By Julian Gilbert

My favourite day as a business owner was Thursday 28th April 2022. I remember this day well as we had one of our social fun Pizza & Poker nights at the office after work. Whilst pizza and poker nights are fun, there was a bit more going on than that, to make it my best-ever working day! On this day I learnt of the outstanding successes of our team and felt like a proud father! Many months and years of hard work by my team, all came together on one momentous day.

Carmen Bacaoanu and Katherine Pautard both announced on that day that they had passed their CISI certification. It’s a really tough qualification. Hundreds of hours of study and 2 very challenging exams. It’s equivalent to a Masters degree. Our graduates also did well, Thusha Thurairatnam passed her last RO exam and became diploma qualified. Cameron McKay also passed another CII exam, which put him on course to getting his diploma, which he has now achieved.

I love to see staff grow and develop by passing exams, it increases their knowledge, and they are able to advise our clients and create better outcomes. It’s great to see staff being passionate about financial planning, have the right growth mindset and go the extra mile to become superb financial planners or paraplanners. Our company values demonstrate these qualities and it’s lovely to see staff committed to the company and provide outstanding quality experiences.

When I think back to joining the industry in 1999, I did so because I knew that being a financial planner would be a job that I would enjoy and be good at. I wanted to work with clients and change their lives. Obviously, at this point, I didn’t know any of my colleagues. Seeing them pass their exams was a similar feeling to giving a meaningful and personalised gift to someone that you care about. It is ultimately true that giving is more rewarding than receiving. To see my career come full circle and see younger people succeed with the same values and passion that I had 23 years earlier was incredibly rewarding. Now, those 4 talented people, along with the rest of my team at Wealth Matters, are continuing that fine tradition of changing people’s lives.