“I was nine when the 2008 crash hit. It’s shaped how I advise.”
I was nine when the 2008 financial crash hit. About a year earlier, my mum and dad had set up their own mortgage business. As you can imagine, it didn’t go particularly well. Within six months, it had all fallen off a cliff. We were still very tight knit as a family – but I learned early on that money isn’t everything; it’s just what helps to make life easier when you’ve got it sorted.
I didn’t take the usual route in. No university or graduate scheme. Mum had moved into a financial planning role, and on school holidays from about age 12, she’d take me in to do shredding for some pocket money. By 16, I was asking the advisers what they’d actually do for a particular client and why. I got a Certificate in Financial Services through college, and from there I got my first admin role that same summer, moving into paraplanning, and after various roles along the way, now advise my own clients on a day-to-day basis.
I joined Mattioli Woods in August 2025, so a lot of what I’m doing is taking on clients from longstanding advisers to help continue delivering an excellent level of service. The trust they had with the previous adviser carries over to a point but it must be earned again. Some clients want every bit of information; others want a coffee and a chat.
Where I think I add the most is through cash-flow modelling. I had a couple in their early thirties recently – both well-paid vets – who wanted to retire by 55 but didn’t think it was necessarily achievable. We worked through about 15 scenarios: mapping out contributions, growth rates, inflation, what happens if he wants to pull £200,000 out for a Ferrari at the end of it (his words, not mine). What came out wasn’t a guarantee, but a proper financial plan. They walked out with a clear picture of how their retirement picture gets built, year by year. That’s the bit of the job I genuinely love, making people realise their dreams are possible.
Plenty of younger working-age people don’t really know what the next 10 or 20 years look like – some of my own friends included. Cash flow helps bring that to life. You stop thinking about an ISA in isolation and start thinking about where you actually want to be at 45, 55, 65 and what it takes to get there.
I’ll always tell people things straight – that’s something I’ve grown up with on my dad’s side of the family. I’d rather underestimate and over deliver than the other way round.
Outside of work, I moved to the Fylde coast a couple of years ago and make the most of it – hiking in the Lakes, runs along the coast and plenty of padel and cricket. Lots of gigs and seeing family and old friends back down south whenever I get the chance.
