At Balens we understand the importance of prudent financial planning both as an individual and for your business. When you are making important decisions about your finances you can obtain support from an expert. Financial advisers can help you when you are making decisions which will affect your personal and business circumstances, both now and in the future.

Therefore, we are delighted to announce Balens have partnered with Goddard Perry Consulting, a firm of independent financial advisers specialising in providing financial planning advice and business solutions.

As independent financial advisers the advice Goddard Perry provide is completely impartial, which means their duty is solely to the client, whether as an individual or as a corporate entity. The continuous monitoring, research and the due diligence undertaken of the financial services market enables them to recommend the most appropriate solutions to meet clients’ individual financial and corporate needs.

With the help of Goddard Perry, you can make informed decisions about your finances with the benefit of technical expertise.

Business Protection

While business continuity and succession planning may not be high on the priority list of many businesses, losing a key employee could have a devastating financial impact on them. So, it is important that businesses consider and plan for the unexpected.

From a business continuity perspective, would you be able to continue if one of the business owners were to die or become critically ill?

And while business succession planning is a key part in protecting the stability and continuity of a business, frequently little or no consideration is given to this. 

Business protection can help make sure you continue trading.

It also allows you, as owners, to maintain control, while making sure their dependants receive a fair value for their share of the business when they die. Put simply, it provides a financial safety net for your business if something goes wrong.

Types of business protection includes:

  • Loan protection

    This provides a lump sum to cover your business loans and other credit facilities if a business owner dies or becomes seriously ill. In the event you lose a business partner, you may want or need to repay outstanding business loans, some of which may have personal guarantees or have to be repaid when someone dies.

  • Key employee cover

    Key person cover is designed to help protect your business in the event of death or severe illness of one or more key employees. If your key employee dies or becomes seriously ill, the policy pays out a lump sum to make up for any loss in your revenue or profits, helping to keep your business on track.

  • Shareholder or partnership cover

    We can provide business with a cash lump sum if one of the owners dies or suffers a severe illness. This helps the remaining business owners minimise disruption to the business, by providing capital that enables them to buy that shareholder’s or partner’s shares and so keep control of their organisation.

Other services which may be useful:

  • Protecting your family

    There are no guarantees in life, however you can put protection in place so if the worst should happen your loved ones will be protected financially.

    We all want the very best for our family throughout their lives, but we need to plan to achieve it. Goddard Perry can structure your finances to meet your family’s needs whether it is providing an income or a lump sum, paying for university fees, or providing a tax-efficient legacy in later life.

    There are many different ways to protect against the unknown. Protection is personal, and if you would like to find out more about what you can do to safeguard yourself and your family against unexpected circumstances, please complete the enquiry form and one of their experts will get in touch.

  • Investments

    Investments are the engine to grow your savings over many years in order to be able to provide your income in retirement, fund that once in a lifetime holiday home purchase or to simply make your money work harder than it will in a cash account.

    There has never been greater choice available to you such as pick your own, passive, active, ethical/ESG investing. However, making sense of this and how it fits in with your needs is where Goddard Perry comes in. You can work with their expert financial planners who will be able to recommend which investments you need to create a successful financial plan.

    There is a lot of ‘noise’ when it comes to selecting investments and many different ways to achieve similar results. They will be your trusted guide on this journey over many years to get the most out of your hard-earned savings and ensure your investments remain on track and in line with your plan.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please get in touch at <XXXX>.

  • Pension Advice

    Most people find pensions daunting simply because they are a political football, and the rules seem to change every few years. Understandably people struggle to understand how much their pensions will produce when they retire and how changes in the rules may apply to them. Some have even been forced to reduce their pension savings, leave their employers pension scheme, or seek protection against the falling value of the Lifetime Allowance (a limit on the amount of pension benefit that can be drawn from pension schemes, and can be paid without triggering an extra tax charge).

    Many people find consulting with an expert to be invaluable and the crucial service Goddard Perry provide is to explain how your pension is relevant to you. It is therefore important when taking advice to speak with someone that is very experienced and understands where your pensions fit in with the patchwork of different rules that have built up over the years.

    Goddard Perry can be your trusted expert to navigate what some find to be a maze and explain to you in very clear terms where you stand, what you can expect to receive in retirement and if there are any changes which can be made to improve your position.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please complete the enquiry form.

  • Retirement Planning

    One of the most common question is whether existing financial plans are enough for clients to be able to retire on. Goddard Perry are expert financial planners and will work with you so that they fully understand your current circumstances and equally importantly what your goals and aspirations are. They will then help you to create a financial plan which will confirm where you are now and how to get to where you want to be.

