“I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do. It was like I’d found my vocation.”
My first job interview in financial services lasted eight hours. Not because anything went wrong but because I couldn’t stop asking questions. When the interviewer offered to call it a day and pick it up another time, I said no. I was hooked. That was 43 years ago, and the enthusiasm has never worn off.
I started my career at 22 as a qualified financial adviser, and have spent every year since doing what I love. Along the way, I built and sold my own financial services company, then spent 13 years as an International Financial Adviser based in Dubai, before selling that company too. After working for a couple of corporate financial services companies upon my return to the UK, I joined Kingswood, which has now become part of the Mattioli Woods Group, because I no longer wanted to run another business. I just wanted to advise people.
I specialise in life insurance, critical illness cover, investments, savings plans, income protection, pensions and Inheritance Tax planning, including international planning for clients with cross-border needs. I hold both the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Financial Planning Certificate and the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate (DipPFS), and I‘ve been a member of and qualified for MDRT each year since 1994, the organisation which represents the top 5% of financial advisers worldwide.
I recently met with a client who lost her husband a couple of years ago. We spent most of our meeting talking about her charity work, because that’s what she wanted to talk about and that’s what mattered to her that day. Sometimes holding someone’s hand metaphorically, and just genuinely listening, makes all the difference. I try to make a difference every time I sit down with someone, whether that leads to more business or not.
I’m also a professional speaker and industry speaker at financial services conferences around the world. I speak about body language, neuro-linguistic programming and communication, because only 8% of what you say actually counts. The rest is tone and body language. Understanding this gives you a real advantage in a conversation, and I use it every day. Before joining Kingswood, I ran a company mentoring young financial advisers, working with them to develop the people skills that no qualification can teach you.
My advice to anyone starting out in this career? Learn people skills. You can pass every exam going, but if you’re unable to connect with the person sitting in front of you, none of it matters. My advice to clients? Survey after survey shows that what people want above everything else is a trusted adviser: a person they can call and talk to. That’s what I’ve been for over 40 years, and that’s what I intend to keep doing.
