Staying informed about your account activity is an important part of your financial journey and industry-standard documents are to be expected from all platform providers. Regardless of which platform holds your investments and pension, here’s what you can expect in the year ahead.

Your regular account check-ins
Every quarter, you can look forward to receiving a statement from your platform provider – like a friendly check-in from your portfolio. It will provide a snapshot of your investments and pensions, recent transactions, and overall performance.

With your pension savings, once some or all of them are moved into a drawdown account you will receive annual valuations of this account (in addition to, and separately from, your quarterly statements). These valuations will include projections to help you understand what your future pension income could look like.

There’s no need to keep every statement once you’ve read it if you don’t want to, as we can provide you with updated valuations when needed or at each review.

Retirement planning reminders
If you have a pension account and are approaching your selected retirement date, your provider will keep nudging you about this. Starting at age 50, and then every five years until your retirement date, you will receive a reminder letter to get you to start thinking about planning ahead. Additionally, six months and six weeks before your retirement date, you will receive further communications prompting you to consider your options for your pension savings and the steps you may need to take.

As you approach retirement, we’ll be working closely with you to ensure you have a clear plan in place. When the time comes to start taking money from your pension, we’ll be here to guide and support you every step of the way. It’s also worth remembering that pensions are a political hot topic, and the rules can change. What applied five years before your retirement might not be the same when you get there. For these reasons, it’s ok to safely discard these reminders once you’ve read them.

Tracking charges
Once a year, a detailed report showing costs and charges will arrive. This will tell you the total cost of your investments over the previous year and the impact of charges on your return. Again, you don’t need to keep it once you’ve read it if you don’t want to, you can safely dispose of it.

Updates on investment trades
When funds are bought and sold, you’ll receive trade confirmations – proof that your transactions have been successfully processed. You can expect these confirmations for each investment trade, so there can be lots of them.

We will usually set them up to go into your online account. But, if you’re receiving a large number of paper trade confirmations, we can help you switch to a more convenient and eco-friendly online option. Going paperless does mean faster access to your trade details, reduced clutter, and a more secure way to receive your investment information.

If you’d like to make the switch, please talk to us, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Quarterly market updates for advised and discretionary managed portfolios
For those with investments in our more intensively managed portfolios, you will receive market and investment updates each quarter. This will provide insights into market trends and performance, along with details of any necessary adjustments to your portfolio. These updates help ensure your investments continue to align with your goals and market conditions.

Once you have returned any paperwork required, you can file these for your records or safely dispose of them if you prefer.

Tax time, made simple
In this new tax year, you may receive important documents to help you complete a tax return. These might include a consolidated tax voucher if you invest within a General Investment Account or a P60 if you have taken a withdrawal from a drawdown account.

Throughout the year you may also receive payslips if you are taking regular withdrawals from a drawdown account.

Keeping these tax-related documents safe means you will have the information you need, right when you need it.

Safely disposing of financial documents
If you find yourself with financial documents you no longer need, it’s important to dispose of them securely.

Shredding paper copies helps prevent identity theft, while for digital files, you can delete them from your device and clear your recycle bin or use secure file deletion software.

Please remember, if you ever need to refer to a document you’ve discarded, we can provide a duplicate copy.

We’re with you every step of the way
If you have concerns about something you have received, we encourage you to contact us to speak with your adviser. We are here to help you understand your documents and answer any questions you may have.

By staying on top of these updates you can ensure you are making informed decisions every step of the way.