Truly Independent Financial Advice
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Hello, I’m Hugh Matthews DipPFS, Certs CII (MP&ER) - an Independent Financial Planner at Crystal Wealth Management. Welcome to my individual website for prospective new clients who would like to learn more about what I do and how I might be able to help you.
Crystal Wealth is a team of Independent Advisers and Planners with well over two centuries’ professional experience. Founded in 2003, we help individuals and businesses who are predominantly based across the South West, although we do extend our support throughout the UK where appropriate. Unlike some other big name companies that you may come across, we are not tied to a limited number of products. We are proud to be truly independent and work with the UK’s leading providers to offer genuine whole of market advice. How We Can Support Your Finances
Peace of Mind
Your wealth can affect where you live, where your children go to school and university, and when dialing down work to begin retiring. There are a variety of financial instruments and techniques we can use to increase your wealth to achieve your goals and objectives and ultimately become more financially independent. We assess how much risk you should take and what you actually need to take to achieve your goals. 
Confidence in the Future
Explain the complex into something more easily understandable to give you better financial clarity. Determine the rate at which you need to save to meet your medium and long-term needs. We look at old pensions from previous employment to see if they can be optimised. We will help you determine when is the earliest that you will be able to retire and how much money you will need to do this on your terms. 
Potentially prevent you from running out of money When you have retired, we help you figure out how much you should take out for living expenses. We will keep updating the numbers as your circumstances evolve. 
Your Business Company Directors have certain privileges and options that are not available to regular employees that you might not be aware of. 
Reduce Risk and Volatility
Help you put the right asset classes from the right sectors and the right regional areas in the right amounts into your portfolio. Prevent yourself from making emotional investment mistakes during inevitable market volatility in both bull and bear markets. Regularly rebalance assets to ensure that your portfolio is not over or under exposed in certain areas. 
Efficient Tax Planning
Strategic utilisation of tax losses, gains and allowances as appropriate to properly reduce your tax liabilities. Determine the most tax efficient way to divide your investments between tax-exempt, tax-deferred and taxable accounts. 
Save Money
Find better value policies or superior levels of cover. We help couples determine how they combine their objectives together into a single plan in a cost effective and tax efficient way ensuring involvement in the decision making. Help determine what kind of insurance you need, how much, and the best way to buy cover. We also ensure that your life insurance is written using the appropriate legal trust instrument. 
Your Children We help you make decisions about giving money to your children, grandchildren or others. We can also help you with setting aside money for education for children, grandchildren or others and give them a smart start as investors. |
Hugh’s career in financial services began in 2001 as a para-planner, which is a qualified, knowledgeable resource who supports advisors in portfolio planning for clients. Having progressed through the ranks of mortgage advisor and business owner in February 2019 Hugh joined the Crystal Wealth Management team. Read more.
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Ethical and Sustainable Investing and Charitable Gifting
If you want to invest and contribute to society in alignment with your values we can certainly help you to make a difference to what is important to you. Do you know the difference between Sustainable and Ethical Investing? The simplest way to explain it is that Ethical Investing focuses on negative screening and avoidance, whereas Sustainable Investing is about positive selection and positive screening. Sustainable Investing lets individuals embed their values into their investments by backing companies that have socially useful products and services that lead on environmental, social and governance management - all with a strong focus on delivering investment returns.
If you want to invest and contribute to society in alignment with your values we can certainly help you to make a difference to what is important to you. Do you know the difference between Sustainable and Ethical Investing? The simplest way to explain it is that Ethical Investing focuses on negative screening and avoidance, whereas Sustainable Investing is about positive selection and positive screening. Sustainable Investing lets individuals embed their values into their investments by backing companies that have socially useful products and services that lead on environmental, social and governance management - all with a strong focus on delivering investment returns.
Our Services
We work with all types of clients at all different stages of life – Individuals, Families, Self Employed Business Owners and Company Directors. We can usually help anyone improve their financial circumstances in at least one way, if not more.
Security – we can look at how best to maximise your protection under the Financial Services Compensation scheme (FSCS) – so investments are “safer”
Experience – we have many years of experience in dealing with the ups and downs of financial life – we are there for you when you retire or receive a windfall. We can help with a business sale, planning a legacy or receiving an inheritance. It's good to be able to talk to someone who has been through it before – that is what we are there for. Our full-time dedication frees up your time making you able to do what is important to you.
