Brewin Dolphin Garden Announced for RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015

Brewin Dolphin is delighted to announce, that for the fourth consecutive year, they will have a Show Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. For 2015 Brewin Dolphin will be working with designer Darren Hawkes for whom this will be his second Chelsea appearance. 

The Garden

The garden will draw on Brewin Dolphin’s heritage, but will also reflect their forward thinking approach to business and ability to evolve and adapt to changes in the financial and wider world.

The garden will be filled with mature English Elms and familiar hedgerow plants evoking a shared memory of the British Countryside and a cultural heritage.  This, coupled with the use of traditional materials, will reflect Brewin Dolphin’s unique place within the financial market as a long established and highly respected business working with clients over generations. 

With a heritage of over 250 years, Brewin doesn't rest on its successes but reaches out both to new markets and new clients with enthusiasm.  This forward thinking attitude is strongly represented in the layout of the garden with unconventional floating platforms as a means of navigating through the space, bringing a sense of exploration, playfulness and wonder to those who enter.

Tim Walker, Head of Brewin Dolphin in Exeter said; “We are thrilled to be working with Darren Hawkes to create another undoubtedly beautiful and interesting garden at the 2015 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Every year we are incredibly proud to showcase our garden to the public and our clients. We are expecting great things from Darren and are glad to be part of his progression.”

The Designer

Darren Hawkes is delighted to be designing the Brewin Dolphin garden this year.  Having received a RHS Silver-Gilt medal for his 2013 Show Garden for SeeAbility he got the Chelsea bug and has been developing this idea over the past two years.

He has worked in the industry for nearly twenty years, cutting his teeth as a landscape gardener before turning freelance designer.  Having worked in London for 10 years he moved to Cornwall and established Wheelbarrow, a high end design and landscaping business.  This grew quickly prompting a second business, Darren Hawkes Landscapes devoted to design only projects.

He is currently working on projects in Bristol, Cornwall, Devon and West London.

The contractor for the Brewin Dolphin Garden 2015 will be Bowles and Wyer, and the plants are being supplied by Kelways. 

www.brewin.co.uk

Freeing Up Land Is The Key To Solving The Housing Crisis, Experts Say

Making more land available, supporting smaller housebuilders and channelling both public and private investment into affordable homes will solve Britain’s housing crisis, experts said this week.

Stephen Williams, Brewin Dolphin equity analyst

 

Speaking at a roundtable hosted by Brewin Dolphin, the leading wealth manager, experts from housing advocates Shelter, housebuilder Galliford Try and Brewin Dolphin discussed ways of dealing with the gap between the 110,000 estimated new homes that are being built every year and the 232,000 that are actually needed.

Brewin Dolphin equity analyst Stephen Williams said that, investing in affordable housing should be “a win, win situation for those in need of a new home, investors and the housebuilders.”

“The majority of volume housebuilders are not interested in affordable housing but those companies considering partnerships and joint ventures into affordable housing indicate the significant potential for investors. There is a huge opportunity and new ventures are opening to respond to this. ”

Solutions that the experts discussed included:

Building new garden cities

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is expected to announce a string of new garden cities between Oxford and Cambridge within weeks, while Shelter has proposed a garden city on the Medway in Kent.

Peter Jefferys, Senior Policy Officer at Shelter, said these developments are crucial not just in making affordable housing available to those most in need but also in creating crucial jobs, by building homes on attractive, yet complex, sites as well as mixed use projects with commercial elements. Every facet of the development process benefits, including the preparation that goes into making a site developable in the first place.

Giving cities greater powers to manage their own housing solutions

Jefferys said that the key to solving the crisis was to “give cities the power to be able to grow effectively to meet their housing need.”

“There are other countries that are excellent at doing this. Germany and the Netherlands in particular have built affordable, quality homes in densely populated areas by giving their cities the power to zone land and set up joint public/private development partnerships. The UK has done similar things – for example the Olympic Park – but never at scale across the country,” he said.

A hybrid public private business model for housebuilding

Public land should be brought in at low or nil-cost, with rental income generating a yield over the investment period instead of up-front payments. This is a particularly good method for dispersed public land, said Stephen Teagle, MD of Affordable Housing and the Regeneration Division at Galliford Try.

