Your Adviser

I have been in practice as an IFA since 2001, when I took up a trainee independent adviser role with Chase de Vere. I came to work in financial services in 1997, via the graduate recruitment programme of Halifax plc. That same organisation is what brought me to Leeds from my native Edinburgh.

I have always worked primarily as an adviser to private individuals. Since 2003, I have worked with awardees of personal injury settlements. These clients, many of whom are still with me to this day, have become my friends as well as clients. A few clients arrive at the point of their award having suffered some spinal cord injury (SCI), though I have dealt with a wide spectrum of personal circumstances and remits. Advice to clients of the Court of Protection and their deputies has also featured as part of this pseudo-specialism that I have developed. It's not a true specialism, since my client bank is not exclusively PI related. The thing that this work has taught me, though, is that it is best to move at a pace that feels comfortable for my clients, whether that is quickly, to accommodate the self-employed businessman, or at a more leisurely pace, as tends to be preferred by those enjoying their retirement. 

In 2012, I completed my Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning. That, combined with membership of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) allows me to call myself a Chartered Financial Planner - that means I have taken around 16 exams in various subjects, and I maintain my knowledge via a structured programme of Continuous Professional Development. I take my position of trust very seriously, and I emphasise with prospective clients that I position myself as a professional adviser, not a seller of products.

One of the reasons I like being an IFA is that everyone is different; everyone has their unique perspective. Through working with people over a number of years and getting to know their wider family, I believe the advice I provide gets stronger as that relationship grows. I'm not one for 'quick fixes' in my own life, so I bring that to bear in my considered and collaborative professional persona.

Away from work, I am a keen runner and triathlete. I have run five marathons to date, the latest of which was at the end of my second Ironman triathlon, in Nottingham.

When it is my choice, I raise money for the Spinal Injuries Association. They do amazing work for those who have suffered SCI, as well as those who support them in their daily lives.

I enjoy photography - usually candid portraiture of running events - and I am a closet computer geek. 

I married a Lancashire lass in 2008 and we have a young daughter, so safe to say my focus has altered a bit since she came along…. not to be a pushy parent, but if she doesn't win triathlon gold at the 2036 Olympic games, I'll consider myself a poorer parent for that.

Before we had the little one and bags under our eyes, we used to travel a lot. Rio Carnaval in 2011 was a huge highlight, though safari in South Africa runs it a very close second.