If you have any questions or would like to get in touch, submit a call back request and our team will contact you as soon as possible or call us on 020 7499 6424 or email us at [email protected]
Retirement Strategies
Helping advisers meet the retirement income challenge
At Brooks Macdonald, we are committed to bringing clarity, confidence, and choice to your clients’ retirement income planning. Whether you are looking for a bespoke through to a model on platform solution, our comprehensive range of retirement strategies aim to meet the diverse needs of your clients, ensuring that you can find a solution that aligns with their financial goals and risk tolerance.
We combine over 30 years of experience of working alongside financial advisers and in particular, working with you to ensure that potential risks of generating income in retirement are understood and planned for.
Our approach to providing retirement income is built on a tried and tested two component approach to manage sequencing risk and help provide clients with financial stability in retirement. Unlike other firms, this approach is about the management of time rather than simply volatility risk, and is an approach replicated across each of our retirement strategies
We provide a range of solutions to accommodate differing investment sums, a requirement for personalisation or simply to align with your business model. One of these, our innovative platform model solution is one of the first of its kind to meet client income requirements and mitigate the impact of sequencing risk.

Bringing innovation to managing income in retirement
Hear from our Group Director of Distribution Neil Cowell about how our Retirement Strategies can help address the different needs and circumstances of your clients in retirement.
The management of time
Brooks Macdonald was one of the first discretionary investment managers to launch a dedicated and defined approach to managing client assets in the decumulation stage of their life. This approach was built on the principle that a drawdown early in the client’s retirement journey can have a significant impact on the destination – our approach has always focussed on managing sequencing risk.
Our approach is built on two distinct components that recognise the need to cover off sequencing risk with a short-term portfolio with duration-matched assets able to satisfy income needs in the early years. Leaving a second long-term component to generate capital growth that can be turned to for income in later years.
We have offered this approach for several years now within a Bespoke Portfolio Service for clients with retirement funds greater than £500,000. We can now also achieve this for clients with lower value retirement funds or where there is a requirement for client funds to be held on a platform.

Our strategies at a glance
Bespoke Strategy
The Bespoke Strategy is designed to assist clients who have a need for a more complex portfolio construction. This may involve the need for varying income levels over different years, managing a portfolio across several different account types, the need to actively manage the tax efficiency of the portfolio, or for those who desire specific changes to the composition of the longer-term component.
Custody | Brooks Macdonald |
Minimum investment | £500,000 |
Account types | GIAs, SIPPs, ISAs and offshore bonds* |
Annual withdrawal capacity | Bespoke |
Risk levels | BM Low to Medium, BM Medium, BM Medium High, BM High |
Management fees | As per normal Bespoke Portfolio Service terms |
*Can only be used in offshore bonds that are able to hold structured products. BM denotes Brooks Macdonald.
Tailored Strategy
The Tailored Strategy is only available at a single account level and would be used for clients who wish to set an income level more specifically aligned to their individual requirements but do not require a more complex portfolio construction and hence is offered at a lower management fee than Bespoke.
Custody | Brooks Macdonald |
Minimum investment | £250,000 |
Account types | GIAs, SIPPs, ISAs and offshore bonds* |
Annual withdrawal capacity | Bespoke to client |
Risk levels | BM Low to Medium, BM Medium, BM Medium High |
Management fees | First £500,000 – 0.40% pa + VAT, thereafter – 0.20% pa + VAT |
*Can only be used in offshore bonds which are able to hold structured products. BM denotes Brooks Macdonald.
Modelled Strategy
The Modelled Strategy is the solution we can offer via a third-party platform, which allows advisers to maintain the operational efficiency and consistency of reporting across their client bank by using their platform of choice. It can be used for clients with single accounts who have income needs and a risk profile that is covered by one of our predefined withdrawal capacities and risk mandates.
Factsheets & documents
Modelled Strategy Low-Medium Risk Factsheet →
Modelled Strategy Medium Risk Factsheet →
Modelled Strategy Adviser Due Diligence Information →
Fixed Maturity Investment Guide →
Generate Illustrative Examples
For our Modelled solution, our Retirement Strategies Illustrator helps financial advisers by generating illustrative examples of various portfolio withdrawal scenarios, and their potential future values, over time.
Custody | External platforms |
Minimum investment | £50,000* |
Account types | Subject to platform |
Annual withdrawal capacity | Three options |
Risk levels | BM Low to Medium, BM Medium |
Management fees | 0.35% pa |
*The minimum initial investment is platform-dependent, however we recommend that the initial investment be no less than £50,000. BM denotes Brooks Macdonald
Retirement Strategies Brochure
Helping you deliver a centralised retirement proposition fit for purpose across all client segments.

Frequently asked questions
We offer retirement income solutions via a consultative service that keeps you and your firm on the right side of regulation. Bringing us into your client proposition, whether this be for investment more generally or to adopt a defined approach to satisfying the income requirements of your clients as they enter the later stages of life, will enable you to leverage our expertise in these areas.
How can I access the service?
How can I access the service?
Through our Bespoke Portfolio services and Platform Managed Portfolio service.
Who could benefit from our Retirement Strategies?
Who could benefit from our Retirement Strategies?
Our retirement strategies are for clients who are withdrawing income from their portfolio or plan to do so within seven years.
Clients must have the following minimum amounts for each strategy:
- £50,000 for our Modelled Strategy
- £250,000 for our Tailored Strategy
- £500,000 for our Bespoke Strategy
Why seven years for the short-term portfolio?
Why seven years for the short-term portfolio?
Our research suggests seven years is enough time to recoup any losses caused by sequencing risk.
We assess the client’s income requirements for the next seven years and match these liabilities as and when they become due with assets that have similar durations. Through our extensive knowledge of the structured product market and intensive due diligence, we have devised a ‘bucket solution’ that allows us to meet these income requirements in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Speak to an expert
If you have any questions or would like to submit your enquiry and our team will contact you as soon as possible.