BlackRock has an interactive tool for advisers and consumers to help plan for major life events, including financing a child’s future, starting a business and retirement.
The BlackRock Plan for Income offers a range of services to advisers through the plan, including an income navigator, an adviser toolkit and product finder.
The income navigator allows advisers to stipulate their client’s goals, timeframe and lump sum, and will then generate an interactive chart to see how an investment would have performed historically across a range of income generating asset classes. The navigator also reveals the typical portfolio characteristics and investing habits of investors in certain age groups.
The adviser toolkit, available in a virtual format and hard copy, include tips and advice on how to create an income plan, as well as conversation starters and client insiders which provide a variety of scenarios based on analysis from the BlackRock Investor Pulse survey.
The product finder is a guide to a suggested mix of active and passive BlackRock income generating products which could help clients generate income or grow their wealth.
For the consumer, the plan outlines a four-step process to build a personalised action plan by setting goals, with the ability to look at steps that people in similar circumstances have taken and explore different investment options.
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Comment:
BlackRock discourages what it refers to as “mental ring-fencing” – people assigning pots of money to specific purposes in their head.
It states that non-advised clients too often keep their wealth in cash, while advised clients in turn rely more heavily on equities, bonds, and property.
The Investor Pulse survey revealed that 68 per cent of Britons’ investments are in cash, despite savers voicing concerns about whether they can achieve long-term goals. Cash may be considered good in terms of safety, but does not offer the same income as it would if invested.
The research also demonstrated that many people are still unaware of how much they need to save for retirement and have underestimated the size of pension pot they will require to fund their desired lifestyle by more than half.
The Plan for Income was developed to aid both advisers and consumers to invest in a manner sufficient to reach their lifetime goals. Income investments are a vital component of a savings portfolio in order to achieve future financial stability.
A range of income products that could be considered as part of the client’s portfolio is suggested in the plan in order to address specific growth and income needs.
