In this article we are introducing two new team members and finding out a bit more about their background. So a big welcome to Alex Reilly-Walling, Financial Adviser and Alex Stephen-Haynes – Chartered Financial Planner.

Let’s start with Alex Reilly-Walling..

Alex began his career in financial services working as a support associate for Lloyds Business Banking and has continued on the path to helping clients manage their money to fund the lifestyle they desire.

His big achievement so far is passing the advanced financial planning qualification. He names his proudest moment is helping a client book their dream holiday to New Zealand, as well as bringing their retirement date forwards.

Alex would describe Meriden Financial Planning as a very client-focused firm that can offer the full spectrum of financial services to meet every client’s needs. On top of that it offers an expert team who can provide targeted advice to its clients based on a great deal of experience.

In terms of key skills for a financial planner, Alex thinks that being a good listener and a sounding board for important decisions are very important.

An interesting fact about Alex is that he went to a military boarding school. As his father was in the RAF they moved around a lot. However, schooling provided a constant as his early life was mostly rooted in one place.

Last but not least….

Alex Stephen-Haynes took a different route, having completed a postgraduate degree in Criminology with a focus on financial crime. A key finding of his research was that a third party such as a financial adviser could help protect individuals by checking the legitimacy of schemes. He decided a career in financial services would allow him to protect people financially.

In fact, gaining Chartered Financial Planner status is his proudest achievement. Combining a busy full-time job and study was difficult, but he got there with the support of family and friends. Now he loves offering advice that empowers clients to achieve what is important to them, whether that is an ideal retirement or peace of mind in estate planning.

His favourite success is a recently bereaved client who wanted to retire early to enjoy more time with their grandchildren. However, early retirement did not seem viable. Alex demonstrated that it was perfectly realistic to retire 5 years earlier than planned! Being able to help clients regain time and control over their lives makes the job worthwhile.

More challenging is having difficult conversations with clients with unrealistic objectives. It is important to tackle, however, to ensure clients face challenges earlier on rather than face disappointment. Building a relationship grounded in trust and openness with clients is a key skill in achieving the best outcome.

Alex commends Meriden for its focus on exceptional service which places the clients at the core of what they do. It offers truly independent, tailored, expert advice as the company is owned by directors who also act as advisers and this removes any conflict of interest.

Outside of work, Alex very much enjoys reading financial history books! He believes they offer useful insights into the structures that defined the modern financial system. He is currently reading one on the history of Edinburgh as a financial centre.

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