Your Financial Planning Maestro

In this week's episode we talk to Matthew Walne CFP™, Santorini Financial Planning.

Matthew became interested in obtaining his CFP certification quite a few years ago and had a tough journey to get there.

Matthew is one of the nicest financial planners that you will ever meet in the profession.  But underneath that Mr Nice Guy, there is a man with a dogged determination to continue his own personal development of knowledge and skills.  In doing so, he has proven to himself what many of us already knew, that he's a great financial planner.

He is happier (understatement of the year) and his clients are already feeling the benefits of gaining his CFP certification.

Matthew's bio:

Matthew Walne CFP™ is a Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Wealth Manager and Registered Life Planner and the owner and founder of Santorini Financial Planning Ltd since 2011. 

Santorini Financial Planning is a boutique lifestyle financial planning business based in Loughborough, Leicestershire serving small business owners and senior executives looking to plan their retirement and beyond.

In this week's episode we talk frankly and openly about the issues around giving advice to vulnerable clients with Martin Lines, Development and Events Director, Just

With recent FCA research suggesting that around 50% of people who seek financial advice should probably be classed as vulnerable because of the pandemic, now is a good time to revisit these issues.  

We discuss what the regulator is doing and we explore how financial planning firms are tackling this issue in their day-to-day work with clients.  We talk through the practical aspects of spotting vulnerability, the do's and don'ts when it comes to advising clients who you suspect might be vulnerable and the changes to regulation on the horizon.

Martin also gives lots of practical tips to paraplanners and planners to ensure their client's are suitably cared for and I challenge him on and how, or even if, planners should tell clients if they think that they should be classed as vulnerable.

A throughly engaging conversation full of practical take-aways for all those who have any find of contact with clients.  No stone is left unturned in this episode!

Martin Lines' Bio:

Martin heads up Just’s team of Retirement and Later Life Specialists, supporting adviser training events and conferences across the UK – and online!  

He joined Partnership in 2009, ahead of the creation of Just, having worked alongside local and national adviser firms on pensions and retirement-related issues.  He is a regular speaker at financial services events with subjects ranging from the technical issues to consumer vulnerability and behavioural bias.

Want to know more?

Watch the following couple of videos:

Vulnerability: award winning ideas

Vulnerability: Changing perceptions

Many financial planning firms 'give away' the financial plan as part of an investment management service or as a loss leader because they are paid a percentage of assets under management.  This puts the emphasis on gaining more assets for the business rather than providing financial plans for clients.  Numerous surveys show a reluctance for the public to pay for advice they seek - this is partly because they do not see the value in what you offer. 

In this week's episode we talk to Warren Shute CFP™, Lexington Wealth about why he built is financial planning business on the premise that all client should have a financial plan.  

We talk about why he believes this is critical to his clients' success and why it is important to make it the centrepiece of your client service proposition.

We also talk about how you can get on TV and why is is important to help educate as many people as possible, whether they become clients or not.

Warren's bio:

Warren Shute MSc. CFP is a fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, and a multi-award winning Certified Financial Planner at Lexington Wealth. Where they practise true financial planning linked to the clients lifestyle; the firms motto “to help clients live life by design, and not default”. 

Warren is passionate about financial education and has for many years taught in schools, educated the public and businesses on the benefits of financial planning. 

 He has an Amazon bestselling personal finance book; The Money Plan, a podcast by the same name and a Sunday Mirror column called Money Talk.  He’s appeared on BBC and ITV and national and local radio all to raise awareness of financial planning in the UK. 

 He says financial planning is ‘the best profession in the world’.

In this episode we talk to Susie Bewell CFP™, Branch Principal, Raymond James Hitchin, about why she decided to become a CFP professional, her journey to get there and the way she has moved her more traditional wealth management business to offer a comprehensive financial planning service to her clients.

Many investment/wealth managers tell me that they don't think they need to think about financial planning, but as both the wealth management market shrinks due to technological advances and the financial planning market grows as more advisers embrace financial planning, Susie explains why and how her firms now offers a better service even to those clients who receive investment only advice.

Susie’s Bio.

Susie is a Chartered Wealth Manager and Branch Principal of Raymond James Hitchin which she founded in March 2002 with her father Robert.

As well as becoming a CFP Professional in 2021 Susie holds investment and financial planning qualifications with both the CII and CISI and is an enthusiastic networker and member of several local business networks.

With her business partner Faye Silver they won the Women In Business Services Best Business in Financial Services Award in 2019 and Susie was a Finalist at the Investment Week Women In Investment Awards in November 2021.

Their business is open to clients of all sizes as accessibility of advice is a key driver to their success. They have a focus on empowering women (and all individuals) at all stages in life to understand what their finances can bring them and maximising their potential.

In this week's episode we talk to Sarah Huffen CFP™ Chartered MCSI, Principal of Gilded Wealth.

