What makes you different from a typical financial adviser?

 

 Most financial advice starts with your money. Mine starts with your life. Alongside being an independent, FCA-regulated adviser with 25+ years’ experience, I’m also a Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Fellow of the CISI, and a Registered Life Planner trained in George Kinder’s EVOKE® process. That means before we talk about products or portfolios, we talk about what you actually want your life to look like — and build the financial plan around that. I also walk my talk and I will want you to spend your money on a life you have designed with me. 

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What’s the difference between financial advice and financial coaching?

 

Financial advice is regulated — it means I can recommend specific products suited to your circumstances. Coaching is about the thinking, habits and emotions behind your money decisions: the beliefs and behaviours that often do more to shape your financial future than any product ever will. I bring both together, because in my experience neither works as well on its own. Coaching has been usually more effective for people undr 30 years of age as its charged by the hour or in a package, so it is very cost-effective. 

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What is a Registered Life Planner, and what does that mean for me?

 

It’s a qualification from the Kinder Institute of Life Planning that trains advisers to help clients uncover what they really want from their lives — not just their portfolios. In practice, it means our conversations start with questions like “what would you do if money weren’t a concern?” rather than “how much risk can you tolerate?”

What qualifications do you hold? I’m a CFP (Certified Financial Planner), a Chartered Fellow of the CISI, and a Registered Life Planner (RLP) through the Kinder Institute — on top of 25+ years working as a financial adviser.

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Are you independent, and what does that mean?

 

Yes. I’m not tied to any one product provider, so I can recommend whatever’s genuinely right for your circumstances rather than what a parent company wants sold. I’m an appointed representative of 2plan wealth management Ltd, authorised and regulated by the FCA.

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What areas do you cover, and do you offer video meetings?

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I predominantly work with people across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and London, and I’m based in Aylesbury.  I offer both face-to-face and video meetings, so location isn’t usually a barrier but I prefer meeting in person.  I do travel to clients and have people as far away as the Wirral, so I am flexible. 

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Who is your ideal client — who do you work best with?

 

People who sense there’s more to a good life than a bigger number in a bank account. If you’ve done reasonably well financially but feel like something’s still not quite aligned — or you’re facing a big life transition and want to make sure your money decisions actually serve the life you want — that’s where I add the most value.

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Getting started

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What happens in a first meeting, and does it cost anything?

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The first conversation is free and low-pressure — it’s a chance for us to see if we’re a good fit, and for you to ask whatever’s on your mind. There’s no obligation to continue afterwards. I usually give 1 hour for free.  This will be my video meeting. 

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How do I know if I actually need a financial adviser?

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If you’re making decisions about pensions, investments, retirement income or a major life change and want someone qualified in your corner — or if you’ve got the basics sorted but want a plan that reflects what actually matters to you — that’s usually a good sign it’s worth a conversation. And of course, I am biased and will always think someone needs my help (as it is usually been true!).

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What should I bring to our first conversation?

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Nothing formal is required for an initial chat. As things progress, it helps to have a general sense of your income, savings, pensions and any existing investments — but we’ll work through the detail together. What I need from that conversation is how you are really feeling and for you to be clear on what it is you think you need and want from me. That way, I can tell you quickly if I am the right fit for you and can do what it is you need. 

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How long does it take to put a plan together?

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It varies by complexity, but most clients have a clear plan in place within a few weeks of our first meeting, with ongoing reviews after that. If we do full fat financial planning, it will take longer but it is worth it.

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Do you work with people who don’t have significant wealth yet?

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Yes — the life-planning side of what I do is often most valuable for people who are still building their wealth and want to make sure they’re building it towards the right things. I also provide lifetime cashflow services, which can show you where you are now and what you need to do to get to where you want. This can be paid for hourly at a cost of £200 per hour. 

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Is there a minimum amount of assets or income to work with you?

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There’s no strict minimum  — it’s more about whether we’re a good fit for how I work, and if I can add value to your financial life.  Best to have a conversation and find out.

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Fees & regulation

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How do you charge, and what will it cost me?

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First hour is free. If we go for full financial planning the minimum fee is £3,000.

If we opt for specific recommendations only, minimum fee would be £1,500. 

If we go for EVOKE, minimum fee is £3,000 but I will also reduce the investment advice fees down by 50%, as the planning is more important than the product. 

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Are your fees a flat fee, hourly, or percentage-based?

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I can flat fee work, I can hourly fee work and usually I charge ongoing fees as a percentage. These are capped per year at £12,500 and the minimum is £2,250, which can be paid via the product or directly. My ongoing fee is initially 0.75% and this reduces over the relationship.

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Are you regulated, and how would I check that?

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Yes — I’m authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference 952281. You can check this any time on the FCA register at fca.org.uk.

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What happens if I’m unhappy with the advice I receive?

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You can raise it directly with me first, or follow my formal complaints process (linked in the site footer). If it’s not resolved to your satisfaction, you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

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Is tax planning covered by regulation?

 

No — tax planning isn’t regulated by the FCA, and I’ll always be clear when we’re in that territory but I will be able to provide tax planning advice around ISA's, pensions, investment bonds and investment accounts. I will help you pay as little tax as is necessary.

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What’s the difference between guidance and regulated advice?

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Guidance gives you general information about your options without recommending one over another. Regulated advice means I look at your specific circumstances and recommend the course of action that’s actually right for you.

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Ongoing relationship

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How often will we meet once we’re working together?

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Typically an annual review as standard, though this depends on the service we agree — and if something significant changes in your life, we’ll meet sooner. I like to also have a mid-year catch-up either in person or video. 

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What happens if my circumstances change significantly (redundancy, inheritance, divorce)?

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Get in touch as soon as you can. These are exactly the moments a plan needs revisiting, and often when life planning matters most.

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Will you actively manage my investments, or advise and let me decide? 

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I will recommend professional managers usually for bigger accounts, and I can construct simple portfolios myself for smaller accounts. If you wish to manage your own investments that is fine and we can define our working relationship in a different way; it may be you just need coaching and a second opinion.

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Can you help with more than investments — e.g. mortgages, protection, retirement income?

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 Yes — financial planning covers the full picture: protection, retirement income, mortgages where relevant, and the investments that support all of it.

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Do you work with my accountant or solicitor if needed?

 

Yes, I’m happy to liaise with your other professional advisers to make sure everything’s joined up.

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The life-planning side

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What is the EVOKE process, and how does it fit into financial planning?

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EVOKE (Exploration, Vision, Obstacles, Knowledge, Execution) is the framework I use to move from “what do you actually want your life to look like” through to a concrete financial plan that gets you there. It’s the bridge between the emotional and the practical.

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What are Kinder’s Three Questions, and why do you use them?

They’re a set of questions developed by George Kinder to help people cut through the noise and identify what really matters to them — used before we ever get into numbers, because the numbers only make sense once we know what they’re for.

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Can you help me figure out what I actually want my money to do for me?

 

That’s genuinely the starting point of how I work. Most people have never been asked this properly before — it changes the whole conversation.

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What if I’ve never really thought about my finances emotionally before — is that normal?

 

Completely normal — most people haven’t. It’s often the most valuable part of the process precisely because it hasn’t been explored before.

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How is this different from therapy or life coaching?

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I’m not a therapist, and this isn’t therapy. But money is deeply emotional, and pretending otherwise leads to plans that look good on paper and don’t actually get followed. This is about bringing that emotional honesty into a financial plan you’ll actually stick to.