Long before retirement even hits our radars, we’re planning what type of education, skills training and professional designations we’ll acquire. We also spend a lot of time planning which industries are the best place to work in, and which employers to work for. Once employed, we carefully strategize our every career move, so that we progress to the top of the ladder in our respective fields.

While many of us don’t realize it, we are constantly engaged in subconscious acts of investment planning. We plan how we can best invest the limited time we have at our disposal. Would the 2-hours we have best be spent visiting a friend at the hospital, or would it be better invested, say, by taking in that ball game? We do some longer-term planning too.

For some people, financial planning is mainly concerned with how best to go about building a nest egg, and how to make it last through retirement. But for many, there is a desire to ensure their estate delivers benefits beyond their own retirement, and produces a lasting legacy even after they have passed.