“It’s like sitting with a friend who just happens to know more about finances than you do.”
Growing up, my parents were always very mindful with money and taught me the importance of living within your means. They worked incredibly hard to build a comfortable life and were eventually able to retire early and enjoy their newfound freedom. A big part of why I do this job is wanting to help other people get to the same place.
Getting into financial advice wasn’t something I planned from the beginning. I went to university and studied international business, and then a master’s in international marketing. My first job after university was in marketing for a small property bank. While I realised that marketing wasn’t for me, I loved the strategy and planning side of things. A conversation with a friend made me realise that many of the skills I enjoyed using would translate well into financial advice. I joined Mattioli Woods as a client relationship manager in early 2019, learned the back office and the admin side of the company, then became a paraplanner sitting in on hundreds of advice meetings, eventually advising my own clients.
Working with me is probably a bit different from working with your typical ‘traditional’ adviser. It’s more like sitting with a friend who just happens to know more about finances than you do. We have a chat. There’s no high horse, no judgement about debt or past financial decisions. I ask a lot of questions about life, not just money – what you like to do, your family, what really matters to you – because all of that shapes what good advice actually looks like for you.
The most rewarding part of my job is helping clients that have found themselves in really hard places. Divorce, bereavement, the threat of redundancy. By the time someone in that situation sits in front of me, they’re often exhausted with probate, paperwork, and decisions piling up. My job is to slow things down, go through everything with them at their own pace, and answer the only question that actually matters: am I going to be okay? One client told me she could breathe for the first time in months. That’s why I do this job.
Many new clients also come in convinced they’ll be working until State Pension age. They don’t know what they’ve got or how to make it work. More times than I can count, I’ve gone through someone’s current position and retirement goals, and been able to tell them they could retire sooner than they anticipated – sometimes much sooner. Even if they decide to stay at work, knowing they could leave changes their mindset.
Outside of work, I can often be found at the local coffee shop or at home with my two cats and a good book. I love to cook, and my friends and family are often the test subjects for my new recipes! My partner and I love to travel and we are slowly climbing the 214 Wainwrights in the Lake District. We’re at 40 so far. It’s an obsessive long-term goal, but a slow one.
