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Potential Grierson Dickens clients are seeking a long term professional relationship with a highly experienced adviser who offers meaningful and comprehensive advice paid for on an hourly basis.

Clients typically (but not exclusively) have a significant level of assets and/or considerable family income and a degree of financial complexity that they find it hard (or don’t want) to manage on their own.

Clients want straight-forward, impartial and truly independent financial advice that is consistent with their values and personal objectives, and are willing to pay for it.

All clients are different and we always treat people as individuals, however we do see some commonality in what clients want from us, normally based on the stage of life in which they find themselves. We hope you may be able to relate to one of these profiles.

Young Family Accumulating Wealth

  • Normally in late thirties, early forties, busy lives, lots going on personally and financially.
  • Young children.
  • Demanding job(s), income rich, time poor.

Key issues

  • Who will look after our children if the worst happens?
  • Is the family financially protected if a catastrophe strikes?
  • What does the future look like? Am I trapped in this job forever and what balance can we find between spending now and deferring consumption to enhance options later in life?
  • What are the options for funding the children’s education?
  • What should I/we be doing about pensions?

Role of Grierson Dickens

  • Create a financial plan – so you can see the relationship between your future career plans and what else you want to do with your life. This gives the context to provide valuable decision support at the various career crossroads that you will face.
  • Identify, capture and invest excess income – to create a fund for later, and hence widen you career options as your children start to become less dependent.
  • Ensure that your surviving family are protected with appropriate life and illness insurance, appropriate wills with suitable guardians.
  • Maximise appropriate pension planning opportunities.
  • Manage LTIP schemes to avoid concentration of stock specific risk.
  • Prepare tax returns with minimal input from you.
  • Give you the headspace to get on with your career and your family without being distracted by financial issues.

Retired or Bereaved

  • Retired and or bereaved.
  • Uncertainty about how long finances will last and how they should be organised and invested.
  • For the bereaved often a complex financial situation which is no longer appropriate.

Key issues

  • I need clarity and simplicity so I can get on with life.
  • I want to understand what I have got and have the confidence that I am financially secure so that I can actually go and spend some of it.
  • How much can I and should I give away without jeopardising my security?

Role of Grierson Dickens

  • Create a financial plan – to provide clarity on what you can spend and what you can afford to give away.
  • Consolidate investments and accounts to create simplicity and transparency.
  • Implement appropriate plans to transfer assets to your chosen beneficiaries, where desirable and appropriate.
  • Strike the right balance between mitigating inheritance tax but maintaining security and simplicity.
  • Create and maintain an accurate record of your financial position so that when you die your Executors’ job is that much easier.
  • Ensure that your wishes are made clear via up to date Will and Power of Attorney.

Retired, Significant Liquid Assets

  • Significant wealth either following a business disposal or accumulated assets.
  • Early stages of retirement, grown up children and a desire to remain engaged and active.
  • Growing range of interests, often with a philanthropic angle.

Key issues

  • How much is enough for us to do what we want to do and be financially secure?
  • How do we allow our children or grandchildren to benefit from our success but not stifle their ambition with a major financial legacy?
  • What can we do with our money which is aligned with our core beliefs and will give us real satisfaction?
  • How can we give money efficiently and know it is being well spent?
  • Keep things simple.

Role of Grierson Dickens

  • Create a financial plan – to provide clarity on what you need to keep “sacrosanct” for your own security, so that you can give and invest the rest with confidence.
  • Implement a regular gift aid program to maximise tax efficiency, or create a bespoke charitable trust.
  • Identify investments that will deliver financial security but also, potentially introduce social impact investing in sustainable businesses with a social and or environmental benefits as well as a financial return.
  • Prepare tax returns, maintain an accurate asset statement and shield you from unnecessary administration and complexity.
  • Encourage gradual integration of children into client meetings and decision making – preparation for handover.
  • Create and implement an appropriate Inheritance Tax Planning strategy.
  • Ensure that appropriate Wills and Powers of Attorney are in place.

Serial Entrepreneur

  • Established, developed and sold at least one business.
  • A desire to get involved in new businesses either as an investor or an active participant or both.
  • A low level of interest in and hence attention given to personal planning and administration.

Key issues

  • Keeping track of it all and being organised.
  • How much do I need to ringfence for my family, and how much risk can I afford/do I want to take with the rest?
  • Who can I use as a sounding board to help me scope out options and make decisions?
  • Who is on my side, understands me and my values and doesn’t want to sell me products?

Role of Grierson Dickens

  • Create a financial plan – to provide clarity on what you need to keep “sacrosanct” for your family’s security, so that you can invest the rest with confidence.
  • Maintain an up to date accurate asset statement, prepare tax returns.
  • Identify investments that deliver appropriate opportunities for risk and reward and those that appeal to particular interests. Maximise tax efficiency.
  • Ensure that the mundane doesn’t get missed and endanger personal and family security.
  • Design a strategy for passing inheritance to the next generation in an appropriate way.
  • Act as a trusted impartial sounding board to help with decisions – always with the benefit of a deep understanding of you and your financial landscape.

SME Business Owner

  • Long established and successful business.
  • Family grown up and becoming independent.
  • Looking to exit the business.

Key issues

  • When and how can I exit the business in a way that suits me and ensures it is sustainable? What are the tax implications?
  • How much do I need to sell the business for in order to sustain my lifestyle?
  • Are my children interested in getting involved?

Role of Grierson Dickens

  • Create a financial plan – so you can understand how different exit outcomes will impact on your life and allow you to make good decisions about the balance of life, health, work and business.
  • Help you assemble the right team to take you through the exit process.
  • Manage regular profit extraction from your business to you and hence build up personal security and reduce reliance on your business.
  • Implement and manage a Small Self Administered Pension Scheme (SSAS) to build up a tax efficient fund for you and your family.

Divorce

  • Preparing to move on to the next phase of life.
  • Lack of understanding of financial options through the divorce process and afterwards.
  • The prospect of managing finances alone is daunting.

Key issues

  • I want help understanding the financial implications of divorce for me and my children.
  • I need help getting through the financial aspects of the divorce process efficiently but fairly.
  • Minimise practical, emotional and financial impact on children.
  • I want to understand what life can look like for me after the divorce.

Role of Grierson Dickens

  • Where you have not already done so, help you find a trusted solicitor so you can avoid a costly and pointless battle where your assets are diluted by spiralling professional fees i.e. avoid a situation like this. (Reproduced by kind permission of John Brown Publishing).
  • Create a financial plan – to map out what is an acceptable standard of living for you post divorce, so you know what you need to get from any settlement.
  • Work with your solicitor to understand the nature and value of all of the marital assets in order to establish how the settlement can best be structured, and the value of any future income streams to which you may become entitled.
  • Implement the transfer of assets, including pensions, and ensure they are then held in a way which is consistent with your circumstances and objectives.

"A unique GDL approach to others"

"The initial attraction was that you approached the situation not from the angle of 'how best to offer independent investment advice' but from the rather unique perspective of - 'what are your life goals and let's see how you can best achieve them'. I have mentioned this unique GDL approach to others whom I have pointed in your direction and, I believe, this has been one of your key selling points..."

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"A unique GDL approach to others"

"The initial attraction was that you approached the situation not from the angle of 'how best to offer independent investment advice' but from the rather unique perspective of - 'what are your life goals and let's see how you can best achieve them'. I have mentioned this unique GDL approach to others whom I have pointed in your direction and, I believe, this has been one of your key selling points..."

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