The 4 pillars of Belvedere Wealth’s approach: Why it’s beneficial to build strong foundations

We work with a wide range of clients at Belvedere Wealth. Many might come to us initially for help with something specific, such as managing their private pension or reviewing an investment portfolio.

This is undoubtedly a wise starting point. Yet, the strongest and most resilient financial plans usually aren’t based around one-off decisions. They are instead built on strong foundations. 

This is why we take a 360-degree approach to financial planning that supports you through every aspect of your life, ranging from retirement and investments to protection and estate planning.

However, this 360-degree idea can only work if it’s developed on strong pillars – four of them, in our case. 

Continue reading to learn about these four pillars, and why they matter so much for your financial plan.

1. Financial protection

A wise place to start building your financial plan is with protection, and it’s one that some people often overlook. 

In fact, research from Which? found that more than half of people in the UK don’t have life cover in place, while around 1 in 7 aren’t even sure if they’re covered.

There is little point in accumulating wealth for the future if you don’t have adequate levels of protection. 

Imagine you don’t have income protection in place. If you’re unable to work, you may need to use savings earmarked for other purposes to support your standard of living, derailing your progress towards your long-term goals. 

Or, without life cover, your loved ones may struggle to make ends meet or pay an Inheritance Tax (IHT) bill without financial support.

At Belvedere, we offer a range of protection solutions for individuals and business owners. These might include:

• Life assurance, critical illness cover, and income protection to safeguard your lifestyle and protect the security of your loved ones

• Business protection, such as key person insurance, shareholder protection, or business loan cover, all of which can ensure continuity in your firm. 

We don’t see protection as a one-time solution, either. We will continue to work with you throughout your life, ensuring that the first pillar of your plan continues to reflect your evolving circumstances.

2. Pensions

Retirement planning is another vital pillar of your long-term financial wellbeing that takes regular attention. 

You may think that you can just establish your pension contributions and then stop planning for the next phase of your life altogether. 

Yet, this isn’t the case, as you’ll likely need to review your retirement saving needs at various stages throughout your life.

For instance, if you eventually get close to retirement and haven’t reviewed your pension and its investments in some time, you may not know whether it’s still aligned with your needs and tolerance for risk.

This could even result in a significant shortfall well into your retirement, meaning you’re unable to support your dream lifestyle or can’t afford later-life care if your health deteriorates. 

At Belvedere, we can help by reviewing your existing pension strategy to ensure it still suits your unique circumstances. 

We can also create a long-term plan that takes your lifestyle goals and desired retirement age into account. 

As is the case with all the pillars, it’s vital to build a plan tailored to your needs and reviewed regularly, not a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

3. Investments

Once the two foundations of protection and pension planning are in place, the third pillar – investing – can help you reach your future goals. 

Yet, investing without support can be risky. Indeed, you might panic during a period of volatility and sell your investments in an attempt to cut your losses or time the market. 

By doing so, you are essentially turning paper losses into real ones, affecting the overall performance of your portfolio and your progress towards your milestones. 

Meanwhile, we take the time needed to understand your objectives and tolerance for risk before helping you build a portfolio.

We can also provide ongoing reviews to keep your portfolio aligned with your evolving needs. This might include:

• Recommending diversification strategies

• Using tax-efficient investing vehicles, such as Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), General Investment Accounts (GIAs), or others you may not have heard of, namely Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs).

4. Estate planning

It’s easy to overlook the final pillar – estate planning – until later in life. Yet, you may find that it’s beneficial to think ahead and give it some thought.

Take, for instance, the fact that unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension could count as part of your estate for IHT purposes from 6 April 2027.

If you don’t act in advance, you or your beneficiaries could face a significant and unexpected IHT bill. 

Or, if you don’t nominate a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), this could result in significant challenges – both emotional and financial – if you lose mental capacity. 

At Belvedere, we work with trusted professionals to help you put a will and LPA in place. We could also help you manage the probate process or even mitigate as much IHT as possible.

Remember: estate planning doesn’t just protect your wealth but also ensures that your legacy reflects your wishes. 

By neglecting our other services, you might be missing out on the bigger picture

As you can see, a sound financial plan consists of more than just the sum of its parts. Imagine it like building a home. 

Your pension might represent the bricks while the investments are your windows and doors. But, without the solid foundations – or, in this case, your protection and estate planning – everything becomes unstable. 

While you might already be working with Belvedere for a specific financial need, you might not be aware of the other services we offer, and why it’s beneficial to take a four-pillar approach.

For instance, if we’re already helping you manage your pension, it’s worth knowing how legislation changes could affect your estate plan, such as the aforementioned IHT rules.

By also reviewing your estate plan, we could explore ways to reduce your tax liability and preserve more of your wealth. 

This is why it’s so important to ask yourself, “What else should I be thinking about?”, and this is exactly what our 360-degree service answers. 

So, to find out how we can support you, please fill in our online contact form, email us at enquiries@belvederewm.com, or give us a call at +44 (0)203 633 6603.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, tax planning, or will writing.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. 

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.  

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. 

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

Note that life insurance and financial protection plans typically have no cash in value at any time and cover will cease at the end of the term. If premiums stop, then cover will lapse.

Cover is subject to terms and conditions and may have exclusions. Definitions of illnesses vary from product provider and will be explained within the policy documentation.

The Enterprise Initiative Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) are higher-risk investments. They are typically suitable for UK-resident taxpayers who are able to tolerate increased levels of risk and are looking to invest for five years or more. Historical or current yields should not be considered a reliable indicator of future returns as they cannot be guaranteed. 

Share values and income generated by the investments could go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you originally invested. These investments are highly illiquid, which means investors could find it difficult to, or be unable to, realise their shares at a value that’s close to the value of the underlying assets. 

Tax levels and reliefs could change and the availability of tax reliefs will depend on individual circumstances.