Background
Michael is a major shareholder in a busy engineering firm. Michael is in his 50s, married, and has two children. He has been a client of ours for nearly five years.
Michael came to us because he was increasingly finding running the business stressful; it was absorbing most of his time. The business was very successful, but Michael was actively looking for a future exit strategy or opportunity to take a back seat in the business.
Michael came to see us after a referral from a mutual friend. Michael wasn’t pleased with the service he was receiving from his existing adviser, due to their charges, investment process and communication issues.
What we did
We offered Michael a full review service, this allowed him to maximise his pension contributions using carry forward, prior to the ‘tapering of pension contribution rules’, leading to a reduction in contributions. This, in turn, led to strategies to build an ISA portfolio supplemented by VCT and EIS investments.
Overall, Michael has benefited from substantial tax relief on his pension contributions and investment portfolio strategy more suited to his long term objectives. This has taken his overall wealth far closer to the levels required to meet his long-term retirement needs.
Michael today
Cashflow planning and a thorough financial plan have helped Michael to step back and make adjustments to his lifestyle; he is working less and has delegated some of his strenuous day-to-day tasks, allowing him to concentrate on profitable areas and a new venture.
Michael has gained a lot of confidence throughout the process. Because he feels financially organised, he has a better outlook on life from a personal, business and financial perspective.
Michael has also referred us to his business partner, son and accountant to assist with a variety of financial planning matters.
VCTs & EIS products are high risk investments not suitable for the majority of investors. 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. Levels, bases of and reliefs from taxation may be subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor.