Cash ISA’s vs Inflation

Cash ISA vs Inflation

Did you know the Halifax currently pay 0.01%* on their online easy access cash ISA account.

Yes, you have read that correctly 0.01%.

This means for a £20,000 investment which is the annual allowance you would earn £2.00 in interest (assuming the interest rate stays the same throughout the year).

Source: https://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/cash-isas.html

I use the Halifax as an example other banks are available that could be paying more or less. The point is this, the paltry amount of interest paid by the banks could prove very costly to achieving your future plans and goals.

Let’s say, your cash ISA funds are intended to be used for something way in the future, say 10 years plus.  Maybe to supplement your retirement income or to help your kids with their university costs.

You see the thing is this, we are all a little more aware of inflation right now with the looming and present “cost of living crisis”.  The headline rate of inflation hit a 30 year high last month at 5.5%.  Not good for your long term savings if you are receiving 0.01% in interest.  Your capital needs to be earning 5.5% to keep its real purchasing power.

That’s £1,080 on a £20,000 investment rather than the £2 currently offered by the Halifax bank.

So what can be done about it.

Ask yourself this…

  1. What are your cash ISA savings for?
  2. Are they for spending or are they intended for your future
  3. Maybe a bit of both

As a financial adviser for over 20 years, this time of the year signals the start of our busiest period commonly referred to as “ISA Season”.

A time when we are working hard with clients both old and new to maximise their ISA allowances, revisit their financial goals and to present them with investments that offer greater growth opportunities to overcome the destroyer of your hard earned cash.  INFLATION.

If you’re weary of trying to make your cash ISA’s work for you, rather than the bank, get in touch for an ISA review.

I am ready to help bring your money to life.

* Interest rate shown is correct at time of writing.

Your capital is at risk. Equity investments do not afford the same capital security as deposit accounts. The value of your investment (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

5 steps to successful investment planning

How to make the most of my money?

Investment planning starts with understanding what your aims are. It is then vital to establish what your attitude towards investment risk is and this is important for sensible investing.  We can help work out a level of risk that is right for you and your money and importantly advise you on a suitable investment approach.

Which arrangement is right for you?

There are many types of savings and investment, each having different structures, tax treatments and implications to you as the investor.  Stocks & Shares ISAs, Cash ISAs, Deposit accounts, Gilts, Insurance Bonds, Endowments, Annuities, Unit Trusts, Investment Trusts, to name a few. We can discuss with you what your aims are and recommend suitable ways to help you achieve them.

What are the right funds to invest in?

With thousands of funds to choose from, it can be an impossible task knowing which is the best solution for you. We can keep your portfolio up to date using our knowledge and experience and advise you on any relevant changes and invest in funds which we think will give you the chance of maximising your returns.

What is our approach to investing?

The key driver for selecting an investment solution is based on preferences which we believe create value for our clients:

  • Independence – we have access to the world’s best investment managers and fund houses.
  • Importance of cost – we aim to provide compelling investment solutions at low cost.
  • Diversification – is the “only free lunch to investing” and is key to a more enjoyable investment journey
  • Asset Allocation – we don’t put all our client’s money in one basket

Arrange an Investment Planning Review

Here at TKV Financial Management we can review your existing funds and lower the charges where possible. This could save you money each and every year.

Investment Diversification is Key

Investment Diversification is Key

When you examine investment performance over the long term, there is no obvious pattern.   Take Emerging Market funds some years returns are top, some years they are bottom.

The white box represents a simple diversified portfolio where money is allocated equally across all 12 sectors.  The white box is much less volatile than other individual asset classes: this reduced volatility is often referred to as the "only free lunch in investing".  My clients usually respond back with “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.

An expert financial adviser, working with a risk profiling tool, can create the optimum mix of assets to meet the long-term needs and risk capacity of each client.  Seeking to maximise the return for the level of risk for the client's portfolio.

If you would like an assessment of your own portfolio for diversification and risk.  Get in touch, our initial consultation is always at our expense.

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

WE MAKE THE COMPLEX SIMPLE

Coronavirus & Investment Update for Clients

An Investment Update for Clients

It’s difficult writing about financial and economic matters when health is quite rightly at the top of everyone’s agenda. We aren’t qualified to tell you how long this epidemic will last, but we can give you some information about investing which might give you some peace of mind now and ideas for the future.

How long will this market downturn last?

The circumstances behind this market downturn are unique. We’ve seen people go back to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic for comparisons. So any attempt to predict when we will reach the bottom of the market and how long it will last is really guesswork at this stage. However, history can give us some comfort, if we take previous crashes as a series of unique events.

inv1

The table above shows almost 100 years of market conditions. A bear market, where market prices fall more than 20%, is not uncommon. This can be expected as part of the normal functioning of equity markets, and your own financial plan is built to expect them. We don’t know how long this one will last but we do know that in each unique circumstance since 1926, human ingenuity has responded to changing market conditions within an average timescale of 1 year 8 months.

As you can see from the alternative way of viewing the same data in the illustration below, bull markets have always rewarded patience by more than compensating for downturns over the long term.

inv2

Diversification

This might be small comfort for those of you watching a FTSE index drop dramatically on the news right now but remember, your own portfolio is not a replica of the FTSE100, although it will have some of those businesses in it. The FTSE100 should paint a far worse picture than the reality for your own portfolio.

Your money is invested in a globally diverse portfolio of investments, and not just in equity markets. So whilst the UK is coming to the forefront of the pandemic, your own money is invested elsewhere. Diversification not only helps buffer you a little against downturns, it will also increase your chances of capturing a recovery early as things improve at different times in other countries around the world.