    They do this by building a lifetime cashflow planning model which they can go through with you in a live meeting. Our clients have told us in the past that this has helped bring this subject to life and allows them to ‘see’ if they are on track and if their goals are achievable. If they identify any issues, they can then work with you to plan alternative solutions. Ideally, you will then meet at least once per year to repeat the exercise and make sure you remain on track.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please complete the enquiry form.

  • Later Life Planning

    As we get older and stop work, our thoughts turn towards what will happen to us regarding our health and wellbeing for the future. A lot of older people get very concerned about having to pay for care and this may stop them supporting their families financially or cause sleepless nights. After all no-one knows how long they will live for.

    There is a lot of misinformation circulating and an adviser from Goddard Perry can help reassure you about the facts, what your options are and getting the best support.

    Although there are financial products that can help such as a care annuity or equity release, it is important to understand the situation from a family perspective and to involve other family members in the decision-making where possible. Beyond getting the Will up to date and sorting out a Power of Attorney, their advisers will help you plan for this important stage of your life by looking at all the alternatives and making sure funds are used wisely.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please complete the enquiry form.

  • Estate Planning

    Inheritance tax is reported to be the most hated tax in the country as it is both taken at a time of bereavement and incurred on hard earned savings or assets that have generally already been taxed. At the same time family wealth rarely manages to go beyond the third generation often due to poor communication and lack of trust amongst family members.

    The financial advisers at Goddard Perry can help bridge the gap by calculating, explaining, and mitigating inheritance tax for both you and your family. There are several ways of doing this that still allow access to your capital whilst also protecting your wealth. They can also help you look at gifts to your family, the tax and legal implications and the different ways of making gifts.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please complete the enquiry form.

  • Understanding Your Finances

    There are a myriad of very good quality guidance and information sites, but even highly educated professionals often struggle to relate this material back to their own situation or turn the theory into practice. Shopping around can be difficult and risky. Juggling priorities when most households have only a limited budget to meet all their short-term savings, mortgage, insurance, investment, and retirement needs is challenging. Sometimes it can be hard to address your financial needs as you may feel that little can be done or would prefer to spend your time doing something more exciting. However, Goddard Perry are here to make this as simple and painless as possible for you.  

    Professional financial planning advice can help you prioritise all the above and address all your financial planning needs with the resources you have. The sooner you start, the more effective smaller investment amounts can work for you. However, it should still be worth having a chat with an independent financial adviser even if you know you have left it later than you should have.

    Goddard Perry also use cashflow modelling software to help demonstrate what your financial future looks like and can show you how one series of events or course of action compares to another or how you would be impacted by a particular risk you might be worried about. This is invaluable in engaging clients in their own finances and bringing their planning to life. Clients enjoy the clarity and gain a much better understanding of their situation. This enables them to make confident, well-informed decisions.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please complete the enquiry form.

  • Employee Benefits

    Effective Employee Benefits are fundamental to building a positive culture and empowered workforce. Healthy and happy employees enhance productivity and are beneficial to both their colleagues and employers alike.

    Implementing strategies which enable employees to access the healthcare they need quickly and at a convenient time to them results in faster recovery times. Healthcare-related employee benefits can also help to prevent some illnesses or conditions from becoming more serious or recurring regularly, which can contribute towards reducing absenteeism.

    Goddard Perry will review the market to ensure your benefits are relevant and of value and obtain competitive provider quotes, ensuring a cost-effective solution. They can design a bespoke strategy that harnesses different benefits across each sector creating a holistic, integrated approach.

    In addition, they can promote your benefits and drive employee awareness and engagement and offer a dedicated support service throughout benefit renewal and ongoing management.

    If you wish to speak to one of their experts, please complete the enquiry form.

Financial Wellbeing:

  • What is Financial Wellbeing, and would I benefit from it?

     

    • You have a sense of security and control around your day-to-day finances.
    • You and your family feel protected and have enough money to meet your needs.
    • You feel confident in planning for the future to make choices that allow you to enjoy life.


    Financial Wellbeing feels great!

    Please click here to find out more.

    Please note that by clicking the link you are being directed to a website other than the official Balens website. Although we have verified the accuracy of this link from our website, the ownership of the domain names and content of the web pages may change without notice and is the responsibility of the third party. We are not responsible for the content, views or privacy policies of the third party site.

Please complete the Enquiry Form to speak to one of their experts:

Initial appointments are free and can be delivered virtually (Zoom, Facetime, Teams), by telephone or face to face where appropriate.