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When should I contact a Financial Advisor?

When should I contact a Financial Advisor?

 

A Financial Advisor will provide valuable insight as to how you should be managing your money to reach your financial goals at every crucial life stage, be it, buying your dream home, getting married, planning for children, advice when changing jobs, moving up in the workplace or starting your own business, and reaching your retirement goals. This in turn will help you make smarter decisions and avoid making expensive mistakes in life, which will make it easier for you to achieve your goals.

 

Below are the various stages in your life when it is absolutely necessary to get advice and recommendations from a Financial Advisor.

 

Financial Advisor Consultation Booking

 

 

 

 

 

Significant Life Events

What are my Pension options when changing jobs

 

New Job or a Promotion:

An increase in income unlocks more money to pursue your financial goals. You may need guidance on how to invest that extra income efficiently. When moving to a new job, many employees forget about the benefits they have built up with previous employees over the many years, such as Pension benefits.

 

A Financial Advisor will help you to access those benefits that you are entitled to, and provide you with pension investment options that would best suit your needs (based on your attitude to risk). For more on this: Pension Options when Moving Jobs >>

 

Marriage:

Going into a marriage, combining two sets of finances can get complicated. A Financial Advisor can help couples set and focus on shared financial goals, and improve on their financial outlook.

 

Here, Life Insurance is an important tool to ensure that you both have each other’s well-being in mind should one of you pass away unexpectedly. When you take out a joint policy, or two single policies on each other’s lives, you are making sure that the policy pays out on not just the first death, but also the second, ensuring your surviving dependents are also taking into consideration.

 

Buying a new home:

If you are responsible for your mortgage repayments and you pass away before your mortgage is fully paid off, the burden then falls to your partner or loved ones. Life Insurance, or in this case, Mortgage Protection Insurance (otherwise known as Decreasing Life Cover), will ensure that your loved ones will meet this financial commitment after you are gone. It is also compulsory cover that you need to take out to cover the mortgage.

 

Becoming Parents:

Kids can change the expense structure of your household and add new financial goals to the list. For example, childcare costs, paying for college, and managing varying household expenses. When becoming parents, what is often overlooked is Life Insurance. It is crucial to ensure that your partner and your new born are covered financially should the unexpected happen.

 

For instance, if the breadwinner passes away, a Life Cover policy would pay out the amount needed to provide a steady income for the remaining loved ones, and pay off remaining debts.

 

Divorce:

A Financial Advisor is often needed before a divorce settlement is agreed upon to make both parties aware of their entitlements and help them take control of their finances. For example, a Pension can be one of the biggest financial assets that a person has. Here, a Pension Adjustment Order is an important consideration for the following reason; If one person has a substantial pension, and the other person who worked in the home has no pension, the court can order that part of the pension be shared with your former spouse or partner, and/or any dependents. This is to make sure that each person is provided for.

 

Inheritance:

If you come across a significant inheritance such as a bequeathed property, gift, or a large sum of money, this is likely one of the most critical moments to consult a expert advice. A Financial Advisor can help you decide how best to handle the inheritance in the short term and advise on a long-term plan that takes all of your assets and obligations into consideration like a succession plan. Inheritance Tax Implications can also be significant, especially with wealthy families.

 

For example: You as a parent owns a property valued at €500,000. Your child (the beneficiary) eventually inherits this property from you claiming ownership of the property. Any amount inherited over the individual Tax-free threshold of €335,000 is liable to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at the current rate of 33%. So €165,000 (€500,000 – €335,000) would be liable to tax at 33%. Therefore, your child is left with a tax bill of €54,450 (€165,000 x 33%). Now you might be saying, “Well, how do I avoid paying all that tax!?” Here, your Financial Advisor puts your mind at ease and comes up with a solution for a Life Insurance policy called a Section 72 whole of life policy is specifically designed to deal with inheritance tax, by providing a tax-free lump sum to cover the tax bill.

 

Starting or managing a Business:

A Financial Advisor can offer many benefits to helping you start and manage your business, such as:

 

  1. Providing accurate projections that will help you establish and then grow your business.
  2. Ensuring that your personal finances are in good order along with your business finances. The two need to be coordinated for cash flow, investment and tax purposes.
  3. Setting up a Company Pension Plan for the employer and employees, providing for a tax-efficient way to extract wealth from company profits and help ensure that both the employer and employees maximize their wealth and are financially secure in retirement.
  4. Protecting your business. For example, if a Key Employee falls seriously ill, or were to pass away, Key Person (Business) Insurance would compensate a company for the financial loss by providing a lump sum to to cover the business as a result. This would help minimize interruption to business activity by providing resources to find a suitable replacement for the employee.

 

Selling a Business:

Selling a business reshuffles your assets and probably changes your income. Both outcomes affect how you should manage money and investments going forward. A Financial Advisor will help you to establish a business succession plan, set up buy-sell agreements or put a disaster recovery strategy in place.

 

 

Letter of Authority:

 

In order for our Financial Advisors to review your financial plans & policies and provide recommendations, complete the below form (using the “download” link) and send this to info@smartfinancial.ie.

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, make sure to submit your enquiry in the field below…

 

 


 

When Finances Grow with Complexity

 

Finances naturally get more complicated over time, even without big life events or changes. As you get older you take on more responsibility, and you may start finding it increasingly difficult to manage it all. Financial advisors are particularly useful in this scenario. A good advisor will take a comprehensive view of your assets and identify strategies to optimize your investment returns (while managing your risk), making use of strategies to reduce ongoing tax, and ensuring you are protected for unforeseen events.

 

 

Lack of Time or Expertise

 

Managing your money and investment can be like a second job, one that you don’t have time for. If you don’t have time for research and monitoring your portfolio. Here, a Financial Advisor can come in handy by taking over the tedious work and getting you involved when its time to make decisions. Similarly, you might not feel comfortable making investing decisions. You can get the support you need to make solid decisions and the education needed for best practices in money management.

 

 


 

Outcomes of working with a Financial Advisor

 

1. Wealth: Advised clients build more wealth and have greater net worth over time.

2. Reduce Complexity: An Advisor manages complex financial information on your behalf and highlights what matters most to you.

3. Achieve your Goals: An Advisor can help you take decisive action, and in turn, making you more successful at achieving meaningful goals.

4. Encouragement: A Financial Advisor can provide emotional support during difficult financial challenges, much like a Councillor.

5. Retirement Savings: Clients who work with Advisors are far more likely to have sufficient savings at retirement.

6. Confidence: Financial plans and advice will keep you better informed when making financial decisions and will leave you more confident in your financial future.

 

 

Conclusion

 

We know that clients not only value advice, they also appreciate added value. This is something Financial Advisors & Brokers can offer, with a holistic approach, when identifying and meeting client financial needs. If you need advice or have any queries, feel free to leave your details below, or pop into us for a coffee and a chat.

 

Financial Advisor Consultation Booking

 

 

 

 

Where to find us

 

Locally:

If you are looking for a Financial Advisor near you, you can locate us at the famous Walkinstown Roundabout in Dublin 12.

Address: Greenhills Centre, Units 1 & 2, Greenhills Rd, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, D12 YH22.

 

Nationally:

If you are based outside of Dublin, we have Financial Advisors located in Co. Wicklow and Co. Cork (Munster), who would be happy to commute to you.

 

Click on the map below for directions to our offices…

 

 

Financial Advisor near me

 

 

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