Helena Bourner

“I want people to know they have wealth worth protecting – and it starts now.”

When I was at school, I turned down a skiing trip. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because I knew my parents would struggle to afford it. I made that decision quietly, without any fuss – but it’s stayed with me ever since. Money shapes choices, and understanding it early changes everything.

I didn’t plan a career in finance. During a gap year from university, I took a temporary role at a building society to fill the time. I turned out to be good at it. I pushed for training as a mortgage adviser when I was told it wasn’t on offer – and kept pushing until they built a programme. That tenacity hasn’t left me.

Today, I work with clients at Mattioli Woods as a Wealth Management Consultant, and what drives me most is education. I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has said, “Oh, I don’t have any wealth.” They do. They have workplace pensions, protection policies, and assets they’ve never properly looked at. Part of my job is helping people see what they already have – and what it can become if they start now rather than waiting until 60.

People often open up to me in ways that surprise even them. I joke that I’m part financial adviser, part therapist – and clients laugh because it’s true. One client needed help accessing tax-free cash from his pension, but the real barrier was years of family stress and self-doubt. We took our time, talked it through, and eventually he did it. Now, every time I see him, I ask: have you been on that holiday yet? Have you bought that bookshelf? The little things are what it’s really about.

I’m candid with clients, even when it’s not what they expect. If I don’t think a course of action is right for them, I’ll say so – clearly and honestly. Good advice isn’t about facilitating every request; it’s about getting people to the right outcome. I’ve helped clients who thought they had no choice but to work until 67 realise they can retire years earlier. Watching that shift – from resignation to possibility – is what keeps me in this work.

Outside of work, I’m always in the middle of a project – most likely the garden. If I’m not doing something for myself, I’m doing it for my family. That same restless ambition – the same drive that pushed me past a “no” in a building society all those years ago – is exactly what I bring to every client relationship.

That school trip taught me that money matters – and that understanding it is power. If you’ve been putting off getting your finances properly sorted, let’s talk.