Investments

All You Need to Know About Starting An Investment Portfolio

If you’re planning for your financial future, a carefully conceived investment strategy should be a key consideration. Investment portfolios can provide a number of financial benefits, from creating a passive income stream to long-term asset growth. 

Whatever your investment goals, our professional and friendly team can provide comprehensive advice on many types of investment and saving opportunities, providing continuous support along the way to ensure that you achieve them. We have a range of index funds and investment accounts within our product range, all of which are assessed for their risk tolerance, allowing you to distribute your investments wisely and as safely as possible.

Why Investment Strategies?

The majority of standard bank account saving options available today offer very little return on your money. This can make it difficult to get the most of your income, which can be frustrating, particularly when you work long hours and have minimal expendable income available after your outgoings and responsibilities. 

With continually increased costs of living and inflation in the UK, building wealth is a challenge without a strong investment strategy. If you’re looking to grow your capital, to provide a safety net for your family’s future or your own retirement, investing can maximise the value of your assets, helping your money reach further.

What Is Investment Planning?

Investment planning involves looking at your current financial assets and beginning to form a plan of what your long-term financial goals are and how to best reach them. Each individual will have different long-term goals for their capital and it’s important to ensure that the strategy created serves these effectively.

During the planning session, our experienced advisers will suggest a combination of investment opportunities and help you begin to develop an investment strategy, designed to help you achieve and surpass your financial goals.

What Is An Investment Strategy?

The strategy goes beyond planning for your financial future and starts to put into practice some of the recommendations that we’ve made based on your own personal financial circumstances. Whether that’s through investing in the stock market, buying shares or finding an ISA with attractive interest rates, we can help you find the most suitable and beneficial investment opportunities currently available.

Once an investment portfolio has been established, we’ll help you to manage any risks involved, allowing you to get the best out of your short-term and long-term investment opportunities and grow your capital wealth.

What Are Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)?

An ISA is a government endorsed Individual Savings Account with an annual tax free allowance of up to £20,000. There are a variety of different types of ISAs available and it’s possible to split savings and tax-free allowances across them:

• Cash ISAs
• Stocks and Shares ISAs
• Lifetime ISAs
• Help to Buy Mortgage ISAs
• Innovative Finance ISAs

Taxable allowances are calculated annually from April to April in line with the UK tax year and will reset each year, allowing for continuous investment over time.

What Are Junior ISAs?

Similar to a regular ISA, Junior ISAs are available to under eighteen-year-olds only, providing that they do not already hold a Child Trust Fund (CTF). The tax-free allowance on a Junior ISA is considerably lower, at £4,368 per year. 

If a Child Trust Fund is already held, it can be transferred into a Junior ISA if this is financially beneficial. We can help you to decide which option is best for your child, providing objective advice and support throughout the switch, should you feel that would be beneficial.

What Are Investment Trusts?

An Investment Trust is a financial institution that pools together money from a number of their investors in order to maximise buying power in the purchase and sale of assets and shares. Each Investment Trust can have a variety of goals and choices available to maximise their clients’ investments.

As Investment Trust specialists, we can ensure you find those with the most attractive portfolio options and offer the best opportunity to reach your financial goals.

How can Spectrum help?

Investing can be an incredibly profitable activity with the potential to help you build your wealth and secure your financial future effectively. It also involves risk management and professional financial advice in order to minimise any loss of capital. Here at Spectrum, our experienced team of financial advisers can ensure that you create a portfolio that best serves your financial aspirations.