We find ourselves another year on, wishing you all a very happy and prosperous 2026. As we welcome in the New Year with a host of resolutions, it is also a time of reflection. How many of you can confidently say you have utilised the time that has passed to further your financial goals successfully? The best time to start your planning was at the start of your career at the Bar, but if you weren’t able to take this opportunity, or weren’t proactive with your plans last year, the next best time is now! Post-Budget and run-up to Tax Year-End is the ideal time to review your financial position, long-term goals and challenges to reach them. So, take the first step and consider your circumstances in light of the considerations below.

In our experience, no matter what stage of your career at the Bar, a model financial plan can be broken down into six essential elements. With these in place you can feel confident you are on the path towards success. As circumstances develop, your needs will become more sophisticated and additional financial planning tools will be required.

Q: Are you aware of the elements needed for a successful financial plan? Are they in place?

Everybody has dreams, they might know they want to buy a house; retire at 65 and travel the world; or pay for children’s education. In order for these to become truly attainable, they need to be measurable and focused. It is about tailoring the plan to your personal goals and what ‘good’ looks like to you.

Q: Have you thought in any detail about your ‘life plan’? Like any good business plan, you need quantifiable targets and supporting infrastructure.

There are many challenges to drawing up a financial plan, whether it is accounting and preparing for uncertainty, or knowing how much you need to save to get to your target, alongside ever-changing financial markets and fiscal policies. It is essential you make the right choices to future-proof – to the extent we have control – your financial future.

Q: Have you identified the challenges currently standing between you and your goals? How will you overcome them?

With the financial world and your circumstances constantly evolving, the most important step you can take this New Year is to invest a small amount of time in your future and work with a financial adviser. We reduce your workload and provide you with peace of mind. We ask the right questions to give you the best potential to succeed. As well as keeping you on track, giving you the confidence to invest, ensuring you avoid scams and are being as tax efficient as possible, working with an adviser has tangible financial benefits. A report showed that on average, a person using a financial adviser was £47,000 better off when they retired,(1) and the value of advice has been calculated to amount to an additional 2% per year on returns.(2)

So seize the moment and scan the QR code, or use the details below, to book a 30-minute discovery session. Together we can start the journey of:

  1. building a plan;
  2. reviewing it regularly to ensure you remain on track; and
  3. achieving your financial goals.

Past performance is not indicative of future performance. The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

 

Tel: 01962 353153
Email: enquiries-westgate@sjpp.co.uk
Web: www.westgatewealth.co.uk/specialist-advice/the-bar 

References: (1) The International Longevity Centre UK calculated that if a person received professional financial advice between 2001 and 2006 it resulted, on average, in them being £47,706 better off in terms of pensions and financial assets once fees and charges had been taken into account in 2014/15 (What it’s worth – revisiting the value of financial advice, ILC, November 2019). (2) According to independent analysis by Numis Securities (September 2020) based on comparing annual returns for St. James’s Place clients against those who managed their own investments. The research, which covered all clients’ SJP pension investments, found that between June 2010 and June 2020 the average growth achieved was 7.7%pa. This means £100,000 invested at the start of the period would be worth £210,000 by the end. By comparison, the same exercise for pension clients of a large firm where investors usually make their own investment decisions achieved an average of 5.5%pa over the same period. So, on average £100,000 invested by a non-advised client grew to £171,000 over the ten years. This analysis didn’t include any tax benefits from advice and so Numis’s researchers concluded that the main difference between the two was the ‘greater long-term discipline and lower emotion an adviser provides’.