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So, where has 2018 gone?

Time seems to tick by a little faster the older I get, the cold and wet Winter followed by the glorious Summer are a distant memory now.

As the year comes to an end it is always a good time to reflect on the year and look forward to the next.

Henwood Court said a sad goodbye to some clients (some very long standing) who have passed away. I will miss the professional relationship that we enjoyed, the planning, the decisions, sharing wins and achievements, I sincerely hope we made their lives easier and richer in both an emotional and financial sense and wish to continue to do so with the loved ones they have left behind.  

Our big project for 2018 was our rebrand. This has gone extremely well with our new logo, web-site offline collateral and proposition. Thank you for those clients that have helped with this project, some of whom have starred in our videos. These have not quite gone viral, but that is the plan for 2019!  

We have further strengthened to our team in 2018 with Mark Rickards joining us as a Financial Planner, while we continue to look for other quality team members to help maintain and maybe reduce staff-client ratios, all designed to enhance service levels and maintain our commitment to a highly personalise experience for clients. However, I am not sure where these new people will sit, as our plans for an extension have not been successful given the nature of our premises.  

I was also very pleased to have our Chartered status renewed for another year, and to make it onto the New Model Adviser Top 100 UK Financial Planning firms. Further, we have just been shortlisted by the Birmingham Chamber as the Sutton Coldfield Small Business of the Year. Fingers crossed, we will find out in January. 

We have also managed to raise a fair chunk of money for Charity with generous donations given to The Birmingham Brain Tumour Charity and via Boldmere Bullets, Acacia Family Support. We have yet to decide which Charity we will support in 2019 but are working through our shortlist and suspect there will be more than one that we choose to support with hopefully time and money.  

Outside of the office, the team has been busy too. Stuart completed his first ever Ironman, Helen completed the Brighton marathon, Yvonne has taken up golf (she plans to win our next golf day), while I endured a 200-mile cycle challenge around the mountains of Mallorca and plan to do it all again next year dragging (hopefully not literally) Vicki with me. 

Looking to 2019, we plan to build on the rebrand, investing in digital projects which I hope will enhance our service and make it easier for clients to communicate and therefore work with us. Watch this space. We are also planning to refurbish the office, with the construction of a second private office in our upstairs mezzanine.  

Finally, I and team at Henwood Court would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and to wish you a wonderful Christmas and Prosperous New Year.

Christmas Opening times

Closed 24 December 2018 – 12.30pm

 Reopen 2 January 2019

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