Topic: Financial Advising

Main Task

As an independent financial adviser (IFA), you have been approached by your managing director, who has asked that you investigate how property can be used as an investment for private investors. The managing director recognises there are a number of ways in which this asset class can be held, through various different forms of investment media.

The managing director would like a full report that includes comprehensive details regarding taxation, as well as the various investment options available, and also to focus on what the benefits and drawbacks of property investments are, when compared with other asset classes.

Your report should be presented in an appropriate style and should use appropriate technical language. The report should include any supporting calculations to underpin your considerations; you are required to provide a comprehensive discussion on the subject and must provide a clear Executive Summary.

Note: Coursework responses for the Main Task must not exceed 4,000 words. The assignment has been developed to be answerable within this word count and words over this maximum will not be marked. If you choose to use any quotes in the Main Task, these will count towards the maximum word count. You should ensure that any quotes used are clearly identified as such, enclosed in double quotation marks, with the source in brackets afterwards, eg: "The inheritance tax thresholds....." (www.gov.uk). There is no minimum number of words. It is left to the judgement of each candidate, depending on the structure and content of their answer, as to how many words they use up to the maximum limit to formulate their response.

NB: This task does not require the completion of a bibliography.

Question 1

Helen is self-employed, aged 25 and single. She has recently taken out a mortgage for the first time, to buy her own residential property in the UK.

State the reasons why an income protection policy may be of benefit to her, when compared with an accident, sickness and unemployment policy.

Question 2

Other than charges, premium levels, and financial strength, state the factors that an independent financial adviser should consider, when comparing providers of critical illness insurance policies, set up on a whole-of-life basis.

Question 3

State the reasons why a financial adviser should consider using a multi-manager fund for her clients' collective investments, rather than selecting the individual funds herself.

Question 4

Briefly explain the features of Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS) and how these schemes operate, together with how they can benefit a client when considering pension planning options.

No# of Pages: 14 pages (3,500 words)

Subject Area: Finance

Paper Style: Cambridge

No# of Sources Required: Not Required

Language: English (U.K)