The Plannex Podcast

Building a financial planning career overseas brings a different set of challenges to setting up in the UK. What does it take to transition from British financial planning into the cross-border space, and how do you rebuild trust in markets where the profession still carries a stigma? Adam Carolan speaks with Rob Atherton, who moved from running UK advice firms to leading the advisory team at Melb...

What happens when you hire someone to run the business, but keep stepping back in? After Alan Smith’s appearance last month, his COO Chirine Harb joins Adam Carolan to share her perspective on running Capital. She explains how she and Alan learned to challenge one another, clarify who communicates decisions and give each other space to do the work they do best. They also discuss building client-se...

What changes when you move from fund management into building your own financial planning firm? Stewart Heggie joins Adam Carolan to discuss the work behind setting up Heggie & Co and why he chose to focus his message on fund managers. He explains how his own search for financial planning helped shape the idea, what he wanted from a network and why getting the infrastructure ready took more wo...

How do you move into financial planning when you already have an established career? And what happens when the relationship skills come with you, but the technical confidence needs time to catch up? Adam Carolan is joined by Oliver Jones from Five Wealth, who moved into the profession after nine years at Handelsbanken. Ollie talks openly about the decision to leave banking, weighing a lower initia...

What should a financial adviser say when a client asks about Bitcoin? Dan Parkinson, founder of The Bitcoin IFA, joins Adam Carolan to examine what Bitcoin means for UK financial planning. They discuss the difference between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the changing regulatory environment and the practical limits advisers currently face. The conversation also explores client retention, inte...

In Part Two of Adam Carolan’s conversation with Alan Smith, they move from operational growth to marketing, personal branding and client acquisition. Alan explains how content, newsletters, podcasts, referrals and professional partnerships have created a connected marketing ecosystem for his financial planning firm. They also discuss niche positioning, recurring-revenue complacency, succession, re...

Alan Smith built Capital Partners one client at a time, then reached the point where being involved in everything stopped the firm from growing. In part one, he explains why he handed over almost every client, stepped away from day-to-day advice and rebuilt his role around strategy, growth and culture. Alan and Adam also explore client handovers, consistent discovery, premium client experience, hi...

Want to start a business podcast that attracts the right audience and delivers meaningful results? Charlie Perry, founder of podcast network Astrid, joins Adam Carolan to explain what separates a successful business podcast from another show disappearing into the noise. Having built the podcasting arm of Steven Bartlett’s Social Chain and produced shows that have entertained millions, Charlie shar...

What happens when the business exit you worked towards finally happens and the money creates a completely new set of problems? In Part 2, James Ashford gives Adam Carolan an unusually candid account of financial planning from the client’s side. Before building GoProposal, James describes himself as financially fearful, poorly informed and carrying the consequences of a failed business. Financial p...

What does it actually take to build a team that sells confidently, protects standards and performs without the founder becoming the bottleneck? James Ashford, founder of GoProposal, joins Adam Carolan for a characteristically honest conversation about ethical selling, client experience, culture and letting go. James explains why clients compare financial planners with Amazon and Uber, not simply w...

What does it really take to scale a financial planning firm? In part two of our conversation with Laura Pearson, founder of Storeton Rose, we explore the systems, people and leadership decisions that have fuelled the firm's growth. Laura shares how client experience has become their biggest marketing channel, why hiring the right people matters more than hiring the most experienced, and the ch...

Building an advice business is one thing. Building one without existing clients, recurring income or previous wealth advice experience is another. In Part 1 of the Plannex Podcast, Laura Pearson shares the journey from corporate mortgage management to launching Storeton Rose from her spare bedroom. We discuss: Leaving corporate life Starting with no clients Why she chose independence Building conf...

AI is dominating conversations across financial planning but what does it actually mean for advice firms? In Part 2 of our conversation with Juniper founder Jon Doyle, we move beyond the hype to explore where technology is genuinely creating value, and where the industry risks getting carried away. Jon shares how his team has built automations that save time, why he's sceptical of claims that AI c...

