Sarah and Andrew

Sarah: I met Madeleine through a networking group. I ran a business at the time and we met through The Athena Network. We had a financial adviser but we’d recently moved down from the North and left our financial adviser there so we were looking to potentially change. Madeleine was incredibly personable and bright so we thought it was time to have a chat. We liked the idea of having a trusted financial adviser close by.

We initially wanted to speak to Madeleine about our pensions. We’d moved down South, I’d changed jobs, got a different pension and we were looking for advice on planning for the future.

Madeleine has helped us think about things slightly differently. During the last recession, we were contemplating selling a house we owned but Madeleine helped us see a different view; she helped us see the investment we had in the house. Based on that conversation we decided to change our mortgage instead and now we still have an investment.

Our eldest son did a lot of work as a child actor and he had money that he had saved and we were planning on saving for university. Madeleine helped us find a good place to put that money where it’ll grow and help him in the biggest possible way when he goes to university.

Madeleine is very trustworthy. She’s honest… and witty! We have a bit of banter with each other at times! She makes a big effort to understand where you’re trying to get to which is really important.

Financial advice has got to be based on trust. And you need experience to guide you – and Madeleine has that in spades. She has to repeat things to us on a regular basis as if you’re not money-minded it’s easy to forget things she’s explained between meetings. And Madeleine has the patience to do that.

Andrew: I’m 56 this year and looking at exit strategies. We’re due to see Madeleine soon and we’re starting to make definitive timelines.

Having a financial adviser is like having a GP that you trust. It’s very personal, very intimate. She knows all our personal details. And what you feel - if you get the right person - is that you’re happy to share that information. It’s the confidence that you’ve got that part of your life sorted. If something comes up, she’s at the end of the phone or email as an extension to our life. She’s there when you need her.

She’s just a thoroughly nice person. Even though we don’t see her very often - we talk to her a couple of times a year - it’s right to say talking to her is something we look forward to. We always know we’ll go there and have a laugh and come out feeling like we’re in control of things, which is a great feeling.