Q&A with Harry Robinson, of Harry Robinson Wealth Management
Each week we will be showcasing a different professional across our blog and social channels. This week we’re proud to introduce you to Harry Robinson – find out more about Harry, his business, skillset and how he can help you in our Q&A below.
Tell us a little about yourself, how long have you been a Wealth Manager and why you have chosen this career path?
Hello, I am Harry Robinson from Cardiff. In a pervious career I was privileged enough to play professional rugby for the Cardiff Blues, Llanelli Scarlets and Wales. During my later teenage years when I was involved in purchasing and selling properties and at that point I decided to undertake my mortgage advising qualifications, with a view to becoming a fully qualified financial advisor at the conclusion of my rugby career.
Unfortunately, at the age of 22 I had a severe neck injury that forced me to retire from professional rugby. As the door closed on my rugby career, much sooner than expected, another opened for me. Within a year of finishing rugby I set up my business Harry Robinson Wealth Management. My driving aim and ambition is to support individuals and businesses across south wales, London and other parts of the UK to plan and achieve their financial goals.
I chose this path because I am passionate about working with like minded individuals and business owners succeed and achieve their financial goals. It is an extremely rewarding role.
Who is your ideal client and why?
My ideal client is working with someone who recognises the importance of planning for their and their family’s future and wants to develop a trusted partnership with their financial advisor to achieve this. People have very busy lives and I recognise that often people are time poor and are not always able to give this the attention and focus it needs.
I enjoy working with someone who is successful at what they do but maybe does not have the time to organise and plan they their finances in the most effective, efficient and productive way. Most people recognise the importance of planning for the future, but this can sometimes take a back seat over life’s other immediate demands. Helping someone with this aspect of their life can ensure that their financial goals whether it be retirement planning, investment planning or inheritance tax solutions are taken care of by myself, which enables them to concentrate on their work or business. I believe my support and professional guidance gives my clients piece of mind knowing they are securing their families future.
What are your 3 top tips to individuals and/or businesses to ensure they manage their funds effectively?
There are many tips that I could share but my top 3 would be;
Ensure you have enough easily available cash to meet your short-term needs, this would normally equate to approximately 3 to 6 months of regular expenditure. This will ensure you are able to leave investments invested and let compound interest work its magic.
Align your asset allocation to your time horizon. If you have a longer time horizon for investing, you can potentially take more risk and increase the exposure to more volatile assets because you have a longer time to recover from any short-term volatility. The shorter the time frame a more diversified investment approach may be the more appropriate strategy.
Don’t panic! Markets will go up and down and market volatility is a reality and should always be expected. It is part and parcel of investing. Never make hasty decisions due to short term volatility in the markets, these can really affect the success of long-term financial. It can feel scary, but it is usually best to sit tight. Always speak to your financial advisor for advice.
How can you help our clients feel secure that the money they have will not run out?
The most important part of this if finding out what is important to the person I’m working with. To fully understand them and their life plans. As an example, I would need to understand:
When do they want to retire?
How do they want that retirement to look?
Are they thinking about paying for their children’s education?
Are they looking to purchase a holiday home?
Fully understanding what the ideal future looks like for the client is the starting point. We can then explore these aims to develop an understanding of where the client needs to be financially. Building a cash flow plan would follow next, forecasting income, out going’s and identifying significant expenditure commitments will provide clarity and inform the detail of the plan we need to implement. Diversification between different assets can give a really tax efficient income in the future and of course planning for the unexpected is also important because you never know what life will throw at you!
It sounds complicated but that is where I work in partnership with clients to help make these decisions and choices.
If you’d like further information please visit; https://www.harryrobinsonwm.co.uk/ or call 02920 347 979.