James Maxwell is a wealth adviser with United Advisers Marine. UAM is a member of Nexus Global. The published information was correct at the time of preparation and does not constitute investment advice. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. +34 871 115 928; unitedadvisersmarine.com
As you build your yachting career and set goals for the future, it’s critical that you align your financial goals with what you hope to achieve. Financial goal setting is a crucial step to help ensure you have the money to help achieve the future you want — whether that’s in retirement or for the career you want, post yachting. Are you planning to have children, where do you want to live, and how do you want to support yourself in the future? Being clear on your ambition now can help you build the right financial plan.
So how exactly should you start this process? First, you should be clear on your short-, medium-, and long-term objectives. What are your plans for next year, the next three to five years, and the next 10-plus years? How much money will you need to meet those goals? These objectives should be based on your values and your plans for your life.
Short-term goals: These could be based around the next year, e.g., do you have any short-term savings as an emergency plan? Do you need to buy a car or van or are you planning to travel, for example?
Medium-term goals: Here you might want to look at your plans post-yachting. How long do you want to work in the industry? What do you want to do afterwards? Do you want to start a business or invest in property? Will you need startup capital? Is your plan to start a family or buy a house — how much do you need to save for that?
Long-term goals: These are often harder but involve you stepping back and looking at where you might be in 10 to 20 years.
What are your retirement plans? Do you want to travel? Do you want to retire early?
In all these scenarios, you should consider different ways of saving and investing. Short-term goals should be matched with easy access savings schemes, while for longer term goals, you could consider longer term arrangements, which aren’t as easy to access short term but often deliver better results over the life of the plan. And it’s crucial that you get the right advice to help match all the different options to the plans you have in place. Good financial advisers will take you through a structured planning process, which will help you clarify what you’re looking to achieve, match the right arrangements to your goals, and then regularly review the performance of your savings and investments against those evolving goals.
This article originally ran in the March 2023 issue of Dockwalk.