are you with a profit saver?

You may have seen negative press coverage concerning with-profit savings over the past few years. If you have a with-profit endowment mortgage, pension or investment bond, you might have concerns about their current performance.

These investments may have performed badly during the period of poor Stock Market returns in 2000 to 2003 when many companies were forced to use up most of their reserves. The reserves were there to support part of your bonus rate during periods of unfavourable results.

Because of the sell off of assets, in recent years there has been a strong market recovery, but many funds (especially closed funds) have been invested in cash and gilts and have not benefited fully from this recovery.

We would recommend that you review your fund rather than leave it to chance that you are invested in one of the few strong funds.

There may be some good news if you have been an investor in with-profits for some time. Your exit penalties and a variable penalty, referred to as the ³market value adjuster² may have now reduced. This makes it an excellent time for you to review your with-profit holding and decide if it is still the right thing for you.

Willis Financial Services can work with you to help you make this decision. By taking into account all the charges and risk factors we can assist you in deciding on alternative investments that are easier to understand and tailored to meet your future needs. We may also be able to protect your future income and improve your tax position.

If you need to review the structure of your mortgage due to your endowment performance we can offer you a fully independent mortgage service to help you plan the best way to repay your mortgage.

If you would like further information on reviewing your with-profits¹ investments, please contact the Willis Financial Services team on 028 9032 9042 or complete our enquiry form.

All initial consultations are free and without obligation. We are not accountants or solicitors and our advice should be considered alongside the advice you receive from other professional advisers.