FINANCE
Jessica - says
she’d recommend
Active to anyone.
Top marks – Paul says the professional
relationship with Active has excelled – “my
expectations have been exceeded,” he says.
“From the very first meeting I felt reassured
he (Karl) had a good understanding of my
needs.” – Julie, another of Active’s satisfied
customers.
independent financial planning firms in the
North-East.
Active holds the coveted chartered status,
which denotes firms which are considered to
be the ‘gold standard’ of financial planning.
Individuals holding chartered qualifications
are the most qualified and experienced
professionals in the sector and Active has
eight chartered team members. This includes
chartered financial planners, managers and a
chartered director.
As this qualification is so prestigious,
Active supports any team members
wishing to pursue it, allowing the time and
opportunity to reach the highest possible
standard in their field.
“Trust is massive, it is for me. Once you
sell a business, a lot of people approach you
to invest and when you don’t know really
what you are investing in, it can be a quite a
scary process,” said Gary.
“With Active, they put everything to bed.
We meet regularly, together with myself and
my wife, and it’s a bit of a friendship thing as
well.”
And from Paul? “I have always been wary
of financial advisers, I knew when I was
making a very, very important decision in my
life coming up to retirement that I needed
someone I knew and could trust to actually
plan my finances for my later years,” he said.
Client Julie was planning for retirement
when she contacted Active. “I was pretty
naïve about how and what financial planning
advice was going to be. I’d never had it
before. From
the very first
meeting I
felt reassured he (Karl) had a good
understanding of my needs,” she said of
her adviser.
Jessica approached Active when
she was looking for a mortgage. They
helped her find one after she’d been told
elsewhere it was something that wouldn’t
be possible. A few years later, she was
unfortunately diagnosed with cancer and
had to take time off work for treatment.
Thanks to the plans she’d discussed with
her financial adviser at Active, the advice
included critical illness cover and it meant
she could put the worry of paying it to
the back of her mind and concentrate on
getting better.
“The service I have received from
Active was absolutely spot on, 100 per
cent. I would definitely recommend
Active Financial Planners because of my
experience and because they are so
personable,” she said.
Lockdown, of course, meant the Dukes
Court, Thornaby-based business moved
to a new way of working, like thousands
of other businesses across the Tees
Valley. The team adjusted quickly to
working remotely, keeping in touch with
clients - and each other - online and by
telephone throughout, rather than the
usual face-to-face service.
As lockdown easing began at the
start of June, it moved quickly to put
plans in place for a return to the office
environment.
In line with the government guidance,
staff were still encouraged to work from
home but a rota system was planned
to ensure a limited number could be in
the office at any time when safe and if
activefinancialplanners.co.uk
#TheClearAdvantage
“Never before has a financial adviser
had to prove their worth more than
in the first six months of 2020. And
maybe never before have our services
been more relevant than right now too.”
required.
The space was modified to enable
social distancing and a log of visitors
was set up to enable effective tracking
and tracing, should it also be required.
The firm also invested in an NHS
decontamination and sanitisation
treatment for the building. The process,
which coats all surfaces in a protective
film, killing germs that touch it for up to
six weeks, took two days to complete.
James Tapster, decontamination
manager at NTH Solutions, said: “It is
clear that Active Financial Planners has
gone the extra mile to help staff return
to work as safely as possible during the
current climate.”
MD Karl has played an important role
as chair of the Institute of Directors for
our area, supporting many business
leaders across the Tees Valley in
identifying challenges, finding solutions
and discussing ideas for getting the local
economy back on its feet again.
“We have communicated regularly
and continuously throughout this recent
period, using all possible mediums
available to us. Having that supportive
and dynamic approach with everyone
has made sure our clients, friends
and colleagues know exactly what is
happening every step of the way,” said
Karl.
“Never before has a financial adviser
had to prove their worth more than in
the first six months of 2020. And maybe
never before have our services been
more relevant than right now too.
“We would encourage anyone whose
financial objectives have changed during
these challenging times to seek advice at
their earliest opportunity. Just make sure
it is from a reputable source.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 51