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Clientele Category: Entrepreneurs

Michael Willgrass

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Expertise

Michael’s expertise lies within a wide range of financial planning. He has considerable previous experience in restructuring restricted stock units, performance share units, and bonus payments. Michael also enjoys working with offshore capital to ensure efficiencies are being utilised.

In addition, he has a lot of experience in drawdown planning and helping to structure tax efficient income streams; with a particular focus on comparing pension drawdown solutions.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

Experience

Michael joined Apollo Private Wealth in 2019, following three years’ experience in the financial services industry, including a year with Natixis SA working on the fixed income desk within the investment banking division. Then followed a move to Amsterdam, where Michael worked on the fixed income brokerage desk for a boutique sales trader, STX Fixed Income. After his experience in Amsterdam, Michael decided to join the private wealth sphere, and in 2018 completed a 12 month intensive SJP Financial Adviser Academy programme.

Michael takes great pride in creating long term relationships with his clients. Through holistic financial planning and investment solutions, he efficiently propositions his clients’ portfolios in order to maximise their wealth potential. He predominantly works with professionals in the private equity, legal, technology and investment banking industries.

Michael is also the Head of Advisory Development at Apollo Private Wealth. He undertook this role in 2023, to train our financial advisers, ensuring their development and growth is well looked after.

Qualifications

  • CII Level 4 Financial Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
  • Leadership Principles Diploma, Harvard Business School
  • BSc Economics, University of Sheffield

Personal interests

Michael enjoys spending time with family, and playing sport. In particular, he is a keen golfer and cyclist. Michael has a young Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Ixtlan. He also loves to play chess, travel, and takes an interest in ancient civilisations.

Angelo Crisafulli

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Expertise

Angelo takes a holistic approach to his clients’ financial planning, providing support in areas including; investment planning; retirement planning; estate planning; tax planning; and protection. In particular, he works with; high net worth individuals; senior executives; professionals in the investment banking, hedge fund, private equity and asset management sectors; and small business owners.

Experience

With over 25 years’ experience in the financial sector, Angelo began his career as an investment manager for primary asset managers and banks, including Deutsche Bank and Anima SGR; before moving into wealth management.

Coming through the SJP Financial Adviser Academy programme, Angelo joined Apollo Private Wealth at the end of 2017 and has since developed his experience in financial advisory and financial planning.

Qualifications

  • CISI Level 4 Qualification
  • Masters Degree in Economics, Bocconi University
  • MSc in Management Engineering, Politecnico di Milano

Personal interests

Away from work, Angelo enjoys spending time with his family, listening to music, reading a good book, and travelling, when he takes part in outdoor activities such as skiing, sailing and running.

Kabir Virk

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Expertise

Kabir creates long term relationships with his clients, through holistic tax planning and investment solutions, effectively managing their portfolios to maximise their wealth potential. He specialises in working with senior professionals in both private equity and investment banking, understanding the challenges that individuals face in these fields and providing them with the most appropriate solutions.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

Experience

Kabir has been with Apollo Private Wealth since 2018, prior to which he worked for a well-known US wealth management firm. He sees himself as having a metaphorical “seat on a client’s table” as an integral part of their big life decisions, helping them to achieve their goals.

Qualifications

  • Degree in Finance & Economics from University of Reno, Nevada USA
  • CISI Investment Advice Diploma Level 4

Hugh Vernon

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Expertise

Hugh focuses on building long-term relationships with clients. He is innovative in his approach and provides clients with holistic financial planning and wealth management solutions. His main focus is on professionals within Private Equity and Investment Banking, as well as business owners across many industries.

Experience

In the early days of Hugh’s career he worked in oil and gas recruitment for roles in the Middle East. Hugh then spent three and a half years at a full service, boutique investment bank catering to private and public institutions, and high net worth individual investors. Hugh joined Apollo Private Wealth in August 2018, initially in business development and paraplanning roles, before becoming an adviser in late 2019.

Qualifications

  • CISI Level 4 Investment Advice Diploma
  • Mechanical Engineering at University of Hull

Hugh previously gained the Series 7 and Series 3 licences in the United States, to provide advice to HNW individuals.

Personal interests

Hugh has a young family, and continues to take an interest in sports, having previously played American football, rugby, and competed in various long distance running events.

Myles Deniran

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Expertise

Myles takes great pride in building exceptionally strong, trusted and long-lasting relationships with his clients, through holistic financial planning, tax optimisation and wealth management solutions. He has an exceptional work ethic and passion for helping individuals achieve their financial goals and aspirations.

By combining his expertise in financial planning, investment management, and estate planning with a commitment to personalised client servicing, he empowers clients to achieve their financial objectives and secure a prosperous future.

Experience

Myles joined Apollo Private Wealth in 2021 with a decade’s experience in the financial services industry; including 4 years at another wealth management firm; and 2 years with Vitality, during which Myles consulted financial advisers and private banks on their investment and insurance propositions.

