Thinkpiece

15 Dec Thinkpiece

In this update: 

• Your financial planning journey
• Patience

Your financial planning journey

It’s important to remember that financial planning is not an event – it’s a journey. Your plan must evolve just as your life and experiences evolve, coupled with the impact of external circumstances.

More of us are living longer with people remaining active and healthy into their 7th and 8th decades, and want to enjoy new travel experiences, continue hobbies and support family.

Financial planning needs careful attention. It is important to optimise the timing and sourcing of withdrawals across pensions, ISAs, investment portfolios, and other structures for maximum efficiency over longer lifespans.

Take the time to plan effectively and efficiently, ideally with your trusted financial planner, and then step back and live your life.

Successful investing isn’t about excitement or gambling thrills—it’s about methodically building wealth over time through informed decisions. As advisers, our goal is to help you achieve your financial and life objectives.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

Beverly Sills

Patience

A great deal of time and energy is given to take action in some spheres of financial planning and portfolio management, in a rush to ‘fix’ the current situation, namely the likely fall in one’s net worth during turbulent times.

We can feel a need to take action, to do something, to tinker, to switch to this or that to make it better, make it go away. Very often this very action can prove counterproductive. A classic example is where someone seeks to invest into ‘what’s working now’. This is always a dangerous approach.

The stock market rewards the patient and punishes the rest.

One must learn when one should move, and when one should stay still and hold the space….wait things out. This can come personally from experience (often through not following this principle in the first place) or by seeking professional counsel and advice. 

The truth is that from time to time, as investors, we must be patient. There are always greater things playing out which are beyond our control.

The difficulty comes in that the (stock) market doesn’t know our timing, and it wouldn’t change it’s behaviour if it did. This is why one must have an appropriately structured plan around our money (portfolio), including a healthy margin of safety (cash) to help see us through any temporary fluctuations.

If you don’t have a plan for your money, it will leave you.

Summary

• Consider your financial planning as being measured in decades, not days, months or years.
• Develop a long term strategy that is also adaptable to unpredictable events. 
• Remember that every investor has to learn to be patient from time to time.
• Focus on what you can control.
• Take a long term view.

Your opportunity

If you’ve not yet put in place a sound financial plan and you’d like to know more, please feel free to contact us on 01626 305318 or via email here.

The value of investments can go down as well as up. You may end up with less back than you have paid in. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

The views expressed are not to be taken as financial advice. Professional advice should be sought before proceeding.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2026
from all at Stover Financial Planners.