June 2015 - Lifetime Financial Planning

Keeping your money on deposit can be a good means of achieving short term objectives and access to instant cash but for longer term financial goals, however, you may want to consider other options. A good place to start in this is by taking these 5 steps: Step 1 What do you want to do with your investment – what are your goals? Step 2 What is your investment horizon – how long do you wish to invest your money for? Step 3 How much investment risk are you prepared to take or is appropriate for your financial profile? Step 4 How much ready access to your money do you need? In general you can assume that the longer your money is invested the better the return tends to be. Step 5 Consider your long term goals and don’t simply focus on the short term. By taking on board the message from these 5 steps you can discover the type of investor you are and find an investment that best balances all of the criteria. These can generally be found in a combination of the following options: Cash – money placed on deposit Bonds – government and corporate bonds or government and corporate loans Property – usually commercial property but can include residential Equities – company shares traded on stock markets Commodities – tracking the performance of the likes of oil, copper, gold and more Alternatives – this refers to investing in non-traditional assets or strategies Funds – these are collective instruments that invest in combinations of each of these and will often be referred to as Mixed/Managed Funds or Multi-Asset Funds Help Is At Hand At first glance the investment world can appear confusing and an uncomfortable place, complicated by charts, tables and strange language. While ultimately the decision about where and how to invest your money is yours, professional advice is particularly important when exploring the type of investor you are – ranging from conservative right through to Adventurous and a range of options in between. This advice will then follow on to helping you choose the right portfolio of investments to match your profile. It is also important that the person giving you advice is properly authorised and qualified who can guide you along your investment journey and offer one to one advice along the way. If you would like to explore your investment options please call Aidan Wall at 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie

Keeping your money on deposit can be a good means of achieving short term objectives and access to instant cash but for longer term financial goals, however, you may want to consider other options. A good place to start in this is by taking these 5 steps:

Step 1

What do you want to do with your investment – what are your goals?

Step 2

What is your investment horizon – how long do you wish to invest your money for?

Step 3

How much investment risk are you prepared to take or is appropriate for your financial profile?

Step 4

How much ready access to your money do you need? In general you can assume that the longer your money is invested the better the return tends to be.

Step 5

Consider your long term goals and don’t simply focus on the short term.

By taking on board the message from these 5 steps you can discover the type of investor you are and find an investment that best balances all of the criteria. These can generally be found in a combination of the following options:

Cash – money placed on deposit
Bonds – government and corporate bonds or government and corporate loans
Property – usually commercial property but can include residential
Equities – company shares traded on stock markets
Commodities – tracking the performance of the likes of oil, copper, gold and more
Alternatives – this refers to investing in non-traditional assets or strategies
Funds – these are collective instruments that invest in combinations of each of these and will often be referred to as Mixed/Managed Funds or Multi-Asset Funds

Help Is At Hand

At first glance the investment world can appear confusing and an uncomfortable place, complicated by charts, tables and strange language. While ultimately the decision about where and how to invest your money is yours, professional advice is particularly important when exploring the type of investor you are – ranging from conservative right through to Adventurous and a range of options in between. This advice will then follow on to helping you choose the right portfolio of investments to match your profile. It is also important that the person giving you advice is properly authorised and qualified who can guide you along your investment journey and offer one to one advice along the way.

If you would like to explore your investment options please call Aidan Wall at 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie

