Put a plan around your lump sum
Wondering what to do with an inheritance in the UK, or with any sudden lump sum, is more common than it feels from the inside. Money arrives from an estate, a property or business sale, or a settlement, and with it comes pressure to do something quickly, usually from people with something to sell.
The honest answer is that the first move is rarely a product. It is a plan: what this money needs to do for you, over what timescale, and how it fits with everything you already have. That is what an independent, whole-of-market adviser builds, and our introduction to one is free and without obligation.
How an independent adviser helps with a lump sum
First, the foundations
Before anything is invested: expensive debt, an emergency reserve, and any near-term spending set aside in cash. A good adviser walks through this unglamorous list first, because it is what makes the investing that follows safe.
A goal for every pound
Money for the next two years belongs in different places from money for the next twenty. Splitting the lump sum by purpose, spending, security, growth, gifts, is what turns a balance into a plan.
Investing with the tax wrappers working
ISAs, pensions and general accounts are taxed differently, and using allowances across tax years often adds more than clever fund selection. An adviser sequences contributions so the same portfolio keeps more of its growth.
Keeping an eye on inheritance tax
An inheritance can move your own estate into inheritance tax territory. If that is you, gifting and estate planning belong in the same conversation, done calmly and early rather than urgently and late.