Gavin

Hi, I’m Gavin, and I’ve been with Flying Colours since 2019.

I got in touch with Flying Colours because I became increasingly aware that our existing IFA had more and more clients on their books and was spending less time focusing on our portfolio as a family. So, I looked on Unbiased and discovered that Flying Colours had some really good reviews and was operating pretty close to where I live. So, I reached out to Flying Colours and spoke to Billy.

The portfolio with the other adviser was really complex, and we had lots of small pots or smaller pots and different funds, different portfolios, and I think it was lacking in any sort of tax planning, and Billy at Flying Colours instantly identified what I suspected, which was that the complexity and lack of tax planning were suboptimal.

The biggest thing he’s convinced me of and helped me with is tax planning. So Billy’s absolutely maximised my pension contributions every year since 2019 and made use of previous allowances, which, on the face of it, felt really uncomfortable, but when he presented the case, it was just completely obvious that that was the right thing to do financially for me, my wife, and our family to really utilise the free benefits that the government provides us that were just not identified or being utilised prior to Flying Colours and Billy being involved.

I have said in the past that he put an absolute rocket under the pension portfolio because of the tax planning, and I think that prior to Billy coming on board, me retiring in my early 50s was an aspiration and I now know that that’s actually now possible.

Billy and Flying Colours have actually got quite a simple approach to investments and a relatively small blend of portfolios but, I think, quite intelligently, very diversified based on what your objectives are and how the investments are structured. He manages not only my financial affairs but my wife’s too, and we’ve even started pensions for our children, which I know sounds pretty crazy, right? But, when I sat down and worked out the compounding effect for our children, a relatively small monthly payment could mean that they can have the choices that I’ve had and retire early if they want to. So, you know, Billy’s really helped us in that space, in that thinking, and in understanding the importance of investing and compounding.

The benefit of Flying Colours is that I notice how complicated it was before, and now there’s a real simplicity about it that’s just really easy to understand and follow.

I recommend Flying Colours to colleagues and friends quite regularly, and I recommend Billy because he’s the guy, he’s the brand, and he’s the person who’s got the backup in the office and the products and the investment strategy to help clients maximise their future.

Flying Colours actually overcommunicate, which I think is a really positive thing, and I hope that just cuts down on any stress or anxiety in their client base because it certainly does for me.