Spotlight Series- Michael Wilson

Talk us through your career to date

I enjoyed numbers at school which led to me studying a degree in Mathematics at university with a focus on financial, actuarial and statistics. After university, I joined the graduate trainee programme with Carbon and spent a few years in the Client Support team before progressing to Paraplanning. I was able to develop new skills in these teams and learn how different areas of the business operated which stood me in good stead for progressing into a client facing role. My goal was to become a Financial Planner and I achieved this in 2020, my day to day allows me to combine my numeracy skills with my enjoyment of working with people.

Tell us about your role at Carbon and why you wanted to work for the business?

My main role is to support existing clients and help new clients through our onboarding journey. I am also involved in various teams across the business. My client work covers a broad spectrum - from preparing clients for retirement, transitioning into retirement and those who are already retired.

One of the most appealing factors for me when I joined Carbon is how the clients are central to everything we do. The business has progressed significantly since I first joined but always with a view to developing the value we add to our clients and ensuring they are looked after properly.

What is it about your role that excites and inspires you?

One of the most satisfying aspects of my role is being able to provide my clients with the peace of mind that they are not going to run out of money, and they will be financially secure. This is especially key for clients who are thinking more about when they want to retire or at the point of retiring. I have been able to help several clients retire earlier than they thought they could and show them that they can spend more on the fun things they enjoy doing in retirement. I find this incredibly rewarding as it gives them the financial freedom, reassurance, and confidence to live their best lives.

From your perspective, what are the key financial issues to be aware of over the next 10 year(s)?

Financial rules, tax and legislation are constantly changing. We have seen this recently with the government radically abolishing the pension lifetime allowance.

One rule to keep an eye on which will affect people in the coming years, is when they can access their pension pot. The minimum pension age is increasing from age 55 to 57 from 6^th April 2028, so this will have an impact on millions of people in terms of their plans for retirement. This is just one of the reasons it is so important to have a trusted financial planner who can work with you to guide you through changes in legislation and to help provide the best solution for your personal situation.

What is the most important piece of advice you give to your clients?

Keep your end goal, objective or aspiration in mind.

In the same way a young person might aspire to work their way up the career ladder, I want to ensure my clients stay focussed on whatever they want to achieve. This could be early retirement, dream holidays, gifting to family members and charities and so on. It can be easy to be knocked off course by things we cannot control – in the financial world this could be lower than expected investment returns, inflation, or changes in legislation - but a good financial planner can not only help navigate through these different circumstances but help you to focus on what is most important to you.