When Jon Doyle launched Juniper in 2018, he didn't set out to build the fastest-growing financial planning firm. He set out to build the right business for his life. Starting with £18 million of assets under management and around 40 client families, Jon shares the lessons from growing Juniper to more than £140 million while balancing family life, navigating difficult hiring decisions and building...

What makes a financial planning business valuable? And more importantly, what makes it sellable? In Part 2, Gaynor Rigby and Vicky go behind the scenes of more than 100 financial planning transactions to explain what buyers are really looking for, why some firms struggle to sell, and how owners can maximise the value of their business. We discuss: • How financial planning firms are valued • Why pr...

From £120m TO £1bn After helping grow Equilibrium from £120m to more than £1bn in assets under management, Gaynor Rigby learned a simple truth: Most advisers become business owners by accident. In this episode, Gaynor and Vicky discuss what it really takes to build a successful financial planning business, from leadership and culture to marketing, systems and growth. We discuss: • How Equilibrium...

After helping build a £700m advice business over nearly two decades, Dave Carter made one of the biggest decisions of his career. He left the firm he helped build to become CEO of Absolute Financial Planning. In Part 2, Dave explains why he took the leap, the vision behind Absolute, and why he believes independent financial planning still has a major role to play in the future of the profession. W...

In Part 1, Dave Carter joins Adam to share the story behind his rise from a cashier at Bradford & Bingley to becoming Managing Director of a £700m financial planning firm. The conversation covers the pre-RDR world, building a client bank from scratch, generating hundreds of referrals, developing advisers from non-traditional backgrounds, and the lessons learned from nearly two decades in one b...

In Part 2, Dominic McLoughney and James Thompson unpack how Becketts is approaching technology, AI, automation, and the future of financial planning. The conversation explores the development of Beckett’s Connect, solving the advice gap, integrating AI into the client journey, and why the firms that embrace technology early will have a major advantage over the next decade. But despite all the inno...

In Part 1 with Becketts Financial Services, Dominic McLoughney and James Thompson unpack the journey of building the firm from the ground up. From losing advisers and surviving the early years to scaling through culture, client experience, and strategic hiring. The conversation explores the turning points that shaped the business, why growth requires mindset shifts, and how they built a firm focus...

In Part 2, Steve Jordan shares how Five Wealth scaled to £1.2bn without sales targets, lead buying, or aggressive growth tactics. We explore culture, hiring, leadership, succession planning, and what changed after taking external investment. A practical conversation on what it really takes to build and grow a modern financial planning firm.

Steve Jordan, co-founder of Five Wealth, shares the reality of starting out as a financial adviser with no clients and no safety net. From early career uncertainty to building relationships through networking and honesty. This episode explores how he developed a client bank from scratch and the mindset that helped lay the foundations for a £1.2bn firm.

In Part 2 with Tom Morris (Ovation) and Rich Ellis (Ellis Davies), we go deeper into what it really takes to build and run a modern financial planning firm. We explore partnerships, decision-making, and why building a business alone is often overrated. The conversation covers tough moments. From COVID disruption to leadership pressure - alongside honest reflections on imposter syndrome, hiring, an...

Tom Morris (Ovation) and Rich Ellis (Ellis Davies) share their journeys from accidental entry into financial services to leading their own firms. We explore the reality of early career struggles, what it takes to become a great financial planner beyond technical knowledge, and the transition into leadership. From employee to MD, and from employed adviser to business owner. The conversation also di...

Philippa Hann, CEO of Paradigm Norton, joins the conversation to share her unconventional journey from lawyer. Spending 20 years suing financial firms to leading one of the UK’s most respected financial planning businesses. Together, they explore what Philippa learned from seeing the industry at its worst, why financial planning is “life-changing” when done well, and how she’s reshaping the firm a...