This week we have a new podcast host! Charlie Scott is joining the team and today she is speaking with Yan Swiderski, Executive Trustee & Co Founder of the Global Returns Project. We all understand that wealth management needs to adapt to the climate and nature crisis. Sustainable investing has offered a powerful first step in that process. Now it's time for a true breakthrough. Symbiotic Wealth Management means allocating a small amount, alongside your normal investments, to the Global Retu...
Mar 10, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 72
This week Sam is joined by Natalie Cooke, a Paraplanner from Iron Market, to chat about her career journey from an administration role to Paraplanning. More importantly we talk about self-confidence and self-belief. How much of that do you need to get ahead in the financial planning profession? Do you have confidence in your employer to support you on your career journey and do they have a personal development & mentorship programme? Natalie thinks that this support is vital to move your car...
Feb 24, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 71
This week Sam is joined by Chris Burke, Partner at The Spectrum IFA Group, based in their Barcelona office. Before making the brave decision to head to Spain Chris had no experience in financial planning or speaking Spanish! The odds were against him and he was in for a tough start to his new life abroad. Chris is very honest with us today, he shares his career journey, the highs and lows of his lifestyle change and he gives some great advice to anyone who is thinking about doing the same. He pr...
Feb 17, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 70
This week Sam is joined by Robert Boland, Chartered Financial Planner for Cotswold Independent Financial Services. Robert is also an education outreach ambassador at the Personal Finance Society (PFS) and he shares some of the fantastic work that he is doing to champion the profession and educate the next generation. Robert talks about the highs and lows of his 16-year career in financial services and he’s very honest about mistakes and lessons learnt along the way. He also gives some fantastic ...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 69
This week Sam is joined by Shannon Fox, education and training coordinator at Lowes Financial Management. Whilst going through her own financial planning exams it dawned on Shannon that there should be more support for candidates. In 2020 Shannon co-led the launch of the Lowes Financial Academy who have an impressive 85% pass rate on getting candidates through the R0 exams at the first time of asking. Today Shannon tells us all about the academy, who it’s for and how they can help you pass your ...
Jan 28, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Happy New Year from all of us here at the Financial Planner Life podcast. This week Sam is joined by Lisa Tipton, director of financial planning at New World Financial Group. Lisa shares her career path with us, from Paraplanning, to compliance, to now running her own firm. This is an interesting one because both Lisa and her business partner have a compliance background rather than a client-facing one. We dive deep into the role of a Paraplanner, Lisa explains how she is making financial planni...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 67
This week Sam is joined by Nick Elston to talk about mental health engagement. Nick is a high-profile inspirational speaker on mental health and personal development in the corporate space. He works with the world's leading organisations such as AMEX & The BBC, supporting mental health strategies within the workforce. It’s fine for big organisations to have mental health initiatives but without engagement they won’t result in positive change. That’s where Nick comes in. Today Nick shares his...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 65
This week Sam is joined by Anthony Villis, MD of First Wealth, a Chartered Financial Planning Firm of the year 2021/22. Anthony tells us why he invests so heavily in the wellbeing of his staff and why he chose to make his firm a B Corporation certified business. He explains how this has helped his staff, local community and the environment. Anthony also knows his tech; he shares some interesting views on how artificial intelligence (AI) will play its part in the financial planning profession. A ...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 64
This week Elena is joined by Leigh Dunkley, Financial Wellbeing lead at Schroders Personal Wealth. Did you know that 47% of UK adults are regularly stressed about their finances, that’s almost half of the population and that’s why Leigh is here to talk about the ‘taboo’ topic of money! Leigh explains why we should consider our financial wellbeing in the same way as we do our physical and mental health, plus she gives us some actionable steps that we can all take today towards our long-term finan...
Nov 25, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 63
This week Sam is joined by Will Rainey who runs a financial education website called BlueTreeSavings.com. Will is taking a break from his corporate investment career and enjoying an adventure in Vietnam with his young family. Whilst in Vietnam he has written a fun financial education book for children, Grandpa’s Fortune Fables. It’s not just kids who will benefit from this book, parents may also learn from it plus it would be the perfect Christmas gift for financial planners to buy for their cli...