As a business owner you protect your property, your vehicles and equipment. And so you should because if your business suffers a catastrophic event involving these, the very financial viability of your business may be in jeopardy. But have you considered what would happen to your business if you died prematurely or if you were so incapacitated, through illness or injury, that you could not run your business anymore. Equally, if you have fellow shareholders or partners or you have a key member of your business team, who are vital to the viability of the business, think about the consequences if the same happened to one of them. Key Issues: You may need to consider the impact on your business and/or your family should any of the circumstances mentioned above unfortunately come to pass. Would your family stay in the business or would they be required to sell the business? Would the remaining shareholders/partners, such as Canada online casino Maple Leaf, in the business have the funds needed to buy your share from your family? Would you have the funds available to buy your co-owner’s share of the business from their family? What would be the impact on your business in the event of the death/impairment of a key employee or business partner? What about the tax implications? It won’t happen to my/our business Many business owners believe that it simply won’t happen to them. The chances of one partner / director, in a two or three man business dying or becoming seriously ill before retirement, are probably a lot higher than you might think and it does happen. Quite often what is left is a very serious financial problem mainly through the lack of readily available capital to deal with the consequences. There is a Solution Business protection can assist in ensuring the continued survival of a business and provide for a deceased business owner’s family in the event of premature death or serious illness and incapacity. Shareholder/Partnership Insurance (Business Owner’s Insurance) This provides funds, through the proceeds of an Insurance Policy, to the surviving business owners to purchase the share of a deceased’s shareholding from their personal representatives. Depending on the structure of the business the cover can be set up on a personal or corporate basis. This cover ensures the deceased’s legal representatives / next of kin are provided for and the surviving business owners retain control of the business. The cover in question should be carefully co-related to a properly structured shareholders agreement that addresses the wishes of shareholders/co-owners in the event of such an occurrence. Keyperson Insurance This type of cover is designed to protect the human assets of the business in the same way as fire insurance protects a company’s physical assets. Protection, again through an appropriate Insurance Policy, is taken out by a Company on the life of a key employee to protect the Company as a result of the death or serious illness of the key employee. Gift or Inheritance Tax Planning As a business owner, it is important also to take a close look at the implications of Capital Acquisitions Tax if you are planning to pass on your business to your family when you die. Inheritance tax can become a real burden where financial resources are tied up in a business. If you do not plan ahead, your family could be faced with a difficult decision between having to sell the business or having to borrow the money to pay the tax liability. There are a number of solutions to this and Gift or Inheritance tax planning allows you to plan for the tax liabilities which could arise, thus ensuring that the business won’t have to be sold off to pay the tax bill. The Next Step Each of the situations outlined in this article requires very careful consideration and planning. The very first action should be to seek good and expert advice. Why not give us a call and together we can set the proper planning in train. Call Aidan Wall today at 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie for expert impartial advice on Business Protection.

As a business owner you protect your property, your vehicles and equipment. And so you should because if your business suffers a catastrophic event involving these, the very financial viability of your business may be in jeopardy. But have you considered what would happen to your business if you died prematurely or if you were so incapacitated, through illness or injury, that you could not run your business anymore. Equally, if you have fellow shareholders or partners or you have a key member of your business team, who are vital to the viability of the business, think about the consequences if the same happened to one of them.

Key Issues:

You may need to consider the impact on your business and/or your family should any of the circumstances mentioned above unfortunately come to pass.

Would your family stay in the business or would they be required to sell the business?
Would the remaining shareholders/partners, such as Canada online casino Maple Leaf, in the business have the funds needed to buy your share from your family?
Would you have the funds available to buy your co-owner’s share of the business from their family?
What would be the impact on your business in the event of the death/impairment of a key employee or business partner?
What about the tax implications?

It won’t happen to my/our business

Many business owners believe that it simply won’t happen to them. The chances of one partner / director, in a two or three man business dying or becoming seriously ill before retirement, are probably a lot higher than you might think and it does happen. Quite often what is left is a very serious financial problem mainly through the lack of readily available capital to deal with the consequences.

There is a Solution

Business protection can assist in ensuring the continued survival of a business and provide for a deceased business owner’s family in the event of premature death or serious illness and incapacity.

Shareholder/Partnership Insurance (Business Owner’s Insurance)

This provides funds, through the proceeds of an Insurance Policy, to the surviving business owners to purchase the share of a deceased’s shareholding from their personal representatives. Depending on the structure of the business the cover can be set up on a personal or corporate basis. This cover ensures the deceased’s legal representatives / next of kin are provided for and the surviving business owners retain control of the business. The cover in question should be carefully co-related to a properly structured shareholders agreement that addresses the wishes of shareholders/co-owners in the event of such an occurrence.

Keyperson Insurance

This type of cover is designed to protect the human assets of the business in the same way as fire insurance protects a company’s physical assets. Protection, again through an appropriate Insurance Policy, is taken out by a Company on the life of a key employee to protect the Company as a result of the death or serious illness of the key employee.

Gift or Inheritance Tax Planning

As a business owner, it is important also to take a close look at the implications of Capital Acquisitions Tax if you are planning to pass on your business to your family when you die. Inheritance tax can become a real burden where financial resources are tied up in a business. If you do not plan ahead, your family could be faced with a difficult decision between having to sell the business or having to borrow the money to pay the tax liability. There are a number of solutions to this and Gift or Inheritance tax planning allows you to plan for the tax liabilities which could arise, thus ensuring that the business won’t have to be sold off to pay the tax bill.

The Next Step

Each of the situations outlined in this article requires very careful consideration and planning. The very first action should be to seek good and expert advice. Why not give us a call and together we can set the proper planning in train.

Exploring Your Investment Options