Experience – we have many years of experience in dealing with the ups and downs of financial life – we are there for you when you retire or receive a windfall. We can help with a business sale, planning a legacy or receiving an inheritance. It's good to be able to talk to someone who has been through it before – that is what we are there for. Our full-time dedication frees up your time making you able to do what is important to you.
Coaching behaviours – humans have evolved to survive over many thousands of years. Unfortunately, we have also learned some bad habits and biases in the process. Many of them we are not even aware of. We buy high and sell low, we value the near-term more than the long-term, we hold onto investments that have fallen, we believe information that reinforces our own views. Part of an adviser’s role is to act as a coach – helping you to avoid these emotional mistakes and guide them to a better future.
Holding your’ hands through difficult times – divorce, death, redundancy and making wills are all stressful times. We have the experience, expertise and understanding to assist and guide you through them. We are there when you need us most.
Holding your’ hands through difficult times – divorce, death, redundancy and making wills are all stressful times. We have the experience, expertise and understanding to assist and guide you through them. We are there when you need us most.
Expertise and qualifications – we have built our expertise over many years. We are an Appointed Representative of In Partnership who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We are required to have a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS) issued by an independent professional standards body. We are also required to maintain minimum standards and conduct regular Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Keeping up to date with all financial matters allows us to give you the best possible advice.
Achieving your goals – We help you work out and achieve your financial goals. We ask you questions in a relaxed but structured way to help them understand risks and opportunities and build a clear plan for their future. Without a long-term plan, their finances are unlikely to head in the right direction. Our job is to give you confidence in the future.
Achieving your goals – We help you work out and achieve your financial goals. We ask you questions in a relaxed but structured way to help them understand risks and opportunities and build a clear plan for their future. Without a long-term plan, their finances are unlikely to head in the right direction. Our job is to give you confidence in the future.
Making the complex simple – while we are experienced and well qualified, we never forget whose money we are looking after. The simpler we can make your plans, the more likely you are to stick to them – and that is a key measure of their success. We also help reduce your paperwork by making sure you keep the important things and bin the spam.
Building trust in your financial future – we can spot opportunities – understanding your objectives allows us to be alert to opportunities – new products, new tax freedoms, better strategies. We are your eyes and ears in the ever-changing tax, legal and product markets.
Building trust in your financial future – we can spot opportunities – understanding your objectives allows us to be alert to opportunities – new products, new tax freedoms, better strategies. We are your eyes and ears in the ever-changing tax, legal and product markets.
We aim to keep you on track – once we have established your risk profile, we will manage and review your investments to make sure you stay on track over the coming months and years. We assess your risk profile regularly and the risk of your portfolio to make sure they are in tune with the goals that were set out. If necessary, based on our experience and information, adjustments will be proposed to you for approval before any changes are put into place.
We aim to keep you on track – once we have established your risk profile, we will manage and review your investments to make sure you stay on track over the coming months and years. We assess your risk profile regularly and the risk of your portfolio to make sure they are in tune with the goals that were set out. If necessary, based on our experience and information, adjustments will be proposed to you for approval before any changes are put into place.
Financial adviser benefits - when it comes to delivering better outcomes for customers, we believe financial advice is game changing. Recent research by Royal London reveals that professional advice offers so much more to customers than just practical and financial benefits. It also helps to improve their emotional well-being by making them feel better about their money and themselves – especially in times of crisis. By sharing these findings with you, we hope to bring the value of advice to life, for everyone.
Customers who have an ongoing relationship with their advisor feel:
Customers who have an ongoing relationship with their advisor feel:
- More in control of their finances
- More financially secure and stable
- More prepared to cope with life shocks
Vanguard estimated that advisers can add over 3% per annum in net returns for their clients. Click here to open the whitepaper.
Testimonials
“Hugh is a very knowledgeable and helpful IFA. As well as being very efficient and with good knowledge of pensions and insurance, Hugh is very friendly and personable and really nice to deal with. As new clients, Hugh patiently talked us through the products and was very understanding when we needed some time to think through the options he presented to us. We would be happy to recommend Hugh and we look forward to working with him again in the future.” |
"Hugh has managed my finances for several years now and highlighted the benefits of being a Company Director that I had no idea were available to me. |
"Hugh provides a friendly and approachable service tailored to the needs of each individual. His pension and investment recommendations are far superior to my existing arrangements. Only wish I had contacted him years ago! Highly recommended." |
"Hugh was very helpful and clear in his recommendations, both finding me increased mortgage protection and a great investment fund. He has been on hand to answer any questions all the way through the process and been great at explaining everything to me as we go." |
