“My job is to show you what’s possible, then make sure we get you there.”
I didn’t stumble into financial planning by accident. As a child, I remember sitting in the front room watching a financial adviser meet with my parents. I didn’t understand what was being discussed, but something about it stayed with me. Years later, a close friend was doing exactly that work and it clicked. I wanted to do what he was doing. So, I studied, qualified, and built the career I’d had in the back of my mind since childhood.
I graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Economics and entered financial services through Aviva, before building experience at Prudential and BBT Group. I joined Kingswood – now Mattioli Woods – because I believed in what they were building, and I haven’t looked back.
What I love most about this job is the moment a client realises something they didn’t think was possible actually is. I’ve sat with people who assumed they were years away from retirement and shown them, through careful cash flow modelling, that they could stop tomorrow if they wanted to. That moment – watching someone recalibrate their entire future in real time – never gets old. I’ve also helped couples understand that a simple decision, like getting married, could save their estate a very significant sum. It’s those conversations that remind me why the long-term relationship matters so much. The longer I know someone, the more I can do for them.
Right now, one of the areas I’m most focused on is Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning – particularly as legislation continues to evolve and pensions become part of people’s taxable estates for the first time. It’s an area where the right advice, at the right moment, can make an enormous difference to the people clients care most about leaving behind.
My approach has always been to prove my worth consistently – not just at the first meeting, but year after year. I’d rather bring a solution to a problem a client didn’t know they had than wait to be asked.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my wife and family, walking in the Peak District, watching our two children play football, and having a kick-around myself whenever the opportunity arises.
