PROFESSIONAL SERVICES people moving out of cash savings and into investments, but that’s not the way customer behaviour works. People realise that interest rates are low because there is general concern about the health of the economy and that always makes people a little more cautious. A lot of people hold money in Building Societies for rainy days when the washing machine or boiler breaks down and don’t want all their money locked up where they can’t readily access it. For more: www.bathbuildingsociety.co.uk

Alice Riley

Trainee financial planner at Beckford James for nine months

you achieving that goal. Life will always change in ways that you can’t plan for and you need to have a plan which is flexible enough to change with you. And by “plan”, I don’t mean “pension product”. I mean that the aggregation and interaction of all your resources, combined with all the possible things that’ll happen along the way need to be identified and quantified where possible. Only then can you see the threats and opportunities to being able to retire early.

Above: Dick Jenkins; below: Alice Riley

For more: www.epochwm.co.uk

Dick Jenkins

Chief executive of Bath Building Society for 14 years How would you describe what your company offers? Bath Building Society does what it says on the tin. It’s a Building Society headquartered in Bath, so we offer mortgages and savings accounts, and we also run a property letting agency called Bath Property Lettings. What makes your services different to other companies’? We provide mortgages to people who are creditworthy but not well served by the bigger lenders and people, so, rather than computers, we make the lending decisions. On the savings side, we offer a more personal service than our competitors because we are focused on Bath.

IT’S A GREAT

FEELING WHEN COMMON SENSE WINS OUT OVER BANKING

Tell us about your role My role at Beckford James is very diverse but has provided a great opportunity to enhance my skills managing and advising clients. I am very fortunate that I am not only supported through my CII diploma but receive regular internal guidance and direction throughout my training. Beckford James is one of few companies offering graduate training schemes for advisers, as well as having an administrative apprenticeship scheme. How would you describe what your company offers? Beckford James are chartered, independent financial planners which is not only a title highly regarded within our profession but something that I’m very proud to highlight when speaking with clients. Being independent ultimately benefits our clients since they receive tailored solutions that not only adhere to their objectives but have been put together upon review of the whole of the market. We also place emphasis on modelling financial plans, so that clients can be confident that all their needs will be addressed. 

CONVENTIONS

The most rewarding aspect of your job? I love it when we help people to realise their dreams. In the mortgage area we have had many people tell us that we have helped them where others couldn’t. It’s a great feeling when common sense wins out over banking conventions. How has the investment industry (and people’s investment habits) changed over the last few years? Oddly, you would have expected that ultra-low interest rates over recent years would have seen www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 125