“How can the private sector help to develop something traditionally provided by the public sector?” Teagle asked.

“The demand is there, affordable housing is fundamental to UK infrastructure and the city can provide the means for supply to meet demand. Viable schemes will attract the investment and the investors are ready to commit. The housing supply crisis can begin to be addressed by housebuilders using a blended model and delivering mixed tenure solutions with housing associations.”

 A longer term perspective on current housing

Shelter said there needs to be greater fiscal incentives put in place by policy makers to encourage investment into the sector, recognising the shortage. If people are to be living in these new builds for the next few centuries, they can’t survive on “rabbit hutch” 1 and 2 bedroom houses alone, so larger variety of housing categories need consideration. Further, recent schemes such as the “help to buy” scheme find people getting stuck; leveraging themselves heavily without any ability to move on once their families grow.

Waiving stamp duty for older people

Williams raised the question of whether, by waiving stamp duty for empty nesters with larger homes, they might be encouraged to downsize.

The key is land supply

All of the experts involved in the roundtable agreed that land supply is the real key to solving Britain’s housing shortage.

When asked for a wish list from the next government, Teagle wanted to see reform of planning permission, fiscal incentives for investors and the freeing up of registered providers and local authorities to release more land at a faster pace. Shelter agreed land is the biggest issue. 

Brewin Dolphin’s MFS wins three categories at Citywire’s Investment Performance Awards

Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK’s leading Wealth Managers, with offices in Exeter and Plymouth, announces that its Managed Funds Service (MFS) has won three categories at Citywire’s celebrated Wealth Manager Investment Performance Awards 2014.  The firm has retained the Cautious portfolio and won both the Balanced category and the Overall Large Firm Award.  

Mike Gerrard, Business Development Manager at Brewin Dolphin in the South West

Brewin Dolphin was also short-listed once again for the Aggressive Portfolio award. Each model in their MFS range has a positive risk-adjusted return and this award recognises the value which MFS has provided to advisers and their clients.

Mike Gerrard, Business Development Manager at Brewin Dolphin in the South West said: ““It’s a great achievement to win three categories of the Citywire Investment Performance awards.  This award, which review performance across the investment risk spectrum and ranks entrants based on performance across all risk levels, demonstrates the value added for our advisers and their clients within our Managed Funds Service.  We appreciate the support from advisers for their service, particularly in Devon and Cornwall.  Throughout the UK almost 600 firms have signed up to use our Managed Funds Service and the exponential growth in assets under management demonstrates the strong relationships we have built with advisers.”

He adds: “Brewin Dolphin has a large and experienced Research team who take into consideration asset allocation, fund selection and portfolio construction, which ensures portfolios are consistently rebalanced to reflect our most current views. With no in-house funds, Brewin Dolphin has a whole of market, best of breed approach with no conflicts of interest and these are the keys to delivering successful investment solutions.  In the last 12 months, the support from advisers for our MFS has been fantastic. As firms continue to implement central investment propositions, we are delighted that we have been recognised with further accolade from the Citywire Investment Performance awards. These awards, backed by Asset Risk Consultants (ARC), are independent validation of our robust and repeatable process in delivering excellent risk-adjusted performance that will give confidence to advisers and their clients.” 

Brewin Dolphin also won the Best Overall Large Firm award, having been shortlisted last year.  

Financial Planning Is A Matter For The Head And Not The Heart

Your emotions can seriously hamper your wealth, warns Tim Walker Head of Office and Divisonal Director at Brewin Dolphin in Exeter, who says he sees many clients allowing their heart to rule their head, to their financial detriment.

 

Tim Walker Head of Office and Divisonal Director at Brewin Dolphin in Exeter

“It can be difficult to look at your personal financial circumstances from a purely objective standpoint,” he said. “Emotional attachment to certain assets, fear of upsetting friends and family and even superstition mean that people do not fulfill their financial goals even if the desire is there. It may help to engage a professional adviser who can not only advise you from a legal or tax perspective, but can also ask you testing questions you might not confront otherwise.”

Here are the most common emotional mistakes he sees people make with their money, and how to mitigate them.

