What do you need the money for? It may be specifically for a purpose (income in retirement, provision of cash for university fees) or it may be that you aren’t yet sure how things will pan out. We will ask you about your plans to find out what you're trying to achieve with the capital.

When do you need it? A time-frame is crucial. For example, if this capital is needed in the next 12 months, then clearly a cash-based investment is the only suitable option. If it is to be used to provide income in retirement a lot further into the future, we can consider different options.

How much risk are you prepared to take with it? We can't remove risk from our lives altogether, so the best thing we can do is try and make it work in our favour. We'll need to discuss and consider your attitude to risk and manage your asset allocation accordingly.

Technically, asset allocation is an investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio’s assets according to an individual’s goals, risk tolerance and investment horizon.

Put more simply, the information you provide us will dictate the asset balance of your investments to ensure that your portfolio does what is expected of it. We consider it crucial that we always recommend a mix of asset classes. In our experience, investing solely in one specific sector such as Equities or Property is simply too high a risk for an investor to take, and may mean you miss opportunities that are on offer in other sectors. The aim is always to balance both risk and reward.