You've got a copy of your will somewhere. And there must be some paperwork relating to the trust set up by your grandfather, but you've got so many reports from all your different advisers, it's hard to put your hand on anything when you need it. Sounds familiar? If, like many families, you're less organised than you'd like to be when it comes to financial documents, then our 'Blue Book' approach can help.
The Blue Book is a comprehensive statement of the entire family's financial position: a bespoke system that collects all your documents into one secure, searchable database. Typically, it will contain summaries of financial investments, land holdings and their capital values, property valuations, details of trusts, investment performance reports and assessments of inheritance tax exposure, as well as more run-of-the-mill information such as policy numbers and contact details.
"The Blue Book is highly prized by our family office clients and their advisers," says Frank Akers-Douglas, partner, private client tax services. "It provides a single reference point to record and summarise all aspects of the family's assets, liabilities, commitments and objectives. In all senses it is the family's financial bible."
Each family has the ability to generate reports for individual members or branches of the family at the touch of a button. Reports, which can be rigorously controlled, can be created as often as required – to get a snapshot of the financial position at any given moment, or as an indispensable aid to family meetings.
Benefits of having a Blue Book
- Gives entire financial picture
- Is an invaluable tool at family meetings, where everyone can refer to a single consolidated report rather than lots of documents from individual advisers
- Highlights planning issues, such as opportunities to distribute assets, make investments or refinance bank loans
- Acts as an 'annual report' for the family and allows you to see changes over time
- Ensures all advisers have full access to the same information in order to coordinate activity.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.