Nov 18, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 62
This week Sam is joined by Chartered Paraplanner Sian Davies Cole. Sian is the director of Plan Works, an outsourced Paraplanning company but she is also the co-founder of the Paraplanner Club, a free mentorship programme for current and aspiring Paraplanners to connect with mentors and mentees. Sian’s great work helps people gain community & support whilst promoting this great career path within the financial profession. For more information on the Paraplanner club and to join, visit their ...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 61
This week we have a new host! Ali Topan will be hosting episodes on the Financial Planner Life podcast focused on mortgage careers. Ali is joined by Jon Stones, the director of Mortgage 1st. We discuss how Jon got into the industry, how he maintains harmony within his team, advice for anyone looking to be self-employed within mortgages as well as his passions away from work. It’s also very interesting to hear what Jon doesn’t like about the mortgage industry and how he thinks things can be impro...
Oct 26, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 60
This week Sam is joined by financial planner Ciaran Ruttledge, 1 year into his role at Ablestoke Financial Planning. Ciaran actually contacted Sam through the podcast around a year ago and said that he wanted to become a financial planner and now he’s going to share that successful journey with us. For obvious reasons this is the perfect episode for anyone wanting to emulate Ciaran’s career move but it’s also very valuable for anyone looking for any job! This conversation is packed full of job-h...
Oct 14, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 59
This week Sam is joined by Robert Stringer from Stringer Mann Chartered Financial Planners. Sam and Robert talk very deeply about mental health and the lack of open and honest conversations within the financial profession. Tragically Robert lost is son, Hector to suicide because he was struggling with his own mental health. Robert was able to turn this devastating event into something positive by setting up a charity, Hector’s House, which raises awareness of why it’s so important to look after ...
Sep 16, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 58
This week Elena is joined by trainee Paraplanner Kate Evans from Lucent Financial Planning Ltd. Kate is a 2nd career-ist which means that she left a comfortable and successful career to try something completely different. Kate proves that it’s never too late to change careers and she shares with us exactly how she broke into financial planning. It turns out that Kate had a lot of transferable skills so this career change was not as scary as you might initially think. This is the perfect episode ...
Sep 09, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 57
This week Elena is joined by Lena Patel, Chartered Financial Planner from ISJ Independent Financial Planning. Lena & Elena discuss what it’s like to be a female financial planner who is also from an ethic minority background, how we can encourage more people from these backgrounds into the profession and the importance of educating young people about money. Why is it such a taboo subject? Lena is such an inspirational character, not only is she the director of her firm but she also brings he...
Sep 02, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 56
This week Sam is joined by Marie Smith, Relationship Director at Cooper Parry Wealth. Marie was recently promoted from a Paraplanning manager to her current position and we talk about the lack of females in leadership roles within financial planning. It’s predicted that 53% of UK millionaires will be female by 2025. That’s a lot of wealth that women will need advice on and who will they seek this advice from when currently less than 15% of financial planners are female? This represents a fantast...
Aug 26, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 55
This week Elena is joined by Jasmine Lambert, Chartered Financial Planner & Managing Director of family run Redwood Financial. Jasmine is proof that you don’t have to go to university to have a successful career within financial planning, there is huge value in getting work experience and learning on the job instead. Jasmine shares her career journey with us, how she believes that family run businesses can be inclusive to everyone plus she gives us some top tips on building confidence and na...
Aug 19, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 54
This week Elena is joined by Chartered Financial Planner Tom Hopson from HFMC Wealth LLP. Tom faces a particular challenge in his career, he’s young! Did you know that 58% of financial planners are due to retire within the next 10 years!? This means that young planners like Tom are rare and more will be needed to fill the gap. Tom shares with us the challenges that he faces as a young financial planner, how he overcomes these challenges, plus he even gives advice to young people hoping to get in...
Aug 12, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 53
This week Sam is joined by Nigel Borwell from Lead Tech, one of the largest lead generation companies specifically for financial planners. Nigel talks us through what a good lead generation company actually does, how to find the right lead generation company for you and what questions you should be asking them. We also discuss new legislation which is being introduced by the FCA & Google later this year to help weed-out scammers and unscrupulous lead generation companies. For more informatio...
