I’ve been providing financial advice, in some form or another for over 21 years now, and I’m just warming up!
Rudolf Steiner was an influential Austrian philosopher, social reformer, and esotericist who lived from 1861 to 1925.
He developed a theory of human development based on seven-year cycles, which he believed were linked to astrological influences. I’m not suggesting I adhere to his belief system, but there’s something about a 7 year cycle that’s always personally clicked with me.
This concept forms the foundation of the ‘Steiner School’ structure, and suggests that humans go through distinct developmental stages, each lasting approximately seven years.
The seven-year cycle theory has significance in financial markets, and even the property market too.
In 2003 I started my financial advice business, specialising in mortgage advice only. 7 years later in 2010, I rolled out an insurance advice offering, primarily aimed at the market ‘just like me’, with kids or a first home already under their belt. 7 years later (2017) I rolled out a standalone fee-based financial advice offering (not commission based).
So, the astute observer may appreciate 2024 is a significant year for me professionally, and it has been.
It started off not quite the way I had hope with the departure of Carley Ellis 😥, who took advantage of a fantastic opportunity to work directly with one of the large insurers we work with, AIA.
I’ve always believed in ‘building a bear market’, so I took advantage of the lull to prepare for delivering investment advice on top of the fee-paying advice I’ve been offering for years. It’s not ‘technically challenging’ to get set up, and since around 2017 I’ve been providing part of the advice required for everyday investors to run with, but never had the bandwidth to take it to the next level (fee-based ‘coaching services’ are still offered, and will continue to be offered to clients who will implement their own strategies, however increasingly, people are approaching me who need deeper, and more technical advice around their investment portfolios). The calls have been growing louder over the last 2 years to get to work here – so I’ve made the call, but only one thing was in the way.
My challenge was to find a way to provide advice to my mortgage and insurance clients, so I could on more in the wealth-building space. That brings me to August of ’24, when I met fellow financial adviser Mike Willoughby. Fast forward to today, and Mike now sits 2 metres away, busy on the phone helping the clients I’ve worked with for over 2 decades to re-fix, top up, apply for mortgages, and review their insurance plans too.
We both use the same core technology platform that makes providing financial advice to the same set of clients super easy and while it’s early days, the feedback has been amazing. We now have the fee-based offering comes exclusively through me, and the default commission-based advice model usual in our industry runs concurrently, delivering the right advice, to the right people, at the right time in their lives.
Some technical details for the nerds who care: Somewhere between February and March, the existing company ‘Ungaro and Co Limited’ will be put into voluntary liquidation, in order for me to reinvest into the new venture, under a new company, The Everyday Investor Limited t/a as UGRO Wealth, which will provide regulated financial advice to clients under FAP license number 1000335.
Also in 2024, in partnership with Easy Crypto, I created Crypto 101: Crypto with Confidence, to help those keen to get involved with crypto, to do it safely, and using the right set of skills.
For several years, I’ve provided a 2-hour financial advice coaching session. With the transition to a new financial modeling platform, I’ve now introduced an enriched 4-hour coaching package (2 x sessions), which includes a peer review session in between, known as the Future Ready Sessions.
So, equipped now with the confidence my current clients are in good hands, in 2025 I’m excited to announce the launch of a few other initiatives:
– A brand change to UGRO Wealth – watch this space.
– The launch of a Bitcoin multi-signature custodial offering. For those concerned with how to get their Bitcoin into the hands of their loved ones in the event of their passing, you cannot beat a ‘multi-sig’ wallet. The challenge? It’s technical. The solution? I’ve partnered with The Bitcoin Adviser to bring this service to my clients in 2025.
– The launch of an investment advice offering. After 7 years of intense training through the Everyday Investor Podcast, I’m now in possession of a very unique set of skills to help build new wealth, for the new world. Much more to come in this space from early 2025!
