AiMS Financial has launched a suite of new financial advice and support services to help clients consider their financial wellbeing and live happier lives, free from financial stress.
Based in Ashford, AiMS Financial has been providing independent financial advice since 1996. The Directors took the decision to re-focus the firm’s offer to reflect fundamental changes in the type of advice and support clients are looking for.
Dylan Tomkins, Director at AiMS Financial, is one of only a handful of financial advisers to have passed the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing’s Certificate. Dylan explained: “As a concept Financial Wellbeing is new, but it will quickly become the fundamental essence for future financial advice. Essentially it is about helping clients to realise and understand their own motivations and ambitions and really getting to the bottom of what they would like to get out of life.
“So many people have pre-conceptions about what they should do with their wealth, but financial wellbeing helps them unlock the potential for wealth to enable a different, better and more fulfilling life. Our job is to facilitate their journey towards appropriately using their wealth to lead happier, healthier lives.
“We advise many clients who have plenty of personal wealth but don’t have a clear sense of what they could achieve with their money, or how much they will really need to meet their aims. For example, we recently reviewed the investments and pensions of a couple who ran their own successful business, but were working a 60–70-hour week, leaving very little time for their family and hobbies.
“By working with the couple to define the cost of their current and desired future lifestyle, we found a way to enable them to retire now. Instead of them both continuing to work extremely hard, they have now brought a camper and explore walks all over the UK and spend quality time with their grandchildren as they grow up. They are a typical example of a hard-working couple who didn’t realise how their worth could be used to enable the lifestyle they desired.
“By emphasising the importance of financial wellbeing, we help our clients to discover their motivations and put strategies in place to achieve their goals.”
AiMS Financial has launched its new four-step programme – the AiMS Discovery Journey – which has been developed in line with guidance from the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing. The approach aims to empower clients, helping them to achieve greater financial freedom, purpose and resilience.
The Journey starts with a free, informal Discover meeting to identify broad goals and priorities, followed by stages to Empower (strategy development), Collaborate (putting the plan into action) and Achieve (regular reviews and assessments to demonstrate progress).
Dylan continued: “The past decade has been fairly tumultuous, first with Brexit and now the Covid pandemic causing many people to reappraise their lives and question what sort of future they want for themselves and their families. In these uncertain times, we want to help our clients to live happier, not just wealthier lives.
“Financial considerations are also a major driving force behind a person’s overall wellbeing and have a big influence on their mental health. Good financial advice is not just about maximising returns for our clients, it’s about understanding their life’s journey, what they want to achieve, and what they will need to realise their ambitions.”