Are You Missing Out by Not Knowing About Wealth Management?

Finance (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

In this day and age, it’s never been so important to know who to make the most of your money. Maximising your cash flow and taking care of your finances is advisable when the economy is good, but in these hard times it’s become an absolute necessity. Yet, large numbers of people still remain in the dark when it comes to assessing and managing their wealth.

Why Should We Look After Our Finances?

Looking after your finances has numerous benefits, including giving your wealth the opportunity to grow. On the other hand, not taking care of your finances can have devastating consequences. For this reason alone, it’s advisable that you get clued up about the best way to take care of your money, and the best way to start is by learning about wealth management.

How Does Wealth Management Work?

In its simplest form, wealth management is the process by which financial planning, advice, management and investment are all corralled together under the same heading, with one purpose in mind – to maximise the assets of the client in question. However wealth management is much more complicated than this, and requires significant time, knowledge and effort to be applied correctly. If wealth management is carried out properly by an experienced financial advisor, this can result in a significant return for their client. If you’d like to find out more about how wealth management can benefit you directly, you should visit www.spi.sanlam.co.uk for more detailed information.

Which Areas Does Wealth Management Cover?

Wealth management is a large and complex practice which can be effectively utilised across multiple financial products. These may include:

• Pensions and Annuities 
• Savings and Investments 
• Stocks, Bonds and Shares 
• Portfolio Management

The specific type of wealth management you may need will be entirely dependent upon which financial products you already own, and your proposals for future investments and savings. If, for example, you are coming up to retirement age, you may need advice on how to maximise the value of your pension. Alternatively, if you are a young professional who has just received a promotion, you may be interested in investing your newly increased salary across various different trading options.

Wealth management services also differ between locations. Wealth management companies in London, for example, will be more likely to offer a broader range of international investment services than a smaller, regional company. Clients with small portfolios and limited resources often prefer the personal service of a smaller company. However clients with large portfolios and a significant amount of capital would be wiser to choose a larger, international company, which is more likely to be able to diversify their investments across a wider range of options. 

Advice and Information on Wealth Management

If you’re interested in the idea of investing in wealth management, or simply want more information but don’t know where to begin, it’s always advisable that you get in direct contact with a professional wealth management services provider, such as Sanlam. Their financial experts are always on hand to help you make a decision about whether or not wealth management is right for you.

Direct Debits You'll Need to Update When You Change Bank

I recently opened a new current account when I realised that a different bank could offer me a better interest rate as well as other benefits such as travel insurance. I think a lot of people avoid changing their bank account due to the admin that often comes with it though, such as filling in forms, attending appointments and then considering the actual money side of it too. This includes getting an employer to pay your salary to your new current account, as well as figuring out which direct debits are set up to your old account. Some banks will now help you change all of your direct debits, but if you are required to do this yourself, these are the types of services you might need to update...

Charity donations

Many of us have recurring payments for charities scheduled by direct debit each month. Changing bank account is an ideal opportunity to look at the donations you currently have set up, before analysing whether you want to continue giving the same amount. If you are happy with what you’ve previously set up, you should be able to set up a new direct debit schedule from your new account; remember to cancel the existing agreement.

Mobile phone

If you have a mobile phone contract, this is more than likely set up as a direct debit. It’s important you don’t miss this payment as you may incur charges for having a failed payment attempt. Therefore you should call your mobile phone provider if you will not have a new payment schedule in place on time and they should let you make a manual payment instead. Of course, if you’ve timed the expiration of your contact with the opening of your new bank account, you could look at new mobile phone deals online and simply set up a new agreement with the provider.

Satellite TV

Another service you may have is that of satellite TV such as Sky or Virgin Media. If you depend on these services so you can watch sports channels and more, you’ll want to make sure that you remember to update your payment with your provider. Again, make sure that the original agreement has been cancelled so you do not incur any charges with your old bank. You might even want to consider finding a service that doesn’t charge you monthly, such as a freeview box which just requires a one-off cost.

Energy bills

Many of us pay our energy bills through direct debit agreements, so make sure you check how your own bills are currently paid. Think about electricity, gas, water and even your council tax. If there are going to be any problems with making a payment quickly, it is a good idea to call each of your energy and utility suppliers as you can make alternative arrangements for payment. If you are going to call, you could also give them your latest meter readings to make sure that your payments aren’t too low or too high.

