Corporate and personal investments

Over time, many business professionals build up a wide range of personal investments – from ISAs and bonds, through to direct equities and property.

We have an innovative service that combines the strategic financial planning skills of our Independent Financial Planning Managers together with discretionary asset management.

We bring your assets together onto a single platform – giving you an instant, up-to-date picture of what you own. Then our Independent Financial Planning Managers will work with you to define clear financial goals, to make sure your investment portfolio fits with your objectives and your attitude towards risk.

The result is bespoke investment management and a level of investment reporting that has traditionally only been available to institutions.

Inheritance tax now affects more people than ever before. In our view, it’s an essential part of any personal financial planning strategy.

If your estate exceeds the inheritance tax threshold (£325,000 2009/2010), your beneficiaries will face a tax bill of 40% on any excess before money or assets can be released to your loved ones. Of course, this is based on current legislation, and is subject to change.

RBS Independent Financial Services can guide you through the complexities of inheritance tax. We can recommend solutions to help you meet or minimise potential liabilities – with the aim of giving your family one less thing to worry about at a very difficult time.

At RBS Independent Financial Services, we offer a bridge between your corporate and your personal finances. The key is that we never see these areas in isolation – instead, we help you put both to use in order to achieve your goals.

Personal investments

With the right planning, your business assets can provide the growth, control and tax efficiency to meet your personal needs today and in the long-term.

The first step to integrated financial planning is to establish if your business assets are delivering the best possible personal rewards. For instance, increasing your income from salary, dividends or pension contributions could reduce taxes – the key is to strike the right balance between the different ways you extract income.

Corporate investments

Many businesses hold money on deposit in current accounts – perhaps to fulfil short-term cash requirements, fund future long-term expansion plans, or simply because they don’t have the time to decide where else to put the money.

Although this approach provides security, it often delivers a low return, particularly once tax has been paid.

However, if you decide to invest some of these reserves, there can be costly tax implications – indeed your business could have its tax status re-assessed.

We can help you strike the right balance.

Sadly, accidents and illness can happen at any time of life.

Protecting your family from the financial difficulties that could arise is a priority – especially when you are running a business.

Our Independent Financial Planning Managers work to understand your personal financial commitments. We can then make sure you have the right protection in place.

As you would expect, we search the market to find the right protection for each partner – from income protection or critical illness cover. It’s all about providing the right cover for each family – and the right price.