Financial Planning for Individuals and Business Owners

Financial Planning for Individuals and Business Owners

Financial Planning for Individuals and Business Owners

You put so much time into your business in order to provide a better life for yourself and your family, that’s why Corporate and Personal Financial planning should work together hand-in-hand. Whether you are a business owner, entrepreneur, self-employed or employed, our team of qualified Financial Planners will help you develop a goal-based financial plan that reflects what is important to you. 

There are a number of key areas that need consideration to ensure you realise your desired outcomes. We will advise you in these areas so you can concentrate on spending time running your business and can build a financially secure future for you and your family. These areas include:

Retirement Planning 

For most cases, a Company will say their business is their pension, so they are reliant on selling their business to pay for their retirement. Although, pensions are frequently seen as a small component of an overall wealth package, these should not be overlooked. 

Pensions offer valuable tax benefits to include tax relief, tax free growth and are inheritance tax friendly. Utilising your pension annual allowance can be a particularly important part of your overall tax planning. This can of course be quite complex for higher earners; however our pension specialists can help to navigate through the complexities, taking into account your annual allowance including any potential carry forward and lifetime allowance issues. 

A pension is a long-term investment that is not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age).  The value of your investments, and any income from them, can do go down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.  Your pension income could also be affected by the interest rates at the time you take benefits.

We will consider your retirement income needs as a whole and use other investment wrappers such as ISA’s and bonds alongside your pension to develop a tax efficient income. 

Pensions can hold a wide range of assets, one such being commercial Property. This facility is often the driver behind the setting up of a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) or Small Self-Administered Pension arrangement (SSAS). SSAS’s are also able to provide loans to your business subject to meeting qualifying conditions. Doherty PIC Limited have a wealth of experience in this complex area dating back to 1994.  

Financial Protection for Your Business

The importance of business protection is another area often overlooked. It helps you as a business owner to plan for the unexpected. It provides cover, ensuring the business can continue with minimal disruption following the loss of one of their key employees or business owner through death, critical illness, or temporary disablement.

 

Business protection is available for partnerships (including limited liability partnerships), shareholders, sole traders, and key employees. It can also be used to ensure repayment of a business loan in the event of death or critical illness of a partner, key person or sole trader. How the arrangement is set up will depend on the type of business and its needs. Below is a summary of the most common types of business protection arrangement.

  • Shareholder protection
  • Relevant life insurance
  • Key person protection
  • Loan protection

Succession and Exit Planning

There will come a point when you begin to think about planning for the future, stepping back from your businesses and passing wealth to your family. It is key to begin planning early to provide you with the time and breathing space to make sure you have the right structures in place when you decide to step back. It involves looking ahead to your desired goal; in particular, the successful continuation of your family’s wealth. Our Financial Planners will ensure a smooth transition of private wealth between the generations by incorporating a tailored succession plan to meet your needs. This can include a plan to sell your business or transfer ownership to your family members and the taxation considerations. 

Corporate and Personal Investment

As business owners you create a successful Company, however often you are consumed by the operational activities of the company and lose sight of all of the investments you should be making. 

If your business generates more cash than is needed to fund short term obligations a corporate investment can be a sound investment. Alternatively, we can ensure your personal investments are invested in the most tax efficient way. 

Our in-house Investment Specialists collaborate with our Financial Planners to develop an investment strategy that meets your personal and corporate needs. 

We have over 35 years of knowledge and experience and will provide you with a tailored service, you will be able to access a comprehensive range of advice and services, whether engaging in a large-scale strategy across business and personal interests that are intertwined or purely to look at specialist one-off advice areas. We collaborate with other professionals to help you overcome the unique challenges (i.e., tax, probate, legal etc..) you may be facing.

The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may not get back what you invest.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate taxation advice, estate planning, inheritance tax planning, wills or trusts.