Finding a decent IFA

Theophany · 7 Jul 2013 at 22:49

The_Abyss said:
I agree transactional IFAs are dead, but then again, so are the ones that think that they can charge 1% and not offer any meaningful type of ongoing service in return.

Apart from SJP, of course. Christ knows how they keep going.

Dabbles · 7 Jul 2013 at 22:57

Theophany said:
Is it fair and moral I pay 40% before I've even spent a penny

Unless you're on well over £200k a year I doubt you're paying anything like a total of 40% tax on your income. I did the calculation and you need to be on a few tens of 000's of pounds over £200k before you actually lose 40% of your earnings as tax (inc. NI).

Besides, if you're on that much you can probably afford to avoid paying 40% at all...

Theophany · 7 Jul 2013 at 23:10

Huh? I was referring to the 40% tax band - 40p in the £1 for earnings over the threshold. I don't believe it's fair and moral I pay that rate when everything I buy has a statutory 20% mark-up and the fun stuff is bloated with sin taxes.

If I could afford to avoid paying that much tax, I certainly wouldn't draw attention to it.

Something Else · 7 Jul 2013 at 23:37

It's easy for people who pay lower tax bands and have low paid jobs to blast the people who earn the amounts that fall into the high tax brackets when those people try to cut down on the tax they pay.

If I earned the amount that requires a 40% or the 50% tax band I would be very interested in cutting this down within the law, morality is a concept invented by lesser men to hold back the few or something like that.

btw I earn 11k a year haha

numnutz · 8 Jul 2013 at 10:56

Theophany said:
Just as a heads up Ross, most of the guys I deal with will be looking to charge circa 1% per annum for work done. I'll compile a list of people I think are worth speaking with and trust you it, if you're ok with that.

That'd be great thanks, have just updated trust email so it's correct now!

MrMoonX said:
So you want to avoid income tax nice

No I want to make sure I'm correctly using my legal allowances for Pensions, SEIS etc. I'm not going offshore, setting up some Loan scheme whereby I never pay it back etc.

The_Abyss · 8 Jul 2013 at 23:57

Theophany said:
Apart from SJP, of course. Christ knows how they keep going.

Amen. Although I doubt they've even limited themselves to 1%, and probably never will judging by their post RDR proposition.

Away from the above quote, OP's situation is not unusual IMO. But it is important not to let the income tax dog wag the tail, just because that's the most recent problem.

Financial planning is just that - planning. Planning to meet a future goal. Reducing current income tax is not a goal, it is a means to an end. A good adviser will work out the most efficient route to your desired future goal, and a really good one will do so with great consideration to your personal thoughts about capital, debt and income, i.e. tailor the 'perfect' advice to your own personal preferences.

Planning for earners with good discretionary income is remarkably simply:
- smash debts
- secure income
- save for retirement needs
- save for pre-retirement capital needs

The individual's personal circumstances and wishes will alter the balance between them.