Download My money fact find Date: ………………..… A money fact find is

My money fact find
Date: ………………..…
A money fact find is essential preparation for making a savings and investing plan that suits you and
your goals.
The here and now
Me
Age, family situation, financial dependence,
residence and domicile.
Budget
Monthly income
£
Use our Budget planner.
Monthly outgoings
£
Difference +ve/-ve
£
Assets
Record what cash you keep on hand for
emergencies. We suggest enough for three months
essential household outgoings. Read our guide to
find out more. Then list your property, possessions,
existing savings, investments, pension and life
insurance, and what returns they pay if any.
Liabilities
List the value of what you currently owe to others:
mortgage, personal loans, credit card balances and
any future financial responsibilities like
commitments to children or other dependants that
are not covered in your regular budget.
Planned spending
Do you have any planned major expenditure in the
near future (conservatory, upgrade of car,
sabbatical or extended holiday etc).
Earning capacity
Record your current occupation status and what
you think your occupational salary and pension
prospects are likely to be in the years ahead.
Asset
Cash
Value
Interest rate and
monthly return
Amount
Interest rate and
monthly cost
£
£
£
Liability
£
£
£
Tax status
What rate of income tax do you pay? What
allowances are you using?
Health
Note any known issues that may have some impact
on your income or expenditure.
Inheritance and wills
Record the terms of any wills or trusts that you
expect to benefit from, and the terms of your own
will and what you would like to leave).
Date I made a will –
Where it is stored –
Looking ahead
Goals and aspirations
Name your goals – such as study, children, home
move, career changes, retirement, travel etc. If you
have several, which are the priorities?
What dates/timings are important for you to have
sums of money available?
Do you need to achieve a minimum lump sum or
income as an absolute must? If so, how much is
that and how often/when?
If your goal is to produce income, how much do you
need after tax and how frequently?
Use our guide to calculate costs and dates.
Changes to circumstances
Things on the horizon that have money implications
– relatives going into care, children needing further
support, changes at work etc.
Is your tax status likely to change in the near future
(for example if you plan to move abroad or stop
work)?
What do you think will happen to interest rates?
Would this this affect your needs?
Goal
Sum
£
By when
Know yourself
Reflection on past experience
What types of products have you had – shares, unit
trusts, endowment policies etc.
What were your aims and what was your
experience?
What ups and downs in value did you encounter
and how did you feel about it?
Have you sold early or cashed in/transferred an
investment policy or plan?
Why and how much did it cost you in penalties?
How hands on are you?
Do you like to manage investments yourself or
would you prefer to pay someone else to do it for
you?
How much are you willing to pay?
Risk attitude and capacity for loss
Risk appetite is not just about how comfortable you
are with risk , but also about how much you can
afford to lose, and how much recovery time you
have if values fall.
This means that risk appetite is usually different for
different goals. If a goal requires a certain sum by a
critical date you may have little appetite for risk, but
for a less critical goal you may be willing to accept
the ups and downs of the market for higher
potential gains.
Note your risk appetite in relation to your
various goals and take account of it when you
make your investment plan.
If you want to think more about risk read our guide.
Examples
Mortgage paid by the time I stop work
Risk appetite: Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High
Travelling round the world fund
Risk appetite: Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High
Goal:
Risk appetite: Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High
Goal:
Risk appetite: Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High
Goal:
Risk appetite: Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High
Are you more of a saver or a spender?
If you know that you find it difficult to stick to
savings commitments you might want to choose
products that create regular savings habits, or that
make your savings hard to access until your goal
date.
Ethical concerns
Do you have investment concerns on a moral or
religious basis that will affect your choices?
Your saving and investing potential
How much money do you have available?
Do you have lumps sums to invest – how much?
Are you looking for regular savings and investing
plans – how much can you regularly pay in?
Do you foresee your spending patterns changing in
the next few years?
Is there a likelihood of further money available in
the future?
Affordability
THINK – is your budget realistic or are you overstretching?
Is there likely to be pressure on your budget in the
future?
Could you increase savings or investment if things
ease off financially as children leave home, a
mortgage is repaid, or you receive an inheritance?
Now you have completed your fact find you are ready to make a saving and investing plan yourself or in
consultation with an independent financial adviser.
Read our guides:
Making a savings and investing plan
Do I need further advice?