Spotlight on… Bryn Richmond 

Since joining Five Wealth in July 2023 as a trainee financial planning manager, Bryn Richmond has become an integral part of the paraplanning team, supporting advisers and administrators in delivering high quality, holistic financial planning. We caught up with Bryn to hear more about his journey so far, his unique career path, and what he enjoys most about life at Five Wealth.

Tell us a bit about you and your role

I’m a financial planning manager at Five Wealth, having joined in 2023. My role is all about bringing together the various strands of financial planning – whether that’s analysing investment strategies, reviewing pension plans, or considering any changes in a client’s circumstances – and pulling it all together into a clear, actionable plan.

A big part of what I do involves liaising between advisers and the administration team, supporting advisers like Phil, Amy, Rick, and Liz across a wide range of clients with very different needs. While investments form one part of that, it’s very much about holistic financial planning as a whole. It’s about seeing the full picture and helping make recommendations that genuinely work for each individual.

What led you to financial planning?

My career path is quite varied and unconventional! After graduating from Oxford, I worked in the music department of a school – a bit chaotic, but full of character. I then spent some time travelling in New Zealand (and visited all of the Lord of the Rings locations) and later ended up working in an orchestra library in Manchester. It was a very niche role, but I loved getting to know the musicians.

Eventually I joined AJ Bell, working in a role focused on death benefits – figuring out who should receive pension and ISA benefits after someone’s passed away. It was there that I first came into contact with financial advisers, and I became interested in how financial planning can really make a difference to people’s lives. That led me to pursue this path more seriously.

What drew you to join Five Wealth?

It was the opportunity to do more report writing and be involved in real client work. The clients here have more diverse circumstances, which makes the work more interesting and rewarding. There’s a strong focus on really getting to know clients and helping shape their financial future. That kind of connection isn’t always possible at larger firms.

How has your role evolved since you joined?

At the start, I didn’t have much experience with report writing, but over time I’ve been trusted with more responsibility and given more autonomy. I’m now much more involved in building out recommendations, communicating with advisers and offering ideas. It’s been great to feel that my knowledge is growing and that I’m playing a bigger part in the team.

What’s been the best part of working at Five Wealth so far?

Definitely the people. There’s no hierarchy here, it’s very cohesive and collaborative. Everyone listens and supports each other, and there’s a real team spirit when it comes to problem solving. Whether it’s something work related or just having a chat over coffee, everyone’s approachable and friendly.

I also really enjoyed the social side of working at Five Wealth – our walks in the Lake District, Christmas parties, and the cooking class at Food Sorcery where we cooked a festive biryani, have all been memorable highlights.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

I’m excited to keep developing and working toward my Chartered status. I’ve nearly completed my advanced diploma, and I am looking forward to taking on more challenges. Learning on the job is really important to me; there’s always something new to understand or a different client situation to get stuck into.

What hobbies do you enjoy when you’re not working?

I play violin with the Stockport Symphony Orchestra. We rehearse quite intensively – five or six times in the weeks leading up to each concert, and we usually put on around eight concerts a year. It’s a real team effort, with 50 to 60 of us all working together to create something special.

There’s nothing quite like the exhilaration of performing after weeks of rehearsals and hearing the applause at the end. I even treated myself to a new violin recently.

Spotlight on… Jordan Wheatley

Jordan has worked with the Five Wealth team since his final year of university, joining full-time when he graduated in 2016. Starting as an intern, Jordan has steadily progressed within the firm from junior paraplanner to financial planning manager in 2018. Jordan has showcased remarkable dedication and commitment and achieved the position of Chartered Financial Planner in 2024. We had the opportunity to speak with Jordan about his current role and his aspirations for the future.

Tell us a bit about your role and how it has changed over the years

My role has evolved a lot since I first joined the firm, eight years ago, when I was just starting out in my career, and I’ve continued to learn and grow ever since. From interning during university and joining as a junior paraplanner after I graduated, I’ve worked my way up, completing my exams and gaining relevant industry experience, progressing towards my goal of becoming a Chartered Financial Adviser.

