LIVES
Lives A village on the outskirts of Ipswich
FAMILY
Married with two daughters aged 13 and 11
STARTED AT JM FINN
January 2007
HOBBIES AND PASTIMES
Cycling – the stereotypical MAMIL I’m afraid
FAVOURITE HOLIDAY
Snowboarding with friends and family
FAVOURITE FILM
Daniel Craig’s first outing as James Bond. Casino Royale (2006)
IF YOU WEREN’T AN INVESTMENT MANAGER
I previously worked for an independent wine merchant, so I think I’d still be doing that
FAVOURITE SPORTING MOMENT
England winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final
PREFERRED MUSIC
Eclectic, but I’m an indie kid at heart
FAVOURITE BOOK
Anything by William Boyd
You’ve been with JM Finn since 2007, how has the firm changed during that time?
In so many ways! The continued investment in new systems has helped not only our investment and administrative departments but has hopefully made the client experience better through improved valuation documentation and an award-winning client portal.
What do you think the rest of 2025 may hold for investors?
An increased level of both policy and stock market volatility seems inevitable with Donald Trump back in the White House. This has already started to play out through his use of trade tariffs and I can’t help but feel investors will at times need to ignore quite a lot of short-term noise. I also expect market returns to broaden out following a period where a very small number of sectors and stocks have dominated performance. This should be good for client portfolios, which are often far more diversified than any one index.
Although impossible to predict, my feeling is that we may see a few more interest rates cuts in the UK as the Bank of England looks to stimulate what at the moment seems to be an economy lacking any significant levels of growth.
As an Investment Director based in the Bury St Edmunds office, how does JM Finn work to meet the needs of investors in the local area?
We are very lucky to have a significant number of our clients based locally, and over the years this has often offered the opportunity to forge close relationships with the next generation through organised events or regular meetings. Being based in a small town also allows us to liaise with other professionals to whom we can confidently refer clients should they need additional tax or legal advice.
Technology is also a wonderful thing and clients can use video conferencing to meet with us. It can be a very useful tool if only a brief catch up is required, or if a client wishes to speak to one of our Wealth Planning team based in London.
What are your top goals for the rest of the year?
I am going to try and meet with as many clients as possible. I think it will also be an important year for clients when it comes to navigating some of the changes made to pension and inheritance rules, so hopefully we can continue to work with our Wealth Planning team to identify where clients might need more specialised advice.