Sarah is a very determined lady.  Sarah left school with very few qualifications she embarked on a unique path into financial services, starting her own business and being one of very few people to pass their CISI L7 assessment on her first submission.  She did all that whilst arranging a wedding and catching COVID-19 too! 

Sarah believes passionately that more women should enter the financial planning profession, the value that a wider mix of backgrounds, gender and age can bring and that this should be more widely welcomed.

She shares her tough journey to success and offers encouragement and tips to anyone looking to undertake the CFP Certification in the UK.

Sarah's bio:

After starting in the industry as a receptionist, Sarah is now a CFP with her own successful business. Sarah strives to provide outstanding goal based planning whist building a strong relationships with her clients.

Our website: LockieConsultants.com

In this week's episode we talk to Tina Weeks CFP™, Serenity Financial Planning, about how financial planners can become even better at helping clients achieve their goals.  We talk about how cashflow planning is only scratching the surface as far as giving comprehensive financial planning is concerned and why she decided to gain the CFP certification and how it has helped her in business and with her clients.

We have a frank discussion about her journey to CFP and the changes that she has made to her business since passing as well as the impact that FCA introduction of Vulnerable Clients Guidance has impacted the way she gives advice.  We even delved about in my favourite subject, assumptions, and discuss the changes that she has made to her business processes.

This episode is packed full of practical tips to help you improve your business position and service to clients.

Tina Weeks CFP™ bio:

I have been a financial adviser for over 24 years and during that time I have come to realise that so many people struggle so much with money. Regardless of how much they have. People’s relationship with money actually impacts their relationship with everything in their life and taking control of it brings an amazing positive impact.

I work with my clients over the long-term helping them build on and grow their financial plans so that they have enough money to do all the things that they want to do. I coach my clients to stop worrying about money and feel confident about their finances. As well as helping my clients change their mindset, I show them how to manage their money on a day to day basis and explain financial and tax concepts in a simple way.

I believe that financial planning is about so much more than money. I work best with people who are ready to get their finances and their investments in order and are willing to be coached to look at all aspects of their life so they can achieve the best possible outcomes.

I believe so strongly in the relationship-based approach to financial planning that I run training programmes that help other financial planners work in this way.

In this week's episode we talk to Louise Sagar CFP™, Live Vitae Financial Planning, who went on quite a journey to gain her Certified Financial Planner certification.

In this frank discussion she shares her journey and experiences and explains how becoming a paraplanner started her journey to CFP and with a young family, lead her ultimately to start her own lifestyle business.

Louise offers invaluable tips for those embarking on the CFP in the UK and also offers some sound advice to those juggling a young family and trying to progress their career.

Louise Sagar CFP™ bio:

Louise has worked in financial services since 2003 and during that time has passed a number of different qualifications. She is both a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner and also Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. 

 Louise has recently set up her own financial planning business – Live Vitae Financial Planning, building a brand in line with the values that are important to her.

Website: LockieConsultants

Wendy is a CFP™ professional who started the charity Ditch Debt with Dignity in 2014 and since then has supported hundreds of wealthy people who have got into debt.  In a world where so many on lower incomes have struggled financially during the pandemic, many wealthier people have tried to keep up the appearance of affluence which has resulted in many feeling ashamed and reluctant to seek help.

We talk about how to identify which of your clients might be starting to struggle financially, practical steps to support them in making the tough decisions needed to find a solution and sources of help and education for us and for clients.

As we start 2022, this is perhaps one of the most insightful conversations we've had on our podcast.

Website: Ditch Debt with Dignity

The book we talk about in this podcast:  Time to Think, Nancy Kline. Please support your local bookshops if you can.

Listen again via: LockieConsultants.com

In this week's podcast episode, the final one in this series, I talk to Joanna Redmond CFP™, Financial Planner at Investment for Life.

Joanna has been a CFP Professional for around seven years and has spent most of the last six assessing IFP and CISI L6 and L7 financial plan submissions before stepping down in 2021.

She gives us many significant tips and advice to those who are about to embark on the CISI L7 case study financial plan assessment and even more advice to those in the middle of the process.

We talk through the do's and don'ts when writing up your financial plan, the common errors that candidates make, the common subject areas that cause confusion and the way the feedback letters are created if you fail a submission.

As we explain in the podcast, Joanna is no longer an assessor and so cannot help you with individual queries.  Please respect that fact and contact the CISI qualifications team directly if you have any queries with your own financial plan assessment or feedback.

This conversation is very timely with the quarterly release of the CISI L7 results just around the corner.

Joanna's Bio: 

Joanna enjoys the technical side of building a Financial Plan and presenting her ideas to our clients, bringing them closer to their goals. Joanna is actively involved within our professional bodies and helps develop the profession by assessing the global Certified Financial Planner Licence.

Our website: LockieConsultants.com