Making your wealth work effectively for you has never been more challenging. As we see it, you are under siege from a number of directions. Firstly, it is an inescapable fact that tax revenues will need to rise as the population gets older. The tax burden on those of modest wealth has increased substantially during the last 10 years and it seems likely that this will be a continuing trend. If your financial means are greater than the UK average, it might be worth remembering Benjamin Franklin’s quote that: “democracy is like two wolves and a lamb deciding what’s for dinner.”

Of course, if a society is to work effectively, everyone should pay their fair share. However, political expediency often trumps fairness when it comes to the priorities of Parliament, so if you do not want your hard earned wealth dished up for the benefit of others, it makes sense to take advantage of legitimate measures to prevent you from being exploited by the less fair aspects of the UK tax system.

There are many opportunities to optimise the tax efficiency of your financial plan and these extend to the use of investments, pensions, wills and trusts; so there are actions for everyone to consider.

Generating good investment returns is also important. You might have enjoyed good returns in recent years, but much of this has probably been driven by quantitative easing (QE): the widely adopted central bank policy of creating new money with which to infuse the financial system. There will be some painful withdrawal symptoms for financial markets during the unwinding of QE and it is important that you position your existing investments so that your previous gains are not lost.

As you have made it this far, you must be interested in paying less tax and protecting your investments. In which case, you will want to know that we will be explaining our latest thoughts on these important issues at a series of wealth management seminars being held locally. We would urge you to attend, without obligation, because we are confident you will learn something that will prove advantageous to both you and your family. Also, on this occasion, there is such a thing as a free lunch.