Aug 05, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 52
This week Sam is joined by Sean O’Brien, Financial Planner at WH Ireland. Sean has set up a group called The Foundation to help support young financial planners who are struggling to connect with like-minded professionals in the local area of Dorset & Hampshire on the South Coast of England. Today Sean tells us why he set up The Foundation, we discuss mental health as well as the power of community and how it can support successful and happy careers. The average age of a financial planner is...
Jul 15, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 51
This week Elena is joined by Ross Mackie, Chartered Financial Planner at Woodgate Financial Planning (part of the Chesterton House Group). We cover Ross’s professional journey plus we focus on career progression and how employers could/should support this. Ross highlights the great work that Chesterton House are doing to invest in their staff and explains how this can be even more important than customer care. A loyal, happy workforce will always go above and beyond for their clients. We cover: ...
Jul 08, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 50
This week Sam is joined by Graham Taylor, Mortgage adviser and owner of Hudson Rose Ltd. Sam stumbled across Hudson Rose via an Instagram advert and was instantly compelled to learn more due to their stand-out branding. Graham explains to us all that professionalism and looks aren’t necessarily related. Having a Mohican haircut and tattoos helps him to form deep relationships with his clients and stand out in a sea of suits and ties. Join us for a very fun and thought-provoking chat. We cover: G...
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 49
This week Elena is joined by Clemence Chatelin, head of Sustainable Investing at Paradigm Norton, an award-winning financial planning firm based in Bristol, Torquay and London. Clemence shares with us exactly what sustainable investing is and how we can all get involved to help make the world a better place. Clemence also shares with us a great example of what a sustainable company looks like, the huge benefits of graduate schemes as well as the realities of being a female in the financial profe...
Jun 24, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Elena is joined by Financial Adviser & Vouched for 2021 Top Rated Adviser Nikki Pipping from Collective Financial Planning Ltd. Nikki specialises in divorcees, helping women to plan their financial futures. She is able to offer that personal touch because she has lived through this experience herself. This is the key to building trust and rapport with her clients and ultimately why she is so successful. As well as the importance of client trust, Elena and Nikki also talk about the power of L...
Jun 17, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Elena is back in the hot seat this week and she is joined by Chartered Financial Planner & Paraplanner Sasha Wakefield. Sasha shares her professional journey with us, why Paraplanning is such a fulfilling career, how we can encourage more people to become Paraplanners and how to avoid the initial barriers if you’re new to the profession. Sasha also gives some great advice to everyone out there on the importance of building relationships through networking. We cover: Why Paraplanning is such ...
May 27, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 46
This week we are joined by Chris Ball, Managing Partner at Hoxton Capital Management, based in the UAE. Chris shares his career journey with us. He left school at 18 and despite success as a tax adviser, he dropped it all at age 24 to go and work in the UAE as a financial adviser. From humble beginnings (sleeping on a blow-up mattress!) Chris worked incredibly hard to rise through the ranks, eventually setting up his own business. His entrepreneurial journey has gone from kitchen start-up to 200...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 45
This week is a special episode of the Financial Planner Life Podcast because our new co-host Elena is taking the reins for the first time. Joining her this week is James Wallis, owner of Aristotle Financial Planning. James starting his own business during a COVID-19 lockdown and today he shares his journey from an employed financial planner to business owner. James gives some great advice to anyone who is thinking about going independent, we talk about how COVID has influenced his business journ...
May 13, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 44
This week we’re joined by Chartered Financial Planner, Tyla Phillips. We talk about his professional journey which has taken him from private banking in the UK to Dubai, where he is now a co-founder & executive director of AHR Private Wealth. Tyla decided against university and started his financial career from a young age. This may seem daunting from some, but he explains how he used this to his advantage. He also sheds light on what it’s really like working in the UAE. Can anyone get rich ...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 43
🚨Calling all Financial Planning business owners 🚨 Are you aware of just how much you can save on outsourced training costs when using the #financialplanning apprenticeship levy to train up new hires AND existing Staff? For this bonus episode, we are joined by Carolyn Blunt of Davies Learning Solutions, an outsourced apprenticeship provider to the financial profession. Carolyn is here to clear up any confusion about apprenticeships for financial planners and the process that employers need to g...
May 06, 2021•37 min
