FINANCE
TWENTY-FIVE NOT OUT
Vision – Active Chartered Financial Planners directors Paul Gibson( left) and Karl Pemberton are celebrating the firm’ s 25th anniversary.
Active Financial Planners looks to the next quarter-century
PICTURES: CHRIS BOOTH WORDS: PAUL FRASER
In the ever-evolving landscape of financial services, reaching a 25-year milestone is a testament to resilience, foresight and a commitment to people.
For Active Chartered Financial Planners, August marked a quarter-century in business – a journey that began with a vision and has grown into a thriving force.
But as Active celebrate this significant anniversary, the team isn’ t resting on its laurels.
The focus is firmly on the future, as demonstrated by a period of strategic growth and the addition of key new talent.
This recent surge has been the most successful yet, highlighted by six new hires in the last 18 months.
These new recruits are an investment in the firm’ s next 25 years.
The most recent additions, chartered head of risk Lauren Lee and chartered financial planner Craig Honeyman, reflect the company’ s commitment to attracting top-tier talent who align with its core values.
The foundation of Active was laid in August 2000 by Glyn Pemberton. His son Karl, the firm’ s current managing director, remembers his father’ s emphasis on“ independence and doing things morally correct.”
Karl, who joined in 2007, and fellow director Paul Gibson, who followed in 2009, brought a different kind of expertise from their banking backgrounds.
They saw an opportunity to create a business that bridged the gap between large national institutions and smaller local firms, focusing on“ process, systems, brand, training and technical ability.”
Karl said:“ We started to grow the business significantly from 2009 onwards, into what you see today- a large regional player with a respected brand, high-quality staff, known for superior knowledge, professionalism and trust.”
A pivotal moment in Active’ s development came from the directors’ own commitment to learning.
Karl attended the Goldman Sachs development programme, while Paul completed the Leading Growth programme at Teesside University.
“ Those programmes gave us the skillset and business acumen to develop and grow a sustainable business,” Karl said.
“ This thirst for knowledge is something we strive to instil in every member of the team.”
Culture is a huge part of the business. Paul, who heads up much of the firm’ s cultural initiatives, sees it as a long-term project built on trust and a positive environment.
“ One of the things that makes us stand out is our culture,” Paul said.
“ We’ ve created a positive, flexible and good place to work.”
The office space itself reflects this philosophy. While the ground floor is a formal environment for clients and meetings, the upstairs is what is described as“ the penthouse” – a social hub complete with its own sports bar!
“ We’ ve created different spaces,” Paul
64 | Tees Business