I’m sure we all receive post that, open, think ‘I need to keep that’ and place it in a pile labelled ‘things I need to deal with/file later’.
Of course realistically this probably never happens – the pile gets bigger and some post is possibly not even opened.
A lot of financial institutions send statements electronically these days, but unless you print these off (which sort of defeats the object of receiving them electronically) where do you save them?
Another factor is the majority of us do not hold all of our pensions and investments with the same insurer and of course there is the addition of bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, loans…..the list goes on.
So how do we keep track of our financial position?
There are several ways to reduce the paper flow:
1. A secure portal could allow you to upload important documents to be held in one place.
2. A “Wrap platform” would allow you to hold your pensions and investments in one place with the flexibility to allow you to invest in a wide range of funds and equities.
3. A solution that gives you a complete picture of your entire financial life – it lets you view all your bank, credit card, mortgage and loan statements alongside each other.
Document Portal
This is a mechanism for secure document storage, sharing, distribution and workflow between companies and individuals.
At Gibson Lamb any letters or documents can be sent through our secure portal which removes the need to keep important papers in a secure fireproof box!
Wrap Platform
There are many wrap platforms available through many insurers with varying costs and services attached but ultimately doing the same job of holding your pensions and investments in one place.
At Gibson Lamb we predominantly use two well-known providers (Standard Life and Aviva) depending on which service proposition is chosen.
Aggregated web solution
This is a site that will let you view all of your bank, credit card, mortgage and loan statements alongside each other irrespective of whether they are provided by different lenders.
Moneyinfo is a service provided by Gibson Lamb for the benefit of our clients within our Private Client and Wealthbuilder service propositions. It provides you with the ability to view all of your financial information in one place, with a single login and password – convenient and simple. You can view your latest transactions just as if you had logged onto your online banking, and track all your assets and liabilities.
Moneyinfo also
- Shows you how you are spending your money
- Helps you understand your investments – it provides you with daily prices on any investments you may hold
For the first time your entire financial life is up to date in one place.
Ultimately the main consequence of NOT using technology is not having the information at your fingertips. Being able to know the numbers in your finances can allow you to make better decisions, manage risk and feel more in control. And these tools are so easy to implement, most people wish they had done it sooner. If you would like advice on how to pull all this together, get in touch. We do it all the time, and as they say “it’s easy when you know how”.
You can call Gibson Lamb on 0207 839 3582 or email enquiries@gibsonlamb.co.uk