1. No recommendations without a financial plan.

We can’t know whether a recommendation is suitable if we don’t know its purpose.

2. Keep it simple

The financial industry and the financial press want us to believe that finance is complicated and that you need complicated financial arrangements to be successful. This isn’t true, and you can achieve financial freedom by following some very basic rules.

• Understand your finances and have a plan in place
• Pay down debts
• Minimise tax by using allowances
• In line with your risk appetite invest what you can afford in the stock markets and don’t keep too much in cash
• Insure yourself against illness and your family against your death
• Have a Will in place
• Stick to the plan

Do these simple things aiming to grow your wealth over time with aiming to minimise risk.

3. The stock market could be seen as a wealth creation vehicle which provides the potential to increase the value of your savings above inflation over the longer term.

Social media and the internet are full of the latest get-rich-quick schemes. They all sound great on paper, and it’s easy to feel left out when your friend or colleague makes a quick profit. But what you don’t hear about is when those ventures go wrong and they lose everything.

You don’t need to chase risky schemes to accumulate wealth. Compound returns from the stock market can provide the potential for steady growth through a proven method of wealth creation. By investing in the world’s great companies, you benefit if they grow their earnings and share prices over time.

We handle the maintenance of your investments, freeing you to spend your time with family or focus on building your business until you’re ready to exit. As the great Warren Buffett says, “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

4. We can’t and won’t predict short-term stock market movements.

Much as we’d love to, we can’t predict what’s going to happen in the stock markets this year. All we know is that over the longer term, as company revenue and earnings grow, share prices tend to increase too

5. Stick to the plan at all times.

The media wants us to be afraid because fear sells newspapers and views on the internet. How many times have you seen a headline along the lines of “£50 billion wiped off stock markets!!” plastered all over the papers and the evening news? Countless times. But how often have you seen the headline “£50 billion added back on to stock markets!!”? Never, because good news in the markets doesn’t sell advertising space.

It’s natural to feel nervous when markets fall, but selling in a panic at that moment can be a very, very costly mistake. We're here to help our clients avoid these pitfalls and benefit from long-term investing, weathering the downs and profiting from the ups.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and the value may therefore fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.

An investment in equities does not provide the security of capital associated with a deposit account with a bank or building society, as the value income may fall as well as rise.

The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.

Will writing involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James's Place. Wills are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.