Investment Planning that Makes Your Money Work Harder
Built around your goals, managed with care.
The question before the investment question.
Most investment conversations start in the wrong place.
They start with funds, platforms, or "what kind of returns can I get?"
The better starting point is simpler: what do you actually want this money to do for you?
Some capital needs to stay accessible.
Some can be left to grow for ten or twenty years.
Some might be earmarked for a specific goal - replacing your income one day, helping a child onto the property ladder, or simply building financial independence away from the business.
Investment planning should follow that thinking, not the other way round.
Independent, FCA-authorised advisers | Designing Tomorrow’s Income, Today.
A familiar situation.
TD Insight
Money left uninvested doesn't stay still. Inflation means its real value can quietly fall over time, even while the number in the account looks unchanged.
Maybe you've got savings or investments that have built up over the years without much thought behind them. Maybe your income has grown and you're not sure you're doing enough with the surplus. Maybe your business has profit sitting in the account, doing very little beyond earning modest interest.
Whatever the starting point, the underlying question is usually the same: is this money actually working towards anything?
Money that sits idle - personally or within a business - isn't a decision. It's the absence of one.
What investment planning actually involves.
Investment planning isn't about picking the fund with the best recent performance. It starts with a few honest questions:
What are you investing for, and roughly when might you need the money?
How much risk are you genuinely comfortable with - not just in theory, but if markets fell sharply?
How much could you afford to lose without it affecting your day-to-day life?
What do you already have - pensions, property, cash, business assets - and how should this fit alongside it?
From there, a suitable strategy is usually about spreading risk sensibly (diversification), using tax-efficient wrappers where appropriate, and reviewing regularly rather than leaving things untouched for years.
Understanding your options.
Once your goals and risk appetite are clear, there are usually several ways to structure an investment strategy.
Which combination makes sense depends entirely on your circumstances, but the main building blocks tend to include:
Stocks and shares ISAs - a tax-efficient way to invest personally, within annual allowance limits.
General Investment Accounts (GIAs) - for investing beyond your ISA allowance, without the same tax wrapper.
Pensions - one of the most tax-efficient ways to invest for the long term, particularly relevant if your company is making contributions on your behalf.
Corporate investment accounts - allowing surplus company cash to be invested directly, subject to corporation tax on any gains.
Property - sometimes considered alongside other investments as part of a wider strategy, though it carries its own risks and is typically far less liquid.
None of these is automatically "the best" option. A sensible strategy usually combines two or three of them, weighted according to what you're trying to achieve, your timescale, and how the business itself is structured.
TD Question
If you needed this money in five years rather than twenty, would your current approach still make sense?
The best investment isn't the one with the highest return.
It's the one that gets you where you're actually going.
How it works.
Getting started is more straightforward than most people expect:
A conversation, not a sales pitch. We start by understanding your situation - personal and business - and what you're actually trying to achieve.
Understanding your risk and timescale. We work through how much risk you're genuinely comfortable with, and when you might need access to the money.
Building a strategy. We put together an approach that fits your goals, using an appropriate combination of the options above.
Implementation. Once you're comfortable, we help put the strategy in place.
Ongoing review. Markets move and circumstances change, so we review your strategy regularly rather than leaving it untouched.
There's no obligation at the initial conversation stage, and no pressure to proceed.
TD Tip
Review your investment strategy at least once a year - or whenever your circumstances change significantly, not just when markets move.
How investments fit alongside pensions and property.
Investments are one tool among several.
Pensions, property, cash and business assets can all play a part, depending on your circumstances.
The Turkington Davis approach - the Income Architect - starts from a different question to most investment conversations:
Where will your income come from when today's income slows down or stops?
Once that's clear, it becomes easier to see where investing genuinely fits, rather than treating it as a standalone decision made in isolation from everything else.
How we approach investment planning.
We follow a straightforward process:
1. Review.
Understand where you are today - your business position, personal finances, existing pensions, investments and property, and what you're already building towards.
2. Blueprint.
Work out what future income you actually need, and where the gaps are between what you have and what you'll need.
3. Grow.
Build an appropriate strategy - which may include investment planning alongside pensions, protection or property - and review it as circumstances change.
This isn't about selecting the "best" investment. It's about building an appropriate combination of assets that moves you towards the future you actually want.
Ready to get your money working hard for you?
Whatever you’re aiming for, it usually starts with a conversation.
FAQs: Investment Planning
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Not quite.
Financial planning looks at your whole financial picture — income, pensions, protection, property and more.
Investment planning is one part of that: specifically how surplus capital is invested to help meet your future goals.
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It depends on your personal income needs, how the business is structured, and your tax position, which is specific to your circumstances.
This is a big enough question and one that needs careful consideration.
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There's no single answer.
It depends on your timescale, your goals, and how much short-term loss you could genuinely tolerate without it affecting your wider finances.
Part of the value of proper investment planning is working this out honestly before any money is invested.
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Companies can invest surplus cash directly, though this is subject to corporation tax on gains and has practical implications worth understanding first.
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They're not really competing options.
Pensions and investments often work alongside each other, along with property and other assets, depending on your goals, timescale and tax position.
Treating them as rivals usually leads to a less effective strategy than using them together.
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We'd look at your current situation.
Business and personal - what you're trying to achieve, and whether investment planning genuinely has a role to play alongside pensions, protection or property.
There's no obligation, and it's not a sales pitch.
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There's no fixed figure.
It depends on your goals, your existing financial position, and how the strategy is structured.
What matters more than the starting amount is whether investing genuinely fits your wider plan.
That's exactly what an initial conversation is for.
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Markets move and circumstances change.
So, investment planning shouldn't be a one-off decision.
We review strategies regularly rather than leaving them untouched for years, adjusting where your goals, risk appetite or business position have changed.
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Yes.
Many business owners and directors arrive with a mix of old pensions, ISAs or investment accounts they've never properly reviewed together.
Part of investment planning is understanding what you already have before deciding what, if anything, needs to change.
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Not at all.
While a lot of this page speaks to business owners and directors - because that's where we see this question most often - the same principles apply to anyone with surplus income or capital they want to put to work: understanding your goals, your risk appetite, and how investing fits alongside everything else.
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We'd be delighted to help.
If you can't find the answer you're looking for, simply get in touch or book a complimentary Financial Planning Consultation.
We'll be happy to answer any questions and help you decide whether investment planning is right for you.
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Helpful External Resources
Money Helper - Visit MoneyHelper for free financial guidance
FCA - Find out more about financial advice, consumer protection and choosing an authorised adviser.
Pension Wise - If you're aged 50 or over and have a defined contribution pension, Pension Wise offers free government-backed guidance to help you understand your options.
HMRC - View the latest HMRC guidance
FCA Register - Turkington Davis
The value of investments and the income they produce can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested.
The benefits to the treatment of tax depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
This information is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal financial advice.