Misplaced loyalty
Investors hold onto too many shares or assets in the company they work for, putting many of their eggs in the same basket. Similarly, entrepreneurs who sell their company often retain a large stake because of their emotional attachment to the business. Remember to diversify your assets to spread risk.

Hiding from reality

Many people are guilty of procrastination, especially if they are worried about their financial situation. While it is best to start saving for a pension as early as you can, it’s never too late. Claiming “it’s not worth starting a pension at my age” is not a good enough excuse not to save for your future, particularly given the tax reliefs which come with pension contributions.

Avoiding uncomfortable issues

While many people find it uncomfortable talking about succession planning, to avoid making a will on the grounds of superstition or because it is a bad omen is irrational. It may help to undertake this process with a professional adviser.

Not letting go

It is very easy to hold onto an investment – whether ‘cherished’ inherited assets or a large family home after your children have long fled the nest – for emotional reasons. If you want to pass these assets onto your family, it may make sense to sell up and release cash to facilitate IHT gifting.

Panicking about the future

Many people would like to pass their wealth onto their children, but fear giving away assets in case they can’t afford their living expenses – when clearly they will still have more than enough to live on. Mapping out your inflows and outflows with an adviser, and planning for future expenditures or liabilities, will help you work out exactly how much you need to keep and how much you can give away.

Not fully trusting your spouse with your assets

Some clients fail to make full use of their spouse or partners tax allowances, which is one of the most common mistakes. Often the main earner pays 40% or even 45% tax on their investments when their spouse is a basic or even non-taxpayer. If the assets were transferred to the lower earner, the couple would benefit by using both tax allowances to the full. Trust, it seems, is a valuable commodity!

Britain’s Self-Employed Army Missing Out On Tax Savings

London, 19.8.2014: Ahead of tomorrow’s figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on self-employed workers in the UK, experts at leading wealth manager Brewin Dolphin warn that many are not taking advantage of all the tax allowances they can, particularly those ‘olderpreneurs’ who have become self-employed later in life.

“Being self-employed can be great in terms of flexibility and freedom, but it is a double-edged sword,” said Tim Walker, Head of Brewin Dolphin in Exeter. “Employees who go freelance miss out on employee based benefits such as life and health insurance and pensions, and many do not know how to replace them. By maximising the tax savings from self-employment, Britain’s new army of freelancers can maximise their income and ensure that they are ready to have a happy retirement too. Freelancers shouldn’t have to work ‘til they drop.”

Here are six tips for maximising self-employment income and savings:

1.     Don’t forget your pension

Employers’ contributions to your pension fund abruptly cease when you leave the company, so it is important not to stick your head in the sand over pension payments. “The tax relief on your pension is still valuable, so set up your own pension as soon as you can,” advises Tim Walker. Tax relief for higher-rate taxpayers is 40% on pension contributions.

2.     Keep it in the family

If another member of your family of working age is not using his or her full tax allowance, employing them in the family business could help to save tax. “Their salary would be an allowable expense to you, and would allow them to use the current tax allowance of £10,000. “Admin and bookkeeping are popular ways of employing a spouse or adult child,” says Tim Walker. “Ensure that they are doing enough work to justify the salary you are paying though, otherwise the taxman will take a very dim view.”

3.     Claim all of your expenses

You can offset the cost of running your business against income to reduce your taxable profit.  There are full details here http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/factsheets/expenses-allowances.pdf

4.     Maximise your dividends

If you open a limited company you can pay yourself dividends and salary, and an accountant can help you to set the balance between these two forms of payment at the most beneficial level, so that you do not pay too much National Insurance. “Make sure you understand how this works before paying yourself from your limited company,” counselled Tim Walker.

5.     Don’t get caught out by VAT

 If your turnover of VAT taxable goods and services supplied within the UK for the previous 12 months is more than the current registration threshold of £81,000, or you expect it to go over that figure in the next 30 days, you must register for VAT. Not doing so will leave you with fines and a nasty bill from the taxman. “Registering for VAT can be beneficial for tax purposes,” says Tim Walker.

