Retirement planning – Anna’s story
I met Chris before he launched Bow Financial, when I wasn’t quite ready to see a financial adviser, but I really liked him and his knowledge left a lasting impression on me.
Then looming on the horizon was retirement. Time I thought to consolidate all my investments and make them work for me. But how? The more I tried to understand where I needed to go, the more complicated it all got. Instead of growth I needed income and to make that happen most of all I needed independent financial advice. So I made a call.
Enter Chris, and what a breath of fresh air! He clearly knew his stuff and I could see he was able to do what I needed. He had the expertise, but also, he was young and enthusiastic, and I wanted to work with someone who had that energy.
The process
Chris started by finding out what I wanted from my retirement.
As the director of my own company I’d been used to getting a stable income – a low monthly wage, but a dividend at end of year. So I needed a way of arranging a regular income but I also wanted to enjoy my retirement.
Chris created a plan for me that allowed both, so now I have a regular amount every month and enjoy little luxuries – a new car for example, or an extravagant holiday. That regular amount helps me to budget and means I don’t have to worry. He also helped me to give my children some money in a tax-efficient way.
There was no push – he gave me plenty of time to think about things and he took great trouble to explain things clearly.
Managing the cost
One of the reasons I went it alone initially was because I thought it would be too expensive to have a financial adviser. When I did sit down and do the number crunching, I realised that the online alternatives are very good at concealing their charges.
They were costing me a lot more than I thought for nothing, and for a similar fee I could actually get proper independent financial advice from a dedicated person like Chris who can find out exactly what you want, what you need, and match those needs with your finances.
There’s an initial cost, but the ongoing cost is cheaper than what I was paying online. And I’ve never looked back. Beforehand, I had no clue what I was going to get in retirement, but Chris has made life very easy for me.
Added flexibility
Chris has created a plan for me, and I’m still living the plan, but I can change it as well.
We have a review very 6 months which has changed the way I look at my investments - I was used to looking at them every day, but now I have trust in them.
The reviews give me an opportunity to ask questions. For example, the markets are currently behaving very strangely, and Chris has talked me through why this could be, which means I don’t have to search through newspapers to try and find out why myself.
If that’s not worth the money, I don’t know what is!
Chris is very trustworthy and knowledgeable, and I think you have to have the combination of the two because you’re going to be sharing a lot of personal information with your adviser. He’s given me fantastic advice and totally clarified everything for me.
Although I enjoyed investing online myself, I was very much holding my breath that everything was going to work out ok! I also realised that with the limited knowledge I had, I could make some dreadful mistakes but now I have Chris with his expertise and a plan for my retirement!