“When life changes direction unexpectedly, a good plan keeps you on course.”
Some people plan their career, mine planned itself around me. After years advising expats across Switzerland – where a remarkable proportion of the population isn’t Swiss and the financial questions are rarely straightforward – life took an unexpected turn. Shortly after Covid, a serious health scare stopped me in my tracks and made me reassess everything. It wasn’t a moment I’d planned for – but then neither is redundancy, divorce, or the moment you realise you’re about to retire and no one’s ever explained what that actually means for your money. What I found, navigating my own uncertainty, was that the quality of your plan – and the people around you – makes all the difference.
That experience – navigating uncertainty and finding a better path – is exactly what I help clients do every day. I’ve been in financial services for over three decades, starting in insurance broking before moving into leasing and business management. My years working with high-net-worth clients across Switzerland gave me a different perspective: people who held assets in multiple currencies, thought globally, and needed an adviser who could match that breadth. What I learned there still shapes how I work now.
The area where I believe I make the biggest difference is the transition from accumulation to decumulation – that pivotal moment when you stop building wealth and start living from it. It’s not just about switching on your pension. Decisions made at that point affect your income for life, your tax position, your care costs, and what you leave behind. With pensions set to fall within the scope of Inheritance Tax (IHT) from 2027, the planning needed right now is more important than ever. I work with clients well ahead of that crossroads, modelling different scenarios so they can make informed choices, not rushed ones.
I’ve helped clients rebuild after redundancy, restructure their finances through divorce, and protect blended families through careful estate planning – wills, trusts, and Lasting Powers of Attorney – that ensure assets reach the right people. What connects all of those conversations is something that no qualification can fully teach: getting to know the person in front of you. The technical knowledge matters, but if someone doesn’t trust you, they won’t share the information you need to help them properly.
I’m approachable, I respond promptly, and I reach out before clients feel the need to chase me – particularly when budgets or regulatory changes are about to affect them. As one client put it: “Thank goodness you flagged that.” That’s the kind of adviser I aim to be.
Unexpected changes will always come. What matters is having a plan flexible enough to absorb them – and someone steady beside you when they do. Outside of work, I’m a keen cruiser (Norway is unbeatable), a devoted fan of Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels, and tending a garden that keeps teaching me the same lesson I share with clients every day: the best time to prepare was yesterday, the second-best time is now.