We can’t predict the future but we can rely on mathematics

It sounds glib but so many people buy at the top of the market and sell at the bottom. Panic selling investments is as common as panic buying in supermarkets, however irrational both may be.

We don’t know when the equity markets will hit rock bottom and start their recovery. If we did, we would invest all of our spare cash precisely then. Some investors will be comfortable investing spare cash to top up pensions and ISA allowances right now. Some may be more cautious and want to drip money in each month. The benefit of dripping money every month is that whilst you will never benefit from investing at the best possible time, you are also ensuring that you are not investing at the worst time. You effectively buy at the average price. This is known as ‘pound cost averaging’. It’s a good defensive strategy although over the longer term, as the general market trajectory is upwards, its not always the optimal one.

There is no right or wrong way to invest money as it depends on individual circumstances. You might have a small amount of money left to invest into your pension or ISA before the tax year end which necessitates a lump sum. You might want to establish some long-term behaviours and pound cost averaging is a good way to start saving on a monthly basis. This is where our advice will differ from client to client.

Equally for anyone drawing an income from their portfolio, pound cost averaging works in reverse. Withdrawing income from an equity portfolio during a significant market downturn such as this one, has a damaging impact on the recovery rate of your investment portfolio. Again this is simply a case of using maths and not predicting market changes. In a market downturn, creating income by selling investments in equal and regular intervals means selling funds when prices are low and fewer when they are high, exactly the opposite of what you want.

Sticking with it

This is a core aspect of our approach to managing not just your money but your behaviour towards it. Many people who do not have an adviser will act impulsively at this time and lose the long-term benefits of their hard-earned investments. Even with all the right investment decisions made previously, one impulsive or impatient decision can undo it all.

It might seem counter intuitive to do little or nothing with your investment portfolio at this time, but we will advise you of everything that you need to do at the right time.

Our service to you will continue almost as usual over the forthcoming months, and we will be in contact with you as planned, albeit certain work may take a little longer and we will begin to use online meetings or telephone to conduct review discussions rather than face-to-face, for obvious reasons.

For reasons outlined above, you need not be concerned that we aren’t recommending wholesale changes to your portfolio. You should also feel free to contact us at any time if you are concerned or have questions about your investments or broader financial affairs, we are available and ready to help.

How Does Investment Planning Work?

Investment Planning

If you are keen to protect the health of your finances, you need to think in terms of investment planning. Investment planning is an essential part of financial planning. Indeed, it is near impossible to have one without the other. Let’s look at what this is and why it is important.

What Is Investment Planning?

This is the basic process of matching financial objectives and indeed goals with the resources you have. It takes into account your budget and the levels of finance that you have to put towards potential investments. It will typically be completed with a financial planner who will help you lay out your finances correctly to reach your expectations.

To begin with investment planning, you first must formulate your unique set of goals and objectives. Only then you will be able to make sure that you can match your resources to these.

Once you have laid out your objectives, you can then start to look at the different investments available to you. There are various types of investments to consider including property, bonds, equities and of course cash.

Each individual investment option has different characteristics. An investment plan will ensure that these characteristics are always taken into consideration before you move forward.

How Does Investment Planning Work?

When you communicate with a financial planner, they will help you match the investments available to your goals and also your resources. Be aware that as your circumstances change, so to could the essential elements of your financial plan. Investment planning will also usually ensure that you are meeting standard regulations that could be relevant to your individual choices.

Benefits And Goals of Investment Planning

The ultimate goal of investment planning is to make sure that you do gain financial rewards and a solid ROI from every investment. However, investment planning also provides numerous other benefits that you should not dismiss.

For instance, with investment planning, you can gain access to an increased cash flow. Investment planning will typically involve monitoring all expenses as well as spending planning. It will ensure that you are budgeting correctly and not overspending in any areas. As well as this, you will also be managing your income. You will have a greater understanding of exactly how much needs to be used for tax payments and manage monthly or even annual expenditures far more effectively.

Investment planning can also ensure a higher quality of life and standard of living. You will be successful saving and investing money in the right areas. This will provide you with financial safety if, for instance, the economy suffers a downturn. You will have various incomes that you will be able to fall back on. You will also be guided on the right investments that will provide the greatest benefits to your financial wellbeing.

Investment planning is typically not a one-day solution. Instead, you will gain a relationship with a financial advisor and constantly be provided with the expertise you need to make the right decisions with your investments. You will also be able to create and develop a full plan customised specifically to suit your requirements.

if you are looking for help with investment planning, please do get in touch by using our contact page

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

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Diversification – the only free lunch in investment?

Diversification – the only free lunch in investment

The above chart shows the “ups and downs” of different assets classes between 2005 – 2018.  Also included is an “equally weighted” or diversified portfolio (the white one) which is an equal blend of the twelve asset classes. The diversified portfolio is never in the top three but also never in the bottom four of returns.  At TKV we use quality risk profiling tools to design diversified portfolios to meet the specific needs of our investors.  Our focus is to help our clients reduce the downside risk of a “non-diversified” portfolio.

Call us on 01384 671947 for a complimentary review of your investment portfolio.

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The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.

Don’t put all eggs in one basket!

Don’t put all eggs in one basket!

As financial advisers, we talk all the time about the benefits of investing in different investments (asset classes) at the same time to spread risk.

The above chart shows the “ups and downs” of different asset classes over the years.

Also included is an “equally weighted” or diversified portfolio (the white one) which is an equal blend of the twelve asset classes.

The diversified portfolio is never in the top three but also never in the bottom four of returns.

We use quality risk profiling tools to design diversified portfolios to meet  the specific needs of our investors.  Our focus is to help our clients reduce the downside risk of a “non-diversified” portfolio.

Contact Us on 01384 671947 for a complimentary review of your investment portfolio.

< Back to Blog

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.