Lowes Magazine Issue 116

COMMENT

Child Trust Funds come of age FROM SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR THE FIRST children for whom Child Trust Funds were bought will be turning 18, and so able to access the money which has been saved for them. Imagine coming into thousands of pounds on your 18th birthday. What would you do with it – invest it in an ISA, save it into a pension, or maybe, spend it? Interestingly, a recent survey found that a large proportion of children didn’t know they had a CTF, meaning it had been kept from them by those investing for their future. There could be good reason for that. We typically advise that where a child is likely to have large amount of money invested on their behalf, rather than pay it into a CTF (as were) or its current equivalent, a Junior ISA (JISA), which are accessible at age 18, the money is best held in a properly managed, well diversified portfolio, but in trust, which can provide for more control over the money and when it is accessed.

From idea to innovation MY PASSION FOR ALL ASPECTS OF MY PROFESSION and financial planning generally, occasionally resembles an obsession around certain elements, not least structured products. Indeed, I am currently half-way through a master’s degree dissertation on the subject. Over the last two decades, Lowes has evolved from being one of the most vociferous critics of certain variations of these structures, to ultimately playing a fundamental role in helping to shape the sector to help achieve better outcomes for our clients and the wider market. We are now recognised as one of the leading experts in the field. When on holiday last year, one evening, instead of thinking about work, I thought I would dedicate some down-time to trying to understand a physics concept known as the Fine-structure Constant. This revolves around the number 137, a number that has obsessed physicist’s and mystics for centuries and is said to hold the answer to the universe! So, I figured cracking this mystery would be a good use of a couple of hours of my time. To cut a long story short, in less than an hour, I had concluded that this stuff was way over my head! As a result, I decided to, instead, revert to form and dedicate some time to thinking about something I understand a lot more about; structured products. Whilst there are many improved aspects of the UK structured products sector that we can point to and confidently say “that is a result of our influence”, I wondered if I could improve on an already exceptionally good concept. We regularly recommend utilising growth orientated investments to provide capital to top up everyday spending accounts but I know there’s something especially comforting about having income paying investments. There were several reasons why it had been many years since we had been able to offer a good income structured product, so I decided to set my mind to trying to come up with something new, innovative and income paying for clients. This is something I try to do regularly but let us just say that, on this particular night my universe was more aligned to my area of expertise than to theoretical physics. I had a moment of clarity for a new solution. It was so obvious that I couldn’t comprehend why I hadn’t come up with it previously. I grabbed the pen and pad from the hotel desk and frantically started jotting down numbers. Modern technology meant that I didn’t just have the benefit of a calculator on my phone but also access to all the information I needed to check out whether I’d missed something. It seemed I hadn’t. An hour or so later, I had written a rather excited, lengthy email to a colleague explaining the concept and the numbers and logic behind it. And then I got on with my holiday. It has taken a year to turn the idea from that night into a reality, but in that time, I believe the changes to the investment and savings landscape have made it an even more attractive concept. Today I am delighted to be able to offer our clients that investment, details of which are on pages 8 through 11. Please tell a friend about this

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investment and Lowes – they might not know about it, or where to turn to for advice, without your recommendation. You know we won’t let them, or you down. Ian H Lowes, Managing Director

Source: www.printmysudoku.com

If you would like to receive further information on any of the subjects featured in this issue please call: 0191 281 8811 , fax: 0191 281 8365 , e-mail: client@Lowes.co.uk , or write to us at: Freepost LOWES FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT . Lowes ® Financial Management Limited. Registered in England No: 1115681. Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We have all the free sudokus you need! 400 new sudokus every week. Make your own free printable sudoku at www.PrintMySudoku.com

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