Welcome to the first edition of The Wellesley Perspective — a new regular communication from us.

Each edition will explore the financial and personal issues that matter to you and your family, from investments and retirement planning to Inheritance Tax, wills, trusts, probate and intergenerational planning.

Our aim is simple: to make complex subjects easier to understand, highlight the things worth thinking about and share our perspective on the issues that could affect you and your family.

Alongside these insights, we’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening at Wellesley and developments that could benefit you.

Wellesley in focus

Three months into a new chapter

Three months ago, Wellesley began an important new chapter, joining Söderberg & Partners Financial Planning and moving to a new investment proposition.

While our investment partner has changed, our commitment to our clients has not.

The last three months have given us the opportunity to strengthen our client relationships and spend more time talking about what really matters: your goals, your family and what you want your wealth to achieve.

We’ve also seen some tangible benefits from the new proposition.

Cash flow modelling

Cash flow modelling is helping us bring retirement planning to life — showing how your income, spending, investments and other assets could work together over time.

It can help answer questions such as when you could retire, how much income you might need and how different decisions could affect your future.

Greater investment choice

You now have access to a broader range of funds and investment solutions, giving us greater flexibility when building portfolios around individual objectives and attitudes to risk.

Making life easier

There are also practical improvements, including:

• Trust registration through Transact — reducing administration and the potential for confusion or mistakes.
• Launching The Wellesley Portal — giving you a secure way to view investments in one place and communicate with your adviser.
• Greater access to investment managers — through webinars, fund fact sheets and more regular dialogue with fund management teams.

2026 marks 30 years of Wellesley.

When we began in 1996, the world looked very different. Technology, markets and the way we live our lives have all changed dramatically over three decades.

Financial planning has changed too.

But some of the questions people ask remain remarkably familiar:

• Can I afford to retire?
• Will my family be financially secure?
• How can I make the most of what I’ve built?
• What happens to my wealth when I’m no longer here?

Those questions remain at the heart of what we do.

We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has trusted Wellesley over the last three decades — whether you’ve been with us for 30 years or have only recently joined us.

That trust continues to shape what we do next.

The bigger picture – The Great Wealth Transfer

It sounds dramatic, but the underlying idea is straightforward.

A significant amount of wealth is expected to move from older generations to their children and grandchildren through a combination of inheritances, lifetime gifts and other transfers of wealth.

One widely cited UK estimate suggests that more than £5.5 trillion could pass between generations over the next 30 years.

That is an extraordinary figure.

But for individual families, the important question is not how large the overall number is.

It is:

What does this mean for us?

 It’s about more than Inheritance Tax

Inheritance Tax is often where the conversation starts. For 2026/27, the standard nil-rate band is £325,000, with a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000, subject to the relevant conditions.

But effective intergenerational planning is about more than tax.

For some families, it could mean helping children onto the property ladder. For others, supporting grandchildren through education, helping with a business or making lifetime gifts.

The important question isn’t simply:

“How much can I give away?”

It’s, “How much can I give while maintaining the financial security and flexibility I need?”

Don’t overlook your pension

Pensions have traditionally played an important role in estate planning. That is changing.

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will come within the scope of Inheritance Tax.

This makes pensions an increasingly important part of the wider estate planning conversation.

Your pension shouldn’t be considered in isolation. It sits alongside your investments, property, other assets, Trusts and lifetime gifts.

5 things to consider

The Wellesley Perspective

At Wellesley, we believe good financial planning should look beyond the individual.

Your financial decisions can affect your partner, children, grandchildren and future generations.

That is why we believe intergenerational planning should be considered as part of a wider conversation about what your wealth is for, who it is intended to benefit and how you want your family to be supported.

There is no single solution.

For some families, that might mean reviewing their Will and LPAs. For others, it could involve lifetime gifting, Trust planning, investment restructuring or simply bringing the next generation into the conversation.

The important thing is to start early enough to have choices.

Invest time in insights that matter