Ed & Jenna

Jenna: Hi, my name is Jenna, and this is my husband Ed. We’ve been clients of Mark’s for about eight years.

Ed: At the time, we had a bit of extra income, but we were getting terrible returns on my income at the bank. So, we decided we wanted to do something a bit more adventurous with our money, which led us to seek out a financial adviser. Mark was somebody who we knew of and definitely felt like he was on the same wavelength. He kept things simple. He took an interest in not just the specific investment we were looking to make, but also in our longer-term life ambitions. We thought it was a really good opportunity to start working with Mark at that point.

Mark’s been really helpful as, rather than just immediately diving into what he thinks the solution should be, he really tries to understand what your longer-term objectives are. You very much start thinking with the end in mind. And that gets you asking you some soul-searching questions that you weren’t expecting when dealing with a financial adviser. Then we work backwards from these answers to make recommendations in the here-and-now about what we think we should be doing with our money. He’s helped us invest in easy access ISAs, long-term ISAs, and pensions. To date, we’ve had really sound sensible advice, and decent balanced view. And we’ve seen really healthy returns, too.

Jenna: Having someone that we trust, like Mark, looking after our investments and the choices that we’re making is really reassuring, because if we were doing it by ourselves, we would almost certainly have made different choices. Obviously, we don’t know options and opportunities to the degree that Mark has. We’ve really built a personal connection with Mark; he understands us and the goals that we have. Coupled with his experience, and what he’s delivered for us, makes us feel really secure and comfortable with the choices that we’ve made in a financial adviser.

Ed: It’s hugely reassuring for me, knowing that Mark’s there in the background, looking after our financial affairs. I feel that more than ever when there’s a huge amount of turbulence. Obviously, with the recent crisis in the world with COVID hitting and the impact that had on the stock markets, I never felt more reassured than by having Mark’s steady hand on the tiller. He knows so much more about finance than I do. It’s very reassuring and ensures that we don’t make knee-jerk reactions, and instead take a balanced view for the long term. And today, he’s been proved right.

Jenna: The two best things about working with Mark are that he really understands what we’re trying to achieve and designs a plan to help us get there. It feels like he personally cares about our future ambitions and is very genuine in wanting to help us achieve them. That makes us definitely feel like we’ve made the right choice in our financial adviser. My husband knows more about these things than I do, but Mark brings a totally different opinion to the table. So, rather than me just taking everything my husband says as gospel, I like working with Mark because he brings a different point of view. I really value that.

Ed: The three words that I’d use to describe Mark are: trustworthy, dynamic, and people-focused.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Mark to other people. In fact, I have done so on several occasions. It’s evident to me – and I’ve worked with a number of different financial advisers – that Mark has such a good, deep understanding of his field. Not just of the regulatory investments that are on offer, but also really understanding what your objectives are as an individual. And he cares, which is really important.