A big achievement of mine has been getting signed off to advise my own clients. My time is currently split between supporting the financial adviser in my team, Steve Hughes, through getting reports prepared, and meeting with my own clients to provide advice, so no day is ever the same. This allows me to learn from an experienced adviser while simultaneously developing my own expertise and building strong client relationships.

What has been your highlight of working at Five Wealth?

Managing clients’ finances and helping them towards their financial goals can be daunting but I’m passionate about what I do, and I’m surrounded by a great team who support and trust me. A career highlight for me was undoubtedly being approved as a financial advisor. Having been a part of the team throughout my entire professional journey has been very fulfilling, witnessing the firm’s growth alongside my own personal and professional development.

A particularly proud moment in my career involved two successful meetings, where I helped two different clients with differing circumstances and financial planning needs, which led to them both becoming clients of Five Wealth. I’m really looking forward to working with them over the long term to achieve their objectives. This experience was incredibly rewarding and fueled my ambition to become an established adviser even more and I can’t wait to continue to build my portfolio.

What are you looking forward to in the future at Five Wealth?

Moving forward, I’m looking forward to building strong and lasting relationships with even more clients, further developing my role as a financial adviser and providing the highest level of financial advice. I am also excited to achieve Chartered Financial Adviser status. While I value the experience and knowledge gained through supporting other advisers, I want to dedicate more of my time and energy to directly serving clients. I want to be able to support the other advisers in driving Five Wealth forward through attending industry events and networking opportunities, expanding our client base and increasing the overall value of assets under management.

Spotlight on…. Sharon Brayshaw

Working closely for more than 15 years with co-founder and director, Steve Jordan, our long-serving financial planning assistant, Sharon Brayshaw, is finally ready for retirement. We spoke to her to find out about her varied career in finance.

When did you start your career, and where?

I started at Scottish Provident when I was just 17. It was a completely different world back then. Over the years, the company changed hands – it became Scottish Mutual, then Santander. After that, I was part of building Dewhurst Torevell, which I then left to help launch Five Wealth.

How long have you been working alongside Steve?

I’ve worked with Steve for 18 years. He might not like to hear it but when he started, he was just a mere boy!

What roles have you held during your career?

I’ve worked in life insurance, protection, and even mortgage underwriting. While I didn’t particularly like numbers in my youth, I sort of fell into finance through a job agency in Manchester after a year of secretarial college. I have ended up enjoying my many roles in the industry and never looked back!

How has your role evolved over the years?

Initially, I focused on admin and paraplanning. When Five Wealth was established, my work leaned more towards admin. The company has grown so much since then, and it’s amazing to see where it’s at now. We have moved away from a small business to a serious corporate firm which is testament to the hard work of everyone – it feels like a great time to finally retire.

How has Five Wealth changed since its launch?

It’s grown tremendously, becoming more corporate while still retaining a friendly culture. There are so many young people there now, and the directors and staff are all genuinely nice. Steve’s client base has expanded, and the company keeps going from strength to strength.

What are your plans for retirement?

Retirement hasn’t fully hit me yet! I’d like to find a little part-time job – maybe something local in a shop. But I want to enjoy some time off first, take more trips to the Lake District, and read more on my Kindle.

Do you have any advice for the person taking over your role?

Be prepared to work hard and stay flexible. Many clients may treat you like part of their own family, which can be a positive experience, but it’s important to understand their expectations before starting the job. Being adaptable and open to new processes will help you succeed and navigate any changes smoothly.

Any final thoughts?

It’s been an incredible journey. Five Wealth has grown so much, and it’s rewarding to see it become an established business. While I’m looking forward to this next chapter, I’ll always treasure the memories and the people I’ve worked with.

Sue Barlow has been a fundamental part of Five Wealth since its foundation back in 2016. Here, Sue tells us all about her time at Five Wealth so far and gives us an insight into her role as practice manager.

Tell us a bit about you and your role?

I’ve worked in financial services since I was 18. I’m now in my 50s, which makes this a long time! Having been in financial services for so many years, I like to think I have a lot of knowledge of and experience in many aspects of the industry.  I understand why and how the industry has got to where it is now. I was also amongst the first to sit and pass the Pensions Management Institute Certificate in Pensions Automatic Enrolment (CPAE), so that’s quite interesting!

