Free financial planning guides

My previous adviser was retiring and I needed someone of equal quality to take over my affairs, I know Scott Gurd personally and I had no hesitation is asking him to look after me. In the main I was looking at pension advice and investment planning. He reviewed my circumstances, discussed my views on investment, risk etc and we had a general discussion around my existing financial portfolio and my plans for the future. Scott then ensured I looked at all the available options open to me. Have I seen the outcome I was hoping for? Yes and more, I have no complaints. Scott is technically very good and he is genuinely interested in getting his clients the best possible outcome. I am now able to retire 4 years earlier than previously planned. If you are looking for a typical salesperson Scott is not your man, most advisers push harder to get you to follow their advice. September 2018

I was looking to sell my existing property and jointly purchase a house with my partner. Scott Gurd visited my house at a time convenient to me and my partner and provided us with comprehensive information about our options. We are now clear about what to do next and Scott was fantastic.

I wanted to invest in medium term savings and make sure my pension and mortgage were the best products on the market for me. Scott Gurd helped me by ascertaining my risk level so that I chose the right product portfolio for my savings. I have seen the outcome I was hoping for and Scott has done everything I could want for. He’s accessible and incredibly helpful.

Simon Jones is both extremely professional and personable. He is a joy to work with and even via online meetings he is easy going and takes time to get to know you in order to fulfil his role as adviser. He manages to provide accountability without being overbearing and is also clear that I am free to take or leave his advice! His advice has always been spot on. In the short time I have been consulting with him, I have found myself in an improved financial position and have greater clarity when it comes to future financial issues. I would highly recommend him to anyone, whether you are planning on buying a house or just need to get your finances in order so you can make some sound investments.

I started looking for a financial adviser after having children and wanting to ensure that we have financial security for our family, now and in the future. Simon gave us clear advice and information regarding what services were available and took the time to really understand our situation both personally and financially to help us choose a life insurance policy and make plans for our will.

I have been working with Simon Jones for a couple of weeks now and he has been incredibly helpful explaining what options are available with regards to pension planning. The process has been very smooth and our meetings are very relaxed but with clear instruction on what we need to do next and I look forward to continuing to work with Simon going forward.

We had house sale proceeds to invest, Simon Jones patiently took me through a range of different options for long term financial planning. Being quite new to investments, and working with a financial adviser, I really appreciated his approach. I would highly recommend to anyone looking to either invest or get general advice, whether you are a new or experienced investor. I have now got a portfolio of ethical investments that is being managed, I have just confirmed initial investments so can’t review in terms of financial performance, but feel very happy with the service provided.

It would be difficult to improve the level of service that Simon gave during this pandemic. When planning for our retirement, Simon Jones created projections for us and looked at how we were managing our pension funds. Simon has exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to continuing working with him in the future.

We can not recommend Simon Jones and Unividual highly enough. I’m afraid he had an uphill start as we had bad experiences of old school” advisers. He took pains to allay all our fears. We were fast approaching retirement with little understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of the pensions and products we had in place. After several meetings Simon had a full understanding of our hopes and the products we had. He was able to recommend alternatives that better fulfilled our requirements and overall left us feeling confident about our future which we hadn’t previously. He has also arranged for our wills to be written which had been a “round-to-it” for a very long time. We are in a much better position all round.

We’ve just breathed a large sigh of relief, having secured our first mortgage thanks to the help of Unividual financial advisor Simon Hicks. Both myself and my partner are unconventional financial cases so in turn were expecting a complicated slog, but Simon’s knowledge and diligence pushed things over the line in record speed and with minimal fuss. We would highly recommend Simon to anyone venturing into the intimidating world of first home buying (as he was recommended to us by friends), he was brilliant.

I hadn’t heard from my previous financial adviser, from another company, for a few years. I needed to get my finances sorted out before reaching retirement age. Scott advised me as to my options and showed me comparisons between what I was doing and what I could be doing. He then set me up with what I believe is a lot better package with all my finances. I’m very pleased with the return I’m getting from the arranged plans. I know that if I have any issues I can call Scott, or email him at any time and he will get back to me. If I thought Scott could have helped me any better I know I can mention it to him – but I haven’t needed to.

Simon Hicks at Unividual has made what should be a stressful process extremely easy and straightforward. He is very knowledgeable, yet able to explain complex matters in a jargon-free, easy-to-understand way. We could not have asked for a better mortgage advisor; he was very patient with us and made sure that we were always getting the best possible outcome. Always quick to act and respond, even at very short notice. I couldn’t recommend Simon and Unividiual enough. Thank you for everything!

Thanks so much to Simon at Unividual who made everything so much easier by navigating us through this complex process of getting a mortgage!

Could I just say how good your staff are in general to deal with. It doesn’t matter who answers the phone it is always handled in a very polite and efficient way, no pre-handling general recorded messages either. Very refreshing. Your people are extremely efficient with handling of tasks giving me prompt feedback where required without me chasing and being diplomatic when I’ve been mucking things up like shredding documents that I should have been sending back to you!!!  All in all a great service, many thanks.

I used Simon Hicks to assist me in finding a mortgage as I looked to move from my flat into a house, moving away from having the mortgage on my own to being jointly held with my partner. I work in the financial industry but find mortgages daunting hence turning to Simon for help. HE WAS SUPERB. Really clear, patient, attentive, available – finding us a mortgage which suited what we were looking for. Will look to use him for other finances in the future. Thanks Simon.

Simon Hicks is a consummate professional, Simon helped me understand financial processes that were unknown to me. He fundamentally helped me achieve buying my dream home and offering sound financial advice at every step. The face to face personalised service made me feel comfortable about each decision I was making, and where I was a little unsure, Simon made sure we covered that topic until I fully understood everything before we moved to the next area of financial planning. I couldn’t recommend Simon any higher – very nice chap too!

Unividual’s advice and guidance was invaluable in securing a great mortgage deal despite my somewhat complicated personal financial situation. Their advisors are fantastic, professional and can help with all aspects of your financial planning. Would recommend highly!