If you are VAT registered, you will have to charge VAT on your goods and services (known as output tax). However, you will also be able to reclaim VAT that you are charged by other businesses. This is known as input tax. As long as your input tax exceeds your output tax in a given period, you will be able to reclaim the difference from HMRC. Note that once you are registered for VAT there are penalties for late filing and payment, as well as significant amounts of paperwork; but failing to register is one of the most common causes of new business failures.

6.    Have an EXIT plan

The aim of most entrepreneurs should be to have an exit plan and selling your business can provide the capital security you need to finally hang up your boots. For those that structure their business properly, up to £10m of Entrepreneurs Relief is available.  This can reduce the CGT liability from 28% to 10% on the sale.

The Five Retirement Mistakes To Avoid

Making the right decisions at retirement will make all the difference to your financial security and affect how you pass your wealth down the generations. Tim Walker divisional director of Financial Planning at Brewin Dolphin in Exeter discusses the most common mistakes people make at this critical time and how to avoid them.

Tim Walker - Divisional Director at Brewin Dolphin Exeter

The five retirement mistakes to avoid

Making the right decisions at retirement will make all the difference to your financial security and affect how you pass your wealth down the generations. Tim Walker divisional director of Financial Planning at Brewin Dolphin in Exeter discusses the most common mistakes people make at this critical time and how to avoid them.

1. Retiring too early

It is likely your pension will be near to its highest value when you reach retirement. However, the timing of your retirement could have a significant impact on the level of income you receive. Generally, though subject to investment content and market fluctuations, the longer you can leave your pension fund invested, the larger the fund will become. This is due to compound interest which Albert Einstein described as “the eighth wonder of the world”.

2. Making the wrong choice with your pension

When you retire, most pensions do not automatically start to pay you an income. You have to make a choice: either to buy an annuity, which will pay you a guaranteed income for your lifetime, or take income drawdown, where your pension pot remains invested and you draw an income based on how your investments perform. Annuities suit those who need a guaranteed income and are a lower risk option than income drawdown, where your income may fall as well as rise.

For many people, a combination of guaranteed income through annuities and State or other pensions, combined with some income drawdown can provide the best of both worlds.

3. Not shopping around for the best annuity

If an annuity is the right choice for you, shopping around for your annuity can improve your income significantly. The shopping around process is known as using the ‘open market option’. If you are a smoker or suffer from poor health then you may be entitled to an even higher income, via an ‘enhanced annuity’ – it is always worth disclosing health conditions and lifestyle information when getting an annuity quote.

4. Not taking your full tax-free cash entitlement

After age 55 you may have the option to draw a pension commencement lump sum which is usually 25% of the fund value. If needed this could be used to clear your remaining mortgage, take a cruise or provide a supplementary income to your pension. Otherwise, leaving this money within your pension pot can offer valuable tax benefits, so take advice before you act.

5. Paying more tax than you need to

Perhaps the biggest tax mistake I see is people not using their Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance. Retirement is the time when you will convert your portfolio from pursuing a growth objective to delivering an income and this process is easier and cheaper if your investments are sheltered in ISAs. ISAs are free from capital gains tax and further income tax and can provide you with a great source of tax free income.

BREWIN DOLPHIN EXETER CELEBRATES TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY @ EXETER CASTLE

Directors and staff of Wealth Management Company, Brewin Dolphin Exeter office held their annual summer party for clients and associates at Exeter Castle.  This year’s event was extra special as the Exeter office celebrates its tenth anniversary in the City.  Over 250 guests were welcomed with a glass of Pimm’s and delicious canapés from Posh Nosh.  Representatives of the Exeter Office’s charity of the year, Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) were also present and to-date Brewin Dolphin staff have raised an incredible £2,500 for this worthy cause. 

Posh Nosh

John Crompton / Richard Pike / Tim Walker / Bryan Riley / Sean Priestly

Divisional Directors at Brewin Dolphin Exeter 

Click here to see all the photos 

Photos by James Millar 

www.brewin.co.uk/offices/exeter

As Nisa day approaches, don’t forget the rest of the tax ‘jigsaw puzzle’,

Savers who are anticipating the launch of the Nisa on July 1^st shouldn't forget the other options available to them to save tax, says leading wealth manager Brewin Dolphin.

