as your retirement or inheritance tax planning.

Premier Investment Strategy

With over 20,000 funds populating the investment universe, selecting funds to meet our clients' needs has become an increasingly time consuming and risk associated task.

If a fund is chosen, on what basis is it chosen? Past performance and star rating may be considered, or perhaps a particular manager or a particular sector is preferred. Either way we have to adopt a robust process for a fund selection and ensure that it is consistent and regularly reviewed. The fund selection process not only applied to an initial selection but also to any future fund switches or manual rebalancing that may need to be undertaken. Again, there has to be a consistent methodology used for deciding when and why the switches should take place.

Selecting funds to meet the needs of our clients is problematical and isn't really where advisers add the greatest value. Our responsibility as financial planners is not to maximize or guarantee future returns, but to use experience and knowledge to maximize the probability of achieving client goals.

Advisers who adopt a robust investment process at the heart of their business will provide greater consistency to their investment approach and ensure the client proposition is delivered in a commercially viable way.

From the clients' perspective, they need to invest according to their agreed attitude to risk and to expect funds to behave in a way that has been explained to them. They often require access to a wide range of investment and asset classes, access to both active fund management and passive funds at a competitive cost. Understanding risk and what risk means to the client is central to the delivery of appropriate advice and good customer outcomes. Using a robust risk questionnaire is a good starting point but the output should not be taken at "face value" and should be questioned and revalidated with the client to test their understanding and further ensure that the funds recommended are appropriate. To assist in this regard we have developed a Premier Financial Advice strategy. As a business we believe that Premier's role is to assist our clients through our experience and knowledge to maximize the probability of achieving their goals.

We have engaged an External Research business, Rayner Spencer Mills (RSM), to help us compile a range of investment solutions suitable for most client needs. The resulting fund matrix is reviewed on a quarterly basis and adopts a whole of market approach.

The fund matrix comprises:

1. Core Solutions. These multi Asset funds that have been risk rated on both a one to five and a one to ten scale based on their asset allocation, volatility, investment philosophy and characteristics, they are also split into active and passive categories. Each fund is rebalanced or reviewed regularly to ensure that the funds continue to reflect the given risk profile. The client can access a wide range of assets and fund managers, benefiting from the tax advantages of holding these within a regularly reviewed fund.

2. Sector Funds. Depending on the situation it may be suitable to adopt a core and satellite approach with investments and that on occasion there will be demand for a fund from a particular sector. We have therefore compiled a list of over seventy sector funds on which appropriate research has been conducted. If for example, the existing investments that a client holds are deemed suitable but a particular sector is required to adjust the risk profile of the overall portfolio or, again by way of example, a client wishes to access opportunities that they believe exist within a single sector, then this fund list gives the client a number of choices in each sector area.

3. Managed Funds. Managed Funds continue to be popular and rather than the Multi Manager approach adopted by many of the Core Solutions providers, here a single Manager or Investment Management team buys and holds the underlying assets directly in their fund. This can reduce costs for active fund management. We have a list of over twenty funds on which appropriate research has been conducted. These are listed by IMA sector. This gives the client the opportunity to invest in a range of investments through a single fund run by a single provider. Access to some of the Core Solutions is limited to certain wrap platforms whilst many of these Managed Funds are widely available and often through the Traditional Life Offices. This may enable the client to take advantage of any competitive terms and features of a life office contract and access competitively priced fund management.

4. Discretionary Fund Managers. We have selected some DFMs who adopt processes to run money that our external research partners validate and that we are comfortable with. The client will have the benefit of both an appropriately qualified financial adviser to run and review the money and a fund manager to decide on the best way to use the assets. We continue to look into other solutions and to talk to other Investment Houses, the Investment Strategy will constantly be reviewed to ensure that a wide range of Investment solutions are included and reviewed.

Some examples of the type of investments that you may have an opportunity to purchase are:

ISA's: Take a look at the tax free savings account which provides tax free investments within government limits. We can help you choose the right product that suits your investment profiles.

Pooled Funds:There is a great number of expert fund managers offering UK, European, US, Far Eastern, emerging countries, properties, gilts, securities, and cash. We can take you through the investment maze and explain in plain English, the potential returns, income availability, and your tax situation.

Childs Trust Fund:Child trust fund is a savings and investment account for children. Children born between the 1st of September 2002 and the 2nd January 2011 will receive a voucher valued between £50 & £250, depending on when the child was born to start their account. The account belongs to the child and can't be touched until they turn 18, so that the child will have some money behind them to start their adult life. For a comprehensive guide please see childtrustfund.gov.uk

Unit Trusts:Unit trusts are a collective of funds which allow private investors to pool their money in single a fund, thus spreading their risk, getting the benefit of professional fund management, and reducing their dealing costs.

Trusts Range:We provide advice on a number of trust arrangements with the help of suitably qualified professionals such as solicitors to ensure that your investments within your estate are suitably set up to avoid potential problems with Inheritance Tax and to ensure that your estate passes on to the persons that you wish to benefit.

Warning:

The value of units can fall as well as rise and you may not get back all of your original investment.

Trusts and Taxation advice are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority