I’d carefully chosen my original financial adviser, someone the same age as me, never thinking that she might retire too! After she’d sold her business to a larger firm, I went along to meet her replacement but had an uneasy feeling right from the start.
Although I’d been promised nothing would change, it soon became clear I wouldn’t get the same sort of service I’d been used to. Instead of being able to phone up or email with a query and get a response fairly quickly, I was contacted by a secretary who said the adviser ‘might’ be able to get in touch the following week!
It was time to look for someone new.
I wanted an adviser who’d have me on their radar, where I’d not just be another number.
Ian Wiseman had been a personal friend for many years and I knew he had retrained from banking to join his brother, Mark, as a financial adviser at Riverstone, so I decided to contact them.
Mark had been running the business for many years and I immediately felt reassured by their approach. I’d retired very young and had various investments and pensions, some crystallised, some not. It was important for me to have an adviser capable of understanding my needs, who would help me to lead a financially secure life with minimal risk.
Ian gets exactly where I’m coming from. I can make suggestions and he will let me know the risks involved and give his recommendations. It’s then up to me to decide whether to go ahead or not, but it’s an informed decision. I feel like a peer in the relationship and am always treated with respect. He never talks down to me or treats me like a child, no matter what random idea I might come up with!
In terms of the future, I feel that if anything bad were to occur such as another financial crisis like 2008, Riverstone would be on to it very quickly, making me aware of it and protecting me as best as possible. I love the personal, professional yet family feel of the business.
Ms VG, Cheshire