“My students trust me underwater. You can trust me with your finances.”
As well as being a Chartered Financial Planner, I also teach people to breathe underwater. As a Dive Leader, Open Water Instructor, and Training Officer for my British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) branch, people quite literally put their lives in my hands. That responsibility shapes everything about how I work.
In scuba diving, we have a saying: plan the dive, dive the plan. You don’t just jump in. You assess the conditions, check and ensure you have the right equipment and skills, build in contingency, and stay alongside your buddy every step of the way. That’s exactly how I approach financial planning. I’ll establish where you are now, where you want to get to, and map out the safest, most effective route – ready to adapt as your circumstances or the environment changes.
I’m a Chartered Financial Planner and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), with over 35 years in financial services. I spent the earlier part of my career on the institutional side, working with investment managers and asset servicing firms, before moving into financial planning. That broader perspective means I understand how the whole system works, and I use that knowledge to get the best outcomes for my clients.
I work with individuals and business owners on the decisions that matter most. Whether that’s pension planning, Inheritance Tax planning, investment strategy, business exits, or simply making sense of what you already have, my approach is to simplify the complex. I once helped a client – a passionate football fan – restructure his finances using the language of the game he loved. He later sold his business for a life changing sum. What he valued most wasn’t the result; it was that I treated him exactly the same when he had very little as when he had a lot. That consistency is something I take seriously.
Things don’t always go smoothly, in financial planning or underwater. What defines an adviser is how they respond when they don’t. I take ownership, follow up, and do what I say, when I say it. Some of my strongest client relationships have been built on the back of putting something right. That’s when real trust gets established.
Outside of work, I’m married with two children, three if you count my dog. My wife reminds me regularly that life is for making memories, and that’s a philosophy I bring back to every client conversation. Money isn’t the destination, it’s what makes the memories possible, so you will hear me referring to money as ‘fun tokens’, and it’s important to understand your relationship with money to really develop your financial plan.
