Contact us: 01799 543222

Testimonials | John Reily

When did you first start working with Greenwood and why?

When I was in my early 40s I realised that, although I was saving money, had a pension, had some life cover and all that kind of thing, stuff was all over the place; mostly in piles of paper on the dining room table. It just needed to be reviewed and – as boring as it may seem – a financial plan worked out.

So why seek Mike Passfield’s advice?

Mike was recommended. I’d had one or two bad experiences prior to that, so I was looking for somebody I could trust to work alongside me without any financial incentive to flog specific products.

He wasn’t working for a bank. He wasn’t selling his own products. He was willing to be completely transparent about his earnings.

Since then, we’ve moved on to a fee-based arrangement, where I pay Greenwood per month.

What are the benefits of paying fees for the advice you receive?

Because I tend to be disorganised financially, if I’m paying somebody who is doing work on my behalf, it means that I’ve an obligation to see it through. If I’m paying somebody something monthly, more fool me if I don’t get on with it.

So it just works for me because if I don’t do something when I promise to do it, Mike’s still getting paid. That may sound like a bizarre reason but it’s fair.

It also means I can pick up the phone when I want to talk to him without feeling that I’m wasting Mike’s time or he’s not going to make any money out of it. It just makes the relationship better.

The other thing is they’re pretty transparent. It’s not like they’re trying to make money out of me with fees. I don’t feel like they’re trying to flog me something just to get more earnings.

So has John addressed the financial anxieties that he originally set out to resolve?

Yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt.

The original goal was to make sure that, if I died in my early forties, my family was provided for.

It’s not that I didn’t have stuff, because I did. But a much more coherent approach to it has been achieved over a period of time.

So why has the relationship with Mike at Greenwood flourished over the past ten years?

He’s honest, flexible, affable. Just very helpful, very straightforward, knowledgeable. He’s there when I need advice and things need to be done. He’s a decent guy and he knows his stuff, and he manages to combine those two things in a way that works well.

We don’t have loads of money and we can’t afford to fritter it away. Generally, his advice has been very sound and over the last ten years it has stood the test of time.

He hasn’t let me down. It’s as simple as that.

– John Reily