Outside of work, I’m married to my husband, Paul, and we have two teenage daughters. We live in Wigan with our dog, Barney the Pomtzu. In my free time, I’m a member of the Wigan Community Choir, so you might catch me out and about performing at one of our concerts.

How has your role changed from when you first began to now?

 When I joined Five Wealth back in 2016, I worked with Chris Little, one of the founding directors of Five Wealth (who has recently retired), as a financial planning manager.  I also managed client and in-house schemes, which remains one of my core responsibilities.

My role now also covers a lot of different areas in the office – primarily HR, accounting, health and safety, and employee benefits. I also cover group schemes, including workplace pensions, death-in-service, and private medical cover.

Best part of working at Five Wealth?

The best part of working at Five Wealth is the incredible team. The people here truly make Five Wealth what it is: down-to-earth, approachable, knowledgeable, and always supportive. Also, the hybrid work model we now have has been a game changer for me. After years of commuting between Wigan and Manchester, it’s fantastic!

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to progress in the financial advice industry?

My advice to anyone looking to progress is a positive, can-do attitude is must, and maintaining this is essential to success. As well as this, focus on completing your exams as soon as you can. This way, you’ll have equipped yourself with the necessary knowledge and credentials, allowing you to hit the ground running.

It’s been just over a year since Five Wealth took on £6.7m of investment from Foresight Group, which marked the beginning of a new stage of growth for the business.

By partnering with Foresight, our goal was to build on the success of the last seven years by creating a platform for our next generation of advisers and directors to continue to grow the business through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions.

Working with Foresight, and our investor Director, Matt McLoughlin, has been a wholly positive experience  and been hugely beneficial for our business. Foresight have been exactly who they said they would be, supporting the management team in delivering the original plan we presented to them at outset.

The investment also enabled us to bring in Tim Parsons, as non-exec Chairman, and Jonathan Partington, as Finance Director, both of whom have made significant contributions to our development over the last twelve months.

In short, twelve months on, the business has not only grown in terms of assets under management and the number of clients looked after but importantly it has a whole new level of structure and governance which stands us in good stead for further growth from here on.

Building a business to scale

To deliver on the plan presented to Foresight, scalability is key, and we are well on our way to achieving what we set out to do.

Some  changes are clearly visible such as refreshing our brand to align with the needs of our clients, whether they be high-net worth individuals, business owners or professionals. We’ve also updated our client proposition and been more active in producing content for distribution externally via LinkedIn and a whole range of business publications.

Whilst less visible but of equal, if not greater, importance to our service delivery and scalability is the work we have undertaken in streamlining our internal processes.

We have also launched a more structured professional training programme for our paraplanners, as well as a host of promotions. Amy Grace, Liz Schulz, and Rick Gosling have all joined the management team and are playing an active part in taking the business forward.

Relationships that last a lifetime

Since our inception, our goal has always been creating relationships with our clients that last a lifetime, whether that’s working with ambitious business owners, or advising families in building intergenerational wealth. This hasn’t changed and if anything, our proposition is even more closely aligned to this goal.

This greater focus has  positively impacted on our numbers and, since August last year with Foresight’s backing, our assets under management have grown significantly, increasing by 10% to £771m. Turnover has increased by 8.2% compared to the same period in the prior year and in the process we have brought on board over 30 new client family groups.

As we continue to grow, our ambition is to become the leader in financial planning and investment management in the North, and whilst we recognise we are still in the early stages of this journey we are making good progress.

Helping to realise ambition

We’ve learnt a lot since partnering with Foresight and made a lot of progress in a short period of time building on a solid platform created since 2016. Over the coming years, the intention is to build on this via a combination of organic growth, suitable acquisitions, new adviser additions, and greater efficiency across the business. In a profession with a high average practitioner age, we also intend to continue our focus on building the business with a relatively young but highly qualified team.

As we embark on our second year with Foresight, we are ready to move onto the next phase of our journey updating our original plan taking a more positive long-term view. Our ultimate aim is to create a sustainable, growing business with a long-term focus which provides security for our clients across the generations and our young and enthusiastic team.

