Mrs M and her late husband had been long-term customers of a major high street bank. Over the years, Mrs M had experienced less and less contact from the bank regarding her investment. What was once a face to face, bespoke service had become an impersonal and passive service.

She knew things were not as good as they once were, but wasn’t sure what those things were. In light of this, Mrs M decided to contact us to assess her overall financial situation.

Mrs M had particular questions in mind regarding the charges for the investment, whether it was still appropriate, whether she could pay less tax and, overall, could she afford to provide a bit more financial support to her grandchildren?

Our adviser carried out a comprehensive review of both her bank investment and her financial situation as a whole. As a result of the findings, we moved her portfolio to a new discretionary manager with significantly lower charges, meaning more of her money now remains invested and will be actively managed. The focus of her investment portfolio was also changed so as to provide more natural income, and this means she can now give her grandchildren more support. Additionally, we have made her aware of tax exemptions that allow her to pass on a bigger amount of money each year to her grandchildren, and this could be done right away.

We analysed her income sources and found simple and effective ways to maximise the use of available allowances and minimise the amount of tax being paid. This saving will now feed back into her capital wealth.

Mrs M is not only pleased about saving money and producing more income, but she also feels that she is now receiving the service she has been paying for, and due to this she is now confident that her investment will be looked at regularly and not left to become outdated and inefficient. This is very important to her.