Robert

My name is Rob Greenwood. I’ve been a client of GPFM for 15 years and Simon Frost is my adviser.

My aspirations when I started working with GPFM were around planning for the future. For bigger mortgages or changing house further down the line, the arrival of children, retirement, making use of all the benefits of ISAs and other investment models that have tax benefits. So, I wanted to get all that right as early as possible.

I heard of GPFM through friends and family acquaintances who had worked with GPFM in the past, and they thought very highly of them. I was looking for some financial advice and they were recommended to me, and I got in touch and the relationship went from there.

I was concerned that if I went with a much larger firm, I would be another client. Whereas the size and the kind of personal communication and interaction that I had right from the start, with GPFM meant that I felt they really understood my circumstances, my situation, what I wanted to achieve and how to help me best get there.

GPFM helped me in a number of areas. On a personal level, they’ve helped me with my pension planning, and they’ve helped me with the creation of ISAs for both myself, my wife and the children. So, maximising all areas for tax efficiency from a personal standpoint.

Outside of that, GPFM has also helped me from a company standpoint, when I set out in establishing my own business. As that grew, we were looking for someone to help us put in the right pension scheme for our staff. That was something that GPFM also stepped in and helped us with. They have gone on to help a number of our employees as well on a personal level.

The three words I would use to describe GPFM, I would say reliable, trustworthy and committed.

They do the due diligence to assess what’s right for me and they bring that forward when they are supporting my personal circumstances. The fact that they’re doing all of that work, and the fact that they’re well-researched and well prepared, gives me a high level of security and reassurance that I’m in the right hands.

We put in, over the years, the right steps and we’ve put in the right planning, so that I’m well set in the position I’m in and my future, that we can build on that good start, that good foundation. We can be dynamic with my own personal investments and my own personal situation as that starts to change for me, as I start to get older, and as my family matures and they move on, and priorities shift and the way in which I live my life changes.

The best thing about working with GPFM, I think it’s the continuity of the relationship. It’s relaxed, it’s formal enough that I know the work is taken seriously, and they understand what they’re doing. They’re very professional and well prepared in what they do, but the engagement is relaxed.

The best advice they’ve given me is that trying to rush something, trying to get a result very quickly, is not the right strategy. Planning for the long term and the longer ride, that’s where their advice has been very well received and has been invaluable for me.

They really, truly understand my personal circumstances and can support me going forward. So, I would have no hesitation to recommend them. They are very easy to work with, and they’re very good at communication. There is that kind of size element of the organisation which feels like you get very well looked after.