Financial Planning

Why is financial planning important?

Because your money should work for you. Not the other way around.

In simple terms – financial planning is all taking a proactive approach when it comes to your money. We all have different goals in life, and everyone’s situation is unique. That’s why financial planning benefits all of us – whether you’re a decade into your career, or approaching retirement, knowing where you stand means that you can effectively plan for your future, rather than taking a simple incoming/outgoing approach to finance.

• Early retirement    
• Private education for your children    
• Saving for a mortgage    
• Living debt-free by 60    

As life has a tendency to throw you some curveballs along the way, it’s important to not only plan for the future but to break your financial objectives into short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. And, of course, make sure that you’re as prepared as possible for the unexpected.

Our approach to financial planning

Financial planning is a two-way street. It requires you to provide us with as much information about your finances as possible, as well as make decisions about how you want to proceed with your money – be it savings, investments, pensions, etc. But rest assured, that any decision you have to make will be an informed one.

All clients are asked to complete a financial review form, as well as complete an attitude to risk assessment, so that we can develop the most comprehensive, suitable financial plan for you.

When we build a financial plan we always use a detailed Cash Flow forecast. This takes all of your financial circumstances into account (e.g. income, assets, loans, outgoings, pensions) and predicts where you will stand in terms of money at any point over the course of your life. From here we can plan all of the possible ‘what if’ scenarios to see the effect of any future events or lifestyle decisions on your cash flow.

Our process involves 5 simple steps:

• Together we determine your goals
• We analyse your current financial situation
• Within 2-3 weeks, we will prepare a comprehensive financial roadmap as well as a pension/investment portfolio, which we will review together (in person or virtually – this takes approx.1 hour)
• If you’re interested in any financial products (e.g. income protection, Private Retirement Bond), we will proceed with finding you the most suitable, best value options on the market (as an independent broker, we aren’t tied to any particular vendor)
• We’ll review your financial plan together on an annual basis or whenever your plan needs to be tweaked due to life events/career changes, etc.

Is there a fee for this service?

Our broker fee for developing a fully comprehensive financial plan is €500. We take a holistic approach to financial planning, so this once-off fee covers an all encompassing plan and roadmap, including creating an investment/pension portfolio where applicable. We value our clients, and understand that life events can have an impact on your financial plan, for example redundancy, a career change, a new family member. We don’t charge additional fees for conducting an annual review of your financial plan. We also assign a dedicated team member to your financial plan, so you are safe in the knowledge that we fully understand your needs, and goals, and we strive to build a long-lasting relationship with every one of our clients.