An Overview about Tax Efficient Life Insurance

If you have started up a business recently with a few number of employees, you must be planning of providing life insurance cover to each of the. Well, at most of the times, the employers of the small companies opt for a contract, in which the premiums are paid by the employer, on behalf of the employee, either from his own earnings or from the company's account. As a result of this, the employer spends a lot on the premiums. Moreover, these premiums of conventional life insurance policies are also subject to National Insurance payable. As an alternative to the traditional method of life cover policies, tax efficient life insurance has turned out to be a popular insurance policy among the employers, these days. According to the features of this policy, the employer don't need to enter any specific contract with your employees. You can just set up a death in service benefit for all your employees in which the payments are done by the company, and that too, in a tax efficient manner.

Who should opt for this cover?

This type of life insurance policy is especially designed for employers who have started up new businesses, with a few number of employees. This type of policy is absolutely not meant for companies that have the required number of workers to be eligible for a registered group life scheme.

Moreover, employees with high earning are especially benefited by this type of policy. This is so because the employees are allowed to keep the payouts separately from their pension or other annual allowances. Since the pension funds are high enough in themselves, it is important to keep these benefits separate from them. Since the premiums are not paid in kind, they are not subject to severe tax obligations. The employer, too, will get to enjoy certain substantial tax benefits like corporation tax relief as the monthly premiums are considered as trade expenses. 

Some positive aspects about Tax Efficient life insurance -

The recent changes made to relevant life legislation have proven to be extremely beneficial for the directors of the small companies. Initially, there was no individual scheme to be offered to the individual employees, whereas one could not apply for the registered group life scheme unless there were enough employees, to be eligible for that.

Due to such restrictions, mentioned in the legislation, there were some problems in providing life insurance policies to the employees and considering these problems, certain changes were made in the legislation, following which a client will be entitled to 15 times of his annual salary.

One should remember that the policy does not include any sort of surrender value and it expires when the beneficiary reaches the age of 75. Moreover, if the local tax inspector is convinced of the fact that the premiums can be considered as trade expenses and they qualify under the exclusive rules, they will be considered for certain tax exemptions. One can use a relevant life calculator to understand the effectiveness of tax efficient life insurance.

Why Would Anyone Insure Their Art?

Most of us are accustomed to seeking insurance cover for things such as our homes, our car, travel, and even for our health, but when it comes to insuring fine art work we may well think why bother. There was a time when the so called ordinary person would have perceived the idea of insuring artworks to be something that only the gentry did, but nowadays with people often putting any spare money into a work of art which is likely to appreciate in value, then insuring against loss, theft, or damage should be a reality. 

Insuring Against the Unexpected

Whether you own a small exquisite piece of fine art or are an art dealer with numerous priceless pieces adorning your gallery, insurance is paramount for peace of mind. Aside of the tragic loss of human life which happens when natural disasters like hurricanes or floods wreak havoc around the world, art galleries and swanky offices can sometimes be left assessing the level of damage to irreplaceable pieces of art which were damaged when the area flooded. Naturally they’re also worried about the cost of their insurance premiums rising, but the point here is that at least they did have insurance for when the unexpected happened.

Collections Borne out of Love

Under insurance is another big problem because plenty of people over the years amass large collections of antiques, jewellery, and art but many of them don’t have a real grasp on the true value of their collection. Because collections are invariably built out of love or passion for particular items, insurance isn’t approached in quite the same way as it would be if they were looking to insure their car for example. Often they just insure these valuable collections for the price which they paid for them some years ago.


To counter this problem people should be insuring items in their collections for the retail replacement value, which means getting someone to appraise them on that very basis, every few years or so. This means that they have appraisal reports which they can pass to insurance companies to ensure adequate coverage and it also means they have evidence to back up any future claims.


More insurance companies are starting to employ art consultants and can make their more wealthy clients aware of the importance of valuation and insurance. However, if you’ve got collectibles or art worth a couple of thousand pounds or more, then you may need a specific policy clause to cover your valuables, since most general home policies rarely cover items above that level.


There are plenty of specialist insurance companies such as Catlin Insurance UK who offer coverage for a variety of fine art. The range of inclusions under a fine art insurance policy is wide and includes such things as

• Furniture, lighting and mirrors 
• Historical artefacts 
• Arms and armour 
• Fine wine, bottles and glasses 
• Musical instruments 
• Ceramics, silver and glass 
• Fossils and mineral specimens 
• Textiles 
• Memorabilia 

• Toys and games 

It’s worth shopping around for the best deal but take care to find out just what risks are covered. Check that the policy offers protection against theft, accidental damage, and as in the case of a natural disaster, losses from fire and water damage.

Types of Taxes

Taxes are a fact of life. They are necessary to fund various institutions, programs and projects such as Social Security, Medicare, the military, schools, emergency services and highways. There are many different types of taxes; however, the most common are listed below.

