It’s Christmas! The last quarter of the year is always a full one for us at RB with client activity ramping up and a stream of events. We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new and soon to be new clients, along with a huge thank you to our existing clients for your continued custom and professional connections for your ongoing support. Read on for an update about what’s been going on at RB since our last RBulletin in May.
People
Callum Longden joined us as a Client Services Administrator at the start of July. He is a welcome addition to complete the Client Services Team, bringing with him several years’ experience in financial services. Callum is married to Cassie, has a dog called Ted and enjoys watching Manchester City in his free time.
Rebecca Dean returned from maternity leave to the Technical Team in September, following the birth of her beautiful baby girl Georgia in January.
We’re delighted to announce that Kate Brown, who covered Rebecca’s maternity leave, has agreed to stay on permanently at RB as a paraplanner in the Technical Team.
Barney Wood, our Trainee Adviser, has now moved fully into the adviser team and is successfully achieving each stage of his development plan towards Competent Adviser status.
Luci Tinsley has returned back to Durham University to complete her final year of study for her BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance and will continue to support us remotely with our sales and marketing activity.
Activity/Achievements
5 willing members of the team took part in this year’s Jane Tomlinson’s Run For All Leeds 10k in June, raising over an impressive £1100 for Parkinson’s UK, Marie Curie UK and the Multiple Sclerosis Trust.
In October, Dan Willers was a volunteer marshal at the Parkinson’s UK ‘Walk for Parkinson’s’ event in Leeds and Barney Wood joined 90 people to sleep overnight in aid of homeless charities at the John Smith’s stadium.
We were delighted to have 3 finalists in the national Professional Adviser Women in Financial Advice awards 2024: Gillian Shirt – Financial Adviser of the Year and Jo Vaughan and Helen Morgan – both for Team Leader of the Year. Gillian and Jo represented RB at the ceremony held in the Marriott Grosvenor Hotel in London in November.
Fingers crossed for the national Professional Adviser awards ceremony in March 2025 where we have been nominated as finalists again in 3 categories: Best Client Engagement – Adviser (Dan), Best Adviser Firm for Vulnerable Client Care and Adviser Firm of the Year North East.
Our adviser team hosted an Investment lunch for professional connections at the Malmaison Hotel in Leeds in September, each presenting about financial advice and planning, providing examples of how we add value and help our clients achieve their goals. They were out on the road again in November to attend the annual ‘Humans under Management’ conference in London, where they gained useful insights into the trajectory of financial services (i.e. a more person-centred approach) and ideas to continue to develop our service to clients.
Antony Barton was interviewed for a podcast for The Financial Planning Club in October, sharing his perspectives in his Director role about the importance of a positive attitude and behaviour in the workplace for success.
Dan Willers is recording a series of podcasts about financial advice and planning with ‘Podcasts for Business’, the first entitled ‘Navigating the New Budget: Key Changes for Businesses and Individuals’ released on 15th November.
Financial
The Autumn Budget felt more significant this year, with much anticipation and speculation beforehand and subsequent ramifications which we will need to work through. If you missed it, here is a link to our Budget blog.
Shoutouts
A special mention for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice Urgent Appeal, which has been launched in order to address a £1m funding gap due to rising costs and declining statutory funding.
A local charity, The Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, provides outstanding care for children with life-shortening conditions, their families and families who have suffered the loss of a child across West Yorkshire. If you are able to donate via the link below, you can help ensure the hospice can continue to deliver vital help to those in need. The appeal has got off to a great start, raising £100k within its first week. Thank you in advance for your support.
Zenith Black are a travel management company offering business travel and bespoke luxury holidays, who have been personally recommended to us. They handpick and test out their travel partners to ensure they meet their high standards, act as a PA from start to finish and their ongoing growth and success is largely down to repeat and referral business. For contact details check out their LinkedIn page.
Technology
In the new year we plan to launch survey software which will ask you for feedback following your review meeting; it is important to us as your review meeting is an important part of your financial plan. We are always striving for excellence and keen to find ways to ensure that we are delivering the high standards of service our clients expect. Thank you in advance for your support.
Feedback on this software and indeed any feedback is always welcome – you can contact us in any way which suits you.
Production