We are delighted to announce that on 31^st March, Foresight Group the leading listed infrastructure and regional private equity investment manager, made a £6.7m investment into Five Wealth.

The investment is fantastic news for Five Wealth and marks the start of the next stage in the growth journey of the Company. We are looking to build on what we’ve achieved over these first seven years; growing from an initial staff of 15 to where we are today with 29 staff and over £670m under management.

With Foresight’s investment we will be seeking to further develop and enhance the service we provide and will be looking to grow the business further via a combination of continued strong organic growth and targeted acquisitions.

The investment has enabled Chris Little one of the original founder directors’ to retire and exit the business and also paves the way for future retirements.

We are pleased to welcome some new faces at Board level including Jonathan Partington as Finance Director, Tim Parsons as Non-exec Chair and Matt McLoughlin as Investor Director from Foresight. High quality expertise to support us with our growth plans.

The existing management team will remain and are committed to the long-term plan, we are all very excited about the future!

If you would like further information on anything covered in this article, please get in touch via the contact page.

As we bring 2022 to a close, we thought it would be great to reflect on the numbers which have played such a key part in our success over the last 12 months…

1 – the number of charity events hosted, taking place at The Radisson in Manchester city centre with around 250 attendees

2 – the number of team members that joined Five Wealth (Steven Prieditis and Finnley Brunel), both of whom provide support in a paraplanner capacity

2 – the number of staff members who have started the process of moving into an adviser role (Tyme Regent-Bascombe and Jordan Wheatley)

3 – the number of newborns that joined the ranks (with Ezra born to Nathan and his wife Beth, Tamio born to Tyme and his partner Toni, and Frank our sponsored support dog)

5 – the number of qualifications achieved by staff members (with Anthony Moss, Andy Denton and Sam Sharkey all gaining the Diploma in Financial Planning, Tyme Regent-Bascombe becoming a Chartered Financial Planner, and Steve Hughes becoming a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society).

6 – the anniversary we reached in August, and what a 6 years it has been!

12 – the number of clients that have either sold their business during the year, or have experienced a significant capital event

15 – the number of exams passed by our team members (including Nathan Holland, Sam Wright, Anthony Moss, Andy Denton, Tyme Regent-Bascombe and Sam Sharkey)

22 – the number of new Five Wealth branded hoodies ordered to keep our staff warm, with another order put in recently for more (could be added to a shop on our website if we get enough demand…)

27 – the number of clients this year we have assisted through a ‘retirement’ event (in some form or another!)

35 – the number of ‘Next Generation Advisers of 2022’ named by Citywire, a list on which 2 of our advisers appeared (Rick Gosling and Liz Schulz)

47 – the winning score from our ‘Axe Throwing Champion’ (Sam Wright) at this year’s Christmas party

52 – the number of new families that we have had the privilege of welcoming as clients to Five Wealth during the year

270 – the number of clients that we currently work with who are under the age of 40

450 – the number of coffee pods consumed to help clients through our in-person meetings!

And finally…

£36,210 – the total amount raised for Support Dogs, who were our chosen charity of the year and for whom we have been named as ‘Fundraisers of the Year 2022’

Hopefully you’ll agree, not a bad year by anyone’s standards!

We’d like to thank our staff for their hard work, and our clients and professional contacts for their ongoing support. Here’s hoping everyone has a great festive break, and we’ll see you in 2023!

If you would like further information on anything covered in this article, please get in touch via the contact page.

You will remember we introduced Frank in a previous post fivewealth.co.uk/news/frank-the-newest-member-of-the-five-wealth-team/

Well he’s now completed his first 6 months of training and he’s doing brilliantly! Go Frank!

Below is an update from Franks puppy trainer after his 6 months assessment and the picture is of him in his bandana and practicing his wait!

I had Frank in for his 6 month assessment yesterday and he did really well in a lot of areas. He’s such a friendly, social butterfly though this can sometimes work against him when he’s trying to focus. We had a lovely time off lead at the park and really put his recall to the test with all the dogs and children that were there (he was excellent and very responsive).

We’ll just be continuing to work on his focus and impulse control while he’s out and about, but so far he’s doing really well.