DB News Update September 2018

There are many different roles of a DB Wooder, but irrespective of position or aim, come rain or shine we all strive to be centred around you. Whether we’re on the phone to you, writing you a letter or even just offering you a cup of tea while you’ve popped in, we endeavour to make sure those phone calls, letters and cuppas are the best you’ve ever encountered.

Being a business with just under 30 employees, it’s very rewarding knowing that everyone in Potterdyke House shares the same outlook in this respect. It’s the philosophy that drives our passion to ensure we deliver your service with clarity, discipline and consistency. It helps in our mission to constantly strive to improve our people and processes. If we’re performing at our best, you in turn get the best out of us.

With this in mind, every exam pass and academic progression is another step towards providing you with the best service. As we approach the final quarter, we thought we would reflect on a very successful year of development…

Jane Hendry within our Client Services team passed her CF1 exam in Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics.

Two members of our Risk department have been working towards their qualifications. Daniel Zemontas completed his IF1, Insurance, Legal and Regulatory exam as he continues to work towards his certificate. Meanwhile Andrew Thomas accomplished another step towards his Diploma by achieving his M05 Insurance Law… not an easy read as you can imagine!

Resident partners in crime Declan Gamble and Dominic Harrison have smashed through three exams each this year; R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics, R02 Investment Principles and Risk and R03 Personal Taxation. They show no signs of slowing down either, as each are currently studying towards their next exam R04 Pensions and Retirement Planning.

Joel Rollitt has only been a full time DB Wooder since the beginning of September, but he’s already got one exam under his belt in an attempt to catch the rest of the team up! Achieving the R01 Exam in Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics is a good place to start!

Described as one of the most gruelling exam experiences on the planet, Investment Manager Alex Chappell is undertaking the renowned CFA exams in the hopes of becoming a CFA Charterholder. This year he was one of the 45% to pass level II and will be aiming to complete the third and final level next year.

And finally, Caroline Stuart, a member of our Technical Solutions team, has been accepted as a fellow and Director of the Personal Finance Society. The Personal Finance Society are the professional body for financial advisory profession in the UK. They work on promoting the highest standards of professionalism for technical knowledge, client service and ethical practice across the entire financial advice community. This is for the ultimate benefit of the profession and consumer alike, engendering confidence and trust in our profession.

So we’ve been busy! Some of the benefits you will see directly, but others won’t be as obvious; increased productivity, keeping charges low, or improved investment returns driven by the knowledge base of the team for example. Irrespective, all of it is geared towards upskilling (from an already high level) as we aim to be better in six months than we are today.