Tim Walker - Brewin Dolphin Exeter

“It’s possible to shelter many more of your assets from the taxman than most realise, as long as you remember to put together all the pieces of the tax jigsaw puzzle,” says Tim Walker, Head of Office at Brewin Dolphin Exeter. “While the increased flexibility and rise in Isa limits is welcome, it is also important that savers consider other forms of tax planning.”

Here are some tips to complete the jigsaw puzzle:

·         Use your NISA Allowances

As well as the extra £5940 you can now put in this year’s Isa, you can also add to your child’s JISA (Junior ISA) or CTF (Child Trust Fund). The limit for these rises to £4000 on July 1^st, so make sure you use all you can. “Income and capital gains from ISAs are tax free, so consider using the allowance for your risk based investments rather than your cash,” suggests Mr Walker.

·         Make a pension contribution

The pension Lifetime Allowance (LTA) reduced to £1.25m on 6^th April this year. You need to ensure that you won’t exceed that or you will be hit with a hefty tax charge. Ignoring this, you’ve got £40,000 gross that you can put into your pension. You should check this year and contribute your maximum if your UK relevant earnings allow it. If you have neglected your pension in previous years you might also be able to add up to £50k a year for the last three years and get tax relief on that as well.

You can also make a Stakeholder contribution of up to £3600 gross for your children or non-working spouse and receive 20% tax relief on their pension.

For parents: if making a further pension payment brings your individual taxable income(s) below £50,000, you may be able to reclaim or retain child benefit.

·         Transfer your assets

Consider transferring income producing assets to your spouse or civil partner. If one of you is a lower-rate taxpayer than the other, work out the income from the asset per £1 and transfer enough to use up the lower tax band. The same applies for Capital Gains Tax, which is charged at 28% for high rate taxpayers and 18% for basic rate. Transfer assets with gains to the lower rate taxpayer and use up both of your allowances. Also remember to use y0ur annual exemption allowances for Inheritance Tax.

·         Invest into an EIS or VCT

For those with a higher risk appetite, an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Venture Capital Trust (VCT) can offer some great tax incentives. 

http://www.brewin.co.uk/offices/exeter  

Brewin Dolphin Charity Cricket Match in aid of Children's Hospice SW Coverage

Click to enlarge 

LOCAL PROFESSIONALS PITCH AGAINST EACH OTHER FOR CHARITY

A local worthy cause was bowled over when they received a cheque for £500 raised at a charity cricket match.  The event held at Sidmouth Cricket Club, was organised by Sean Priestley, Assistant Director of Brewin Dolphin Wealth Management Company Exeter office who is a long-term player and member of the club.

BREWIN DOLPHIN TEAM -Standing - James Evans, Foot Anstey; Richard Pike, Brewin Dolphin; James Osborne, Brewin Dolphin; Sean Priestley, Brewin Dolphin; Ed Fowler, Stephens Scown; Richard Wheeler, Southernhay Financial Planning.  Kneeling - Stephen Walker, Ashfords;  Graham Cridland, Ashfords; Andy Welch, Francis Clark; Richard King, Tozers; Kirill Kruchinin, Ashfords;

Directors and staff members of Brewin Dolphin donned their whites and challenged local professionals Kitsons Solicitors to the match in aid of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), charity of the year for both firms.  The 20 /20 match was won by Brewin Dolphin and monies were raised with a charity prize raffle.   

The Exeter office of Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK’s largest independently-owned private client wealth managers, chose CHSW as their charity of the year 2014 in January and has raised more than £2,500 to-date.

Tim Walker, Divisional Director and Head of Office Brewin Dolphin Exeter says: “Sean is a keen cricketer who lives in Sidmouth and we are delighted to be shirt sponsors for his local club.  He has worked hard to organise this charity match supported by Kitsons Solicitors, who also have CHSW as their chosen charity of the year.  The Exeter office of Brewin Dolphin has carried out a number of fun and interesting fund-raising activities throughout the year and all the staff have fully embraced this very worthy cause. I would like to thank Sean, Sidmouth Cricket Club and also Kitsons for joining us in this friendly match.  Although on the night Brewin Dolphin was the winning team, the real and deserving winners are CHSW.”

