Saving for the future

If we are to believe a growing majority of personal finance commentators we have all been living well beyond our means for a very long time, are highly exposed to the property market and are fast becoming victims of the easy credit that enabled us to do this. Some of these assertions may or may not be true and to what extent they are a problem depends very much on individual circumstance.  What is true, however, is that we have seen a significant growth in borrowing options over the last ten years. Secured and unsecured borrowing has been easily available and customers have been happy to make their own decisions when dipping into these markets to support their lifestyles and ambitions.

Arguably the large financial institutions have been good at encouraging individuals to self select appropriate levels of credit but far less effective in communicating the virtues and benefits of saving and investing for the future. Countless surveys indicate the low level of confidence individuals have in making wise decisions about funding their retirement, or how best to ‘build a pot’ for a variety of future needs.  

This is compounded by the action of, for example, high street banks who view the success or failure of an investments business by number of product sales year on year and immediate margin on each. There is little recourse to developing customer relationships over time and offering personally relevant services and assistance. Given that even wealthier individuals require ongoing personal assistance to find the most effective ways to save and invest , it is little wonder that repeated ‘product’ messages can serve to confuse and inundate many potential savers. Messages of ongoing assistance and guidance are far more relevant than flavour of the month themes and offers.

Of course, this ‘relationship’ space has been traditionally filled by financial advisers. An independent financial adviser can provide a high quality service of real value to a large range of individuals for a fee. However this ‘face to face’ service is not always what an individual would choose given a realistic choice. There is a genuine need for the financial services industry to provide alternative ongoing support services to assist those with the simple wish to ‘save for the future’ for retirement or more general financial goals. These must be relevant at a personal level, but highly accessible and available to all investors. To some extent this is what has been identified by recent internal reviews of the industry, but there continues to be much debate and little delivery. 

Over the coming months Chartwell Direct will be developing highly valuable ongoing guidance, management and servicing offers for clients via telephone, online and through the post. For many we hope that these services will fill the gap that exists between needing to pass on the decision making to a professional, and structuring and maintaining a sensible portfolio of investments yourself. 

Our services will be personal to each client and at no extra cost to doing it all yourself. If you wish to learn more about future services from Chartwell Direct then please call us on 01225 823915.