What are the benefits of a 5 or 10-year investment plan?

How often do you start a journey without knowing your destination? Rarely, one would assume. That’s exactly how it should be with investment planning. You need a clear target in mind before you can map out a strategy; be it a five-year, ten-year or longer-term investment plan. A financial adviser can be your equivalent of Sat Nav, providing up-to-the-minute guidance that enables you to navigate your journey smoothly and reach your end goal with ease.

You’ll have to excuse the protracted navigation analogy, but you get what we’re driving at: the best investments are based on a clear plan of attack. What is it you’re trying to achieve? How quickly does it need to be accomplished? What’s your attitude to risk? Once you’ve grappled with these big questions, it becomes much easier to formulate a clear strategy to get where you need to be … sorry, we just can’t help it!

5-10 year investment plans

Time is always a factor in any investment decision. The amount of time at your disposal will greatly affect the kind of risks you can afford to take on. Let’s imagine you’re a first-time house buyer saving for a deposit on your dream home. Assuming you’d like to move in relatively soon, a shorter-term five-year investment plan comprising cash ISAs would be a safer and more accessible option than riskier stocks and shares.

If, on the other hand, you were aiming to save for retirement in 20 years, the amount of time at your disposal allows you greater freedom to tie up your savings for a longer period to mitigate the inevitable market fluctuations. Ten-year investment plans and beyond can help you to beat inflation and make your money work harder for you in the long run. This is particularly crucial if you’re planning to retire early.

Once you’re crystal clear on your goals, risks and timeframes, it’s time to call in the professionals. An independent financial adviser like Acumen Financial Partnership can identify suitable products for you and your precise individual circumstances. Whilst you might assume you have a coherent idea about your attitude to risk, in all likelihood your adviser will be able to provide a more dispassionate assessment and help you to strategise accordingly.

Tailored investment advice

Your adviser can help you to formulate an investment plan that works for you. The types of things it might cover include your investment goals and the types of savings and investments that can help you to achieve them. These will be determined by several factors, such as your risk appetite, current financial situation and timeframes, to name but a few. Your plan is also likely to include the kind of returns you can reasonably expect, as well as the frequency with which you will review your investments and the charges you will pay.

For tailored investment advice in the UK, Acumen Financial Partnership’s experienced IFAs can advise you on the best strategies to achieve your goals. We offer independent investment advice, outsourcing the daily management of your funds to one of our trusted team of investment advisers. This allows us to handle your financial planning, whilst putting your assets in the hands of investment experts who have the resources and finger-on-the-pulse industry insights to deliver the best results for you.

For more information about investment planning, or to speak to one of our advisers, please contact Acumen today by calling 0151 520 4353 or email us at info@acumenfinancial.co.uk.