Our experience with PM+M’s Court of Protection services has been very positive. They have taken the time to understand our needs, as well as the needs of our client, and they have tailored their approach to suit us. With services like their cashflow forecast and robust investment planning, the team have really helped us improve our methods and manage our time more effectively. Our client has been treated with upmost professionalism and sensitivity throughout the process. We highly recommend working with PM+M's financial planning team.Our client, a solicitor
About our client
We were approached by a solicitor who was appointed deputy to a young client. Their client had received a compensation claim due to medical negligence which resulted in them being unable to work any longer. The solicitor needed financial planning advice to ensure that their client’s investments were managed in a sustainable way so they would be supported for the rest of their life. Due to the size of the claim, tax planning advice and ongoing tax returns were also required.
How PM+M helped
PM+M’s financial planning expertise and Court of Protection specialism allowed our team to create a tailored and personal approach to meet their Court of Protection needs:
– The team modelled a cashflow forecast to determine what growth rate was required to ensure sustainability of the funds. This was important for the client but also something that the Court of Protection asked for.
– As the court order had a discretionary clause, we recommended that the deputy invested into our discretionary investment approach; PM+M’s managed portfolio service. We would therefore conduct our ongoing due diligence regarding the underlying funds and make changes to the underlying funds when needed on a proactive basis. We also invested in line with a suitable risk profile which considered the clients capacity for loss, comfort for loss and the growth target identified within the cashflow forecast.
– We utilised ISAs to ensure that we could consider tax efficient investments.
– We also made a £2,880 pension contribution which was grossed up to £3,600 with tax relief as we wanted to consider the ‘very long-term’ planning considerations.
– The residual balance was invested in a General Investment Account, which is a taxable wrapper. Therefore, as part of the ongoing costs, we agreed to prepare annual tax returns for the deputy.
– We made deposit-based recommendations with NS+I to ensure that there was sufficient to cover outgoing requirements and capital expenditure requirements for the next 5 years, thus giving the investments the time that they need to grow. NS+I is 100% government backed, which we felt was an important consideration.
– The solicitor had access to our online portal, which is designed to save time. They can access valuations quickly at any time.
– We agreed to have meetings to tie in with the annual Court of Protection reporting requirements to ensure that up to date valuations, cashflow forecasts and reports could be submitted to the Court of Protection.
THE OUTCOME
SAVING TIMEOur support helped the solicitor manage their time more effectively – allowing them to focus further on their client’s needs.
SUSTAINABLE FUNDS FOR THE FUTUREOur cash flow plan allowed us to create a strategy which considered the long-term sustainability of the funds.
ROBUST INVESTMENT PLANNINGWe designed an investment strategy which was proactive and focused on short, medium and long term planning considerations.
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