Qualifications

  • Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
  • Certificate in Advanced Mortgage Advice
  • Member of the Society of Mortgage Professionals
  • Certificate in Equity Release
  • Certificate in Insurance
  • BSc Economics

Personal interests

Myles enjoys spending quality time with his family, as well as running and playing various sports; particularly football; and has been said to have a similar playing style to Cristiano Ronaldo. He is also a diploma level pianist and violinist, and retains a keen interest in music.

Richard Thorne

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Expertise

Within financial planning, Richard’s focus is on tax efficiency, whether someone is in the accumulation phase of wealth building, or whether they’re in drawdown during retirement.

Richard works with his clients to reduce their income tax liability, utilising annual allowances and approved tax efficient investment vehicles, while simultaneously ensuring they have a drawdown strategy ahead of retirement.

Taking a holistic approach, Richard looks to understand clients’ goals in order of priority, then designs a coherent financial plan; holding regular reviews and adjusting where required.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.

Experience

Richard has worked in financial services since 2017, beginning his career in foreign exchange. Subsequently, he chose a career in wealth management as investing interested him from a young age.

Richard believes that financial planning is very important for everyone. He finds it rewarding to alleviate financial stress from his clients, so they can concentrate on other aspects of their lives.

Qualifications

  • Investment Advice Diploma – Level 4
  • BSC Information Management and Business Studies at Loughborough University

Personal interests

Richard likes to keep active and is a regular at his local gym. He grew up in the countryside with lots of walks on his doorstep and still loves hiking. 

Shil Shah

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Expertise

Shil takes pride in building strong, trusted, and long-lasting relationships with his clients, advising on a range of wealth management solutions. He specialises in providing bespoke solutions through his understanding of tax-smart investment and retirement strategies, estate planning and comprehensive protection policies.

Experience

Shil joined Apollo Private Wealth in 2023 and brings nearly a decade’s experience in the financial services industry. This included 2 years at Deloitte, and 6 years at KPMG, in their respective private client teams; working with HNW individuals and families in the UK.

Qualifications

  • CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland – ICAS Tax Professional (ITP)
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland – Chartered Accountant (CA)
  • BSc Mathematics, King’s College London

Personal interests

In his spare time, Shil enjoys spending quality time with his family; playing basketball; and is an avid Manchester United fan.

Victoria Trapitsyna

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Expertise

Victoria helps clients discover practical solutions to the financial issues that concern them most. She covers a wide range of financial planning elements, including; retirement planning; wealth protection and preservation; savings and investment planning and tax planning.

Victoria places great emphasis on maintaining a long term relationship with clients, and becoming a source of trusted advice as their financial needs evolve over the years.

Experience

Victoria has worked in financial services since 2014, but prior to that comes from a legal background.

Qualifications

  • Chartered Financial Planner
  • MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
  • Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning

Personal interests

Victoria loves travelling, and spending time with her children.

Saneka Francis-Lawrence

Expertise

Saneka helps HNW individuals and their families, across the financial planning spectrum including with protection, tax optimisation and estate planning.

Experience

Saneka joined Apollo in 2024 with over 10 years’ experience in banking and the financial services industry, ranging from the largest life insurance company in the Caribbean, to multinational banks including Santander and Lloyds. Most recently, Saneka was with another St. James’s Place practice for two years.

Qualifications

  • Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DIPFA) with London Institute of Banking and Finance.
  • BA in History from University of the West Indies

Personal interests

Saneka spends as much time as she can creating memories with her son and their family. She loves to read a good book in her downtime.

Drawing Income From Your Business Tax Efficiently

Introduction

There are three primary methods for a business owner to withdraw profits from their limited company: salary, dividends, and pension contributions (though the latter involves setting aside funds from the company for future use). Alternatively, profits can be retained within the company and later accessed through the sale proceeds.

The primary consideration in choosing among these methods is the net benefit to the owner in terms of payment structure. While nobody enjoys paying taxes or national insurance, optimising these payments to maximise benefits is prudent. Paying taxes isn’t necessarily negative if it results in more money in your pocket when you need it.

For instance, a basic rate taxpayer making a pension contribution provides a straightforward illustration of net benefit. By receiving tax relief on the contribution, they effectively turn an £80 net contribution into an £85 net benefit, taking into account tax relief, and future tax paid. Given this, one must decide whether to retain 100% of the £80 in their bank account or make a pension contribution to receive 85% of £100 at a future date.

However, for the owner of a limited company, the decision is more complex, considering various factors beyond simple tax implications.

Taxation applying to extracting profit

Corporation Tax

Corporation tax is a levy imposed on the profits of a registered business entity.

The primary corporation tax rate is now 25%, applicable to profits exceeding £250,000. Small businesses, defined as those with profits below £50,000, continue to be taxed at the small profits rate (SPR) of 19%.

For companies earning profits above £50,000 but below £250,000, the full main rate will apply, yet they will receive marginal rate relief. This means their actual corporation tax rate will gradually increase from 19% to a figure between the small profits rate and the main rate.