Children’s Hospice South West helps and support children and their families who are living with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions: every day is dedicated to making the most of every moment. Because life is unpredictable the charity is there day and night, all year long - whenever they are needed.

Naomi Dymond, Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser – CHSW says: “We are absolutely thrilled to have the support of Brewin Dolphin this year and for organising the charity cricket match against Kitsons who also support us.  It was another fun and fantastic event and thank you to everyone involved.  Including the funds from the cricket match, Brewin Dolphin has raised an incredible £2,532 so far this year, which would fund one of our specialist children’s nurses for a whole month. This really is such an incredible total, thank you. We rely almost entirely on voluntary donations so each and every penny raised helps us to continue to provide vital care and support for local families, when they need us the most.”

Photographs by Guy Richardson 

www.brewin.co.uk/offices/exeter

LOCAL PROFESSIONAL FIRMS PITCH AGAINST EACH OTHER FOR CHARITY

A local worthy cause was bowled over when they received a £500 cheque for monies raised at a charity cricket match held at Sidmouth Cricket Club.  Organised by wealth management company, Brewin Dolphin Exeter; team members donned their whites and challenged local professionals Kitsons Solicitors to a friendly match in aid of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), charity of the year for both firms. The 20 /20 match was won by Brewin Dolphin, shirt sponsor for the club, however the real winners were CHSW!

Tim Walker, Brewin Dolphin; Naomi Dymond, CHSW

Jon Crompton, Brewin Dolphin; John Endacott, Francis Clark

Damian Lannon, Francis Clark; Andy Welch, Francis Clark; Tim Walker, Brewin Dolphin

James Osborne, Brewin Dolphin; Rachel Allen, Thomas Westcott; Kelly Harkins, Brewin Dolphin; James Eva, University of Exeter

Nick James, Kitsons; Jeremy Howell; Rhodri Davey, Kitsons; Nick Johnson, Kitsons

Stephen Walker, Ashfords; Brian Wales

Richard Wheeler, Southernhay Financial Planning; Rachel Allen, Thomas Westcott; Sean Priestley, Brewin Dolphin

Rachel Allen, Thomas Westcott; Beth Rogers, Blue Chip Holidays; Kelly Harkins, Brewin Dolphin; Sally Chapman, Brewin Dolphin

Andy Welch, Francis Clark; Tim Walker, Brewin Dolphin

Richard King, Tozers; Paul Webb, Thomas Westcott

Jon Crompton, Brewin Dolphin; Naomi Dymond, CHSW; John Endacott, Francis Clark

Andy Welch, Francis Clark; Beth Rogers, Blue Chip Holidays; Tim Walker, Brewin Dolphin

James Evans, Foot Anstey; Kirrill Kruchinin, Ashfords; Sean Priestley, Brewin Dolphin

Rhiannon Bates, Brewin Dolphin; Naomi Dymond, CHSW

BREWIN TEAM -Standing - James Evans, Foot Anstey; Richard Pike, Brewin Dolphin; James Osborne, Brewin Dolphin; Sean Priestley, Brewin Dolphin; Ed Fowler, Stephens Scown; Richard Wheeler, Southernhay Financial Planning.  Kneeling - Stephen Walker, Ashfords;  Graham Cridland, Ashfords; Andy Welch, Francis Clark; Richard King, Tozers; Kirill Kruchinin, Ashfords;

Nick Johnson, Kitsons; Craig Roberts, Kitsons

Paul Webb, Thomas Westcott; Jonathan Dickson, Kitsons; John Crapper, Kitsons

Nick James, Kitsons; Damian Lannon, Francis Clark; Warren Douglas, Kitsons

Joel Derman, Kitsons; Christian Robertson, Kitsons; 

David Turner, Kitsons; Rory Wakeling, Kitsons

Kelly Harkins, Brewin Dolphin ; James Eva, University of Exeter 

    Christian Robertson, Kitsons; Nick James; Kitsons; Matthew Stranger, Kitsons

Claire Taylor, Southernhay Financial Planning; Rob Gray, Southernhay Financial Planning

Photographs by Guy Richardson - www.guy-richardson.com  

www.brewin.co.uk/offices/exeter