Kate's experience working with us

Hi, I am Kate Ellis, and I have been a client of CD Financial for nearly seven years. The main person I deal with is Claire but I also get quite a lot of support from Hannah as well. So those are the two who look after me directly.

I was looking for somebody to help me with my personal pension and ISAs, and didn’t know where to go. I was recommended Claire by a friend of mine who had been a client of hers, so I got in touch and that was the initial reason. Also, I wanted somebody on a more personal level rather than a big company; I wanted to go for a smaller, local financial adviser rather than going to a bigger organisation.

I had a meeting with Claire and everything about the way that she dealt with finding out about what I wanted, everything that I wanted to achieve, and where I was, was very efficient, which was comforting and she’s also very knowledgeable.

Initially, Claire helped me with my pension and my ISA, and over the initial year she was helping me with my mortgage and insurance elements as well. In more recent times, sadly, I lost my mother, so she provided a lot of help and support that I needed. While they didn’t help directly with the probate, there were a lot of investments that needed quite a lot of guidance, and that’s where Claire and Hannah have really supported me and my sister, in breaking down all the different elements which has been really useful.

Working with the team at CD Financial; they make you feel very welcome, they’re very approachable, and also really knowledgeable about the things that they’re dealing with. And if there’s an area that they’re not sure about, or anything like that, they go out of their way to make sure that they are giving me the best information that they can.

One thing that I find really useful is when I’ve been with Claire and I don’t understand something, such as, how a private pension works and how to do my drawdowns, she describes it and explains it in layman’s terms so I can understand it. It is a minefield, and she’s very, very good at explaining things so that you do understand and don’t walk away thinking “I didn’t understand the technical terms that they were using.”

The three words I would use to describe Claire and the team at CD Financial would probably be knowledgeable, efficient, and approachable.

The best thing about working with the team at CD Financial is they treat you as a person, not just as a client and a number. And I find that really, really, important.

It’s not all about investing for the future and sometimes you need to think about what’s right for you now. And I would say it’s quite unusual for a financial adviser to be telling you not to invest all your money. It’s actually “Enjoy the money, be sensible, but also enjoy life because it’s only once that you live and it’s not all about investing it for your retirement.”

I would definitely recommend CD Financial and the team to anybody who is looking for a financial adviser to help them with so many different things, whether it be investments, mortgages, advice or planning for the future. They really are a great team to work with.