The SPR does not extend to close investment-holding companies, such as those controlled by a small group of individuals not primarily engaged in commercial trading or land investment for letting purposes. For instance, a Family Investment Company may not qualify for the SPR.

Before calculating profits, business expenses such as employee salaries (including those of business owners acting as employees), employers’ National Insurance contributions, and pension contributions (subject to the “wholly and exclusively” rule) are deductible.

Employers National Insurance Contributions

Employers are obligated to pay National Insurance contributions for their employees once their salary surpasses specific thresholds.

Be aware that the employment allowance, which provides up to £5,000 per year towards a company’s National Insurance contributions, may not be applicable to company owners unless they employ additional staff. You cannot utilise the employment allowance if you are the director and the sole employee earning above the Secondary Threshold, or if you operate as a service company subject to ‘IR35 rules’, and your sole income comes from the intermediary (e.g., your personal service company, limited company, or partnership). If you are part of a group, only one company or charity within the group is eligible to claim the allowance.

Income Tax and Employee NI

Income will be taxed in line with standard employee taxation. You’ll receive a personal allowance, which currently stands at £12,570 per annum. However, it’s important to note that there’s a reduction for individuals with adjusted net income exceeding £100,000.

Similar to employer contributions, the rates and amounts of employee National Insurance (NI) contributions can vary. However, for most employees, NI is charged on weekly income between £242 to £967 at 8%, and on income above £967 at 2%.

Dividends

Dividends represent payments made from company profits to its shareholders. They are subject to taxation in a consistent manner across dividends received from companies, unit trusts, and open-ended investment companies.

Since the 2016/17 tax year, the previous dividend taxation system underwent significant changes. The dividend tax credit was eliminated and replaced by the structure outlined below.

Each individual is entitled to an annual Dividend Allowance of £500. Subsequent dividends are taxed as follows:

  • Basic Rate: 8.75%
  • Higher Rate: 33.75%
  • Additional Rate: 39.35%

It’s crucial to note that the 0% rate serves as a starting point for dividend taxation and not a deduction from the dividend amount received. For instance, if an individual exhausts their personal allowance, falls £500 below the higher rate threshold, and receives £1,000 in dividends, £500 of those dividends would be subject to higher rate dividend tax.

Furthermore, it’s essential to understand that the entire dividend payment is considered in the tax calculation, not just the portion exceeding £500. While the initial £500 enjoys a 0% rate, any surplus is taxed according to the respective tax band. Dividends can offset any unused Personal Allowance before applying the £500 allowance. Consequently, an individual with no other income can receive dividends up to £13,070 before incurring tax liability.

What’s the most tax-efficient method for extracting profits from your business?

A straightforward solution to maximise tax efficiency is to make pension contributions. As previously explained, these contributions are not subject to corporation tax or National Insurance when made by the business. Moreover, upon benefiting from these contributions, 25% is typically tax-free, with subsequent amounts taxed at marginal rates and no National Insurance to pay.

However, while pension contributions may be the most tax-efficient option, they might not always be the most practical. Individuals under 55 require accessible income for day-to-day living expenses. Even for those over 55, immediately vesting pension contributions could technically cover living expenses. However, in reality, this may not be feasible due to potential complications with recycling rules.

Moreover, accessing pensions beyond any tax-free cash can trigger the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA), limiting the ability to fund a Defined Contribution pension beyond the MPAA threshold.

Given the favourable tax treatment of pensions, it’s worth considering whether pension funds should be utilised to meet retirement needs rather than immediate financial requirements. It’s then important to explore how you can withdraw funds from your business to cover day-to-day living expenses both presently and in the future.

Dividends often outperform salary when it comes to meeting immediate daily needs, especially when considering all available allowances. However, the interplay between allowances and National Insurance (NI) thresholds can significantly influence this comparison. For instance, while you can draw a salary up to the personal allowance of £12,570 without incurring income tax, employers’ NI contributions become payable from £9,100.

Ultimately, the business owner must extract sufficient profit for livelihood. Therefore, determining the “sweet spot” for taking a combination of salary and dividends becomes crucial. Could the optimal approach entail taking a salary of £12,570, with the remaining amount as dividends? Perhaps. However, given the intricate nuances of taxation rates, thresholds, and allowances, the answer may be more nuanced and dependent on individual circumstances.

Once the immediate income needs have been met and any remaining profit is surplus to the business’s requirements, considering pension contributions becomes prudent.

Indeed, while there are many options for extracting company profits, each carries its own tax and National Insurance implications for the business owner, considering both their employer and employee roles.

Despite the technical complexity involved, the planning approach can be fundamentally simple. The goal is to withdraw the minimum profit necessary to cover immediate needs, ensuring that the rest is directed towards the pension to optimise future financial security. An expert wealth adviser can help you determine the optimal strategy for your individual circumstances.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.

Should you require more information or have particular questions, we invite you to contact us at your convenience.

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