Federal and State Income Taxes

Most everyone knows what federal and state income taxes are, and they know that they must file them each year. Federal taxes are handled through the Internal Revenue Service, and the deadline to file is April 15 of every year. While many people will need to pay taxes at that time, some will get refunds.

The requirements for state taxes vary, and some states do not even collect taxes. However, most of them do. As such, it is best for you to inquire with your state as to whether or not you need to file. You should also ask when the deadline is. Additionally, if you own a business, you may need to file federal and state taxes more than once per year.

Property Taxes

If you own any real estate, you will need to pay property taxes, known in some states as real estate taxes. Real estate typically includes such things as a personal home, a rental home, a piece of land or a commercial property. These taxes are based on the assessed value of the property in question. 



Property taxes are often collected by the state or county that you reside in and in some states, you may also need to pay property taxes on such things as recreational vehicles (RVs), watercraft and pets. Requirements, restrictions and due dates may vary by state or county.

Sales Taxes

Just as with income taxes, you probably already know what sales taxes are. Sales taxes are collected on the state level, and you pay them whenever you buy something or pay for a service. The amount of sales tax you will need to pay depends on the item or service you pay for and the state you live in. 

Payroll Taxes

If you own a business and pay people to work for you, then you are responsible for paying payroll taxes. These taxes are taken out of your employees' salaries before you distribute their paychecks. Also known as FUDA or FICA, payroll taxes help fund such programs as Social Security and Medicare. 

Other Taxes

These are the most common types of taxes that you need to pay regularly. However, there are more taxes you may need to pay depending on your unique circumstances. These can include such things as excise taxes, estate taxes, tariffs, corporate taxes and capital gains taxes.

Long Term Care Insurance: A Looming Problem for Baby Boomers

Living in a segment of town where there are a number of retirees renting their own homes make me wonder how fail-proof their retirement plans are. I wonder if they have planned for a rather long retirement phase ahead, as most of us will live longer than our counterparts in generations preceding us. I wonder what they used for their retirement plans, if they worked and put aside money in their 401K or equivalent pension plans, or if they invested their money and are living off of interest or monthly payments from the investment. I wonder how many of them take up odd jobs to keep the rent paid, and what those jobs construe. Retirement is both fascinating and frightening because it can seem like a daunting task to live several decades of your life without an income stream that is an active job you currently hold.

If you are a baby boomer, chances are you've already made your decisions on retirement plans. The Baby Boomer segment in the US has long been touted as the largest group to enter retirement with the most amounts of problems in long term care and Medicaid access. Many of us know that Medicaid is not sustainable in the long run, which makes the case for long term care for boomers even worse. This is because when the largest group requiring long term care retires, the ratio of working age to elderly population will be at its lowest. The tax base that ought to be providing the source for Medicaid funds will be the smallest in 80 years. This is a very bleak picture that has serious implications with very few concrete solutions. Long term care insurance can hedge against these problems, especially because Medicaid only steps in once a senior has spent down almost all their assets and retirement income. 

An interesting notes on the issue however, is that many boomers who can afford long term care insurance have still not bought any. Many boomers might think it unnecessary but LTC insurance covers an important segment of long term care that is the most expensive item on the LTC list: nursing home care. Nursing home care and home health care coverage are now standard on almost all LTC policies. 

As we all wait for the Federal Reserve to announce its decision on its updated economic policy, many are anticipating its call on the reduction in bond purchases if it decides that the economy has been faring well for itself and could do with a reduction in stimulus packages. With so much uncertainty looming in the economy still, it might be best to self-insure against long term care expenses right now while the market is still relatively stable. Last year, some prominent long term care insurance players including Prudential, Unum and MetLife disbanded their LTC offerings, saying that it wasn't a profitable enough business segment to offer any more new policies to new consumers. Before the supply of long term care insurance diminishes further or worse, becomes prohibitively expensive, look up some quotes and consider purchasing a policy if you are a boomer nearing or already in retirement.

The statistics predict a glut of boomers spending on nursing homes about 30 years out from now. This group includes forty year olds as well, so if you think you're too young to even consider LTC, think again! The need for long term care will come upon you closer than you think.

Author bio: Frank Mitchell has worked as a life insurance agent for 10 years. After an accident in 2011 that kept him at home for more than a year, Frank started offering advice on forums and other social media networks. He now works as financial advisor and in his spare time writes articles on subjects he is passionate about. On the weekends, you’ll find Frank dirt biking.

Reference:

http://www.acli.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/ACLI/PDFs/Public%20Affairs/LTCBabyBoomers05.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505146_162-57393433/prudential-quits-individual-long-term-care-biz/