Pension Planning, Estate Planning and Buy-to-Let – Greg and Sophia’s Story

We first came across AAB Wealth around 2016. At that time, my wife Sophia and I were looking for pension advice. I’d worked for BP for 28 years at that point and had therefore built up a substantial sum and was concerned about the Lifetime Allowance implications.

I was recommended a couple of companies, but having met with AAB Wealth we didn’t bother seeing the others because we felt they fitted perfectly from the word go. We immediately felt enthusiastic about what is otherwise a very dry subject, because their approach is based on much more than just the numbers. Rather than saying ‘this offers the highest yield’ for example, they tailored their recommendations to our interests.

We’ve had financial advice before, but it’s been a very different approach. This is a much more engaging experience. We’re now more interested in where our money is going.

More than just pension planning

When I left BP, AAB Wealth’s advice developed into estate planning, expanding our buy-to-let portfolio and setting up a limited company.

It was great to get everything done in one place, it meant it was a seamless process – we didn’t have to have 20 meetings with different people. We also loved the flexibility involved in our communications – we’ve taken our dog Enzo into the office for meetings for example and they’ve often scheduled meetings after office hours for us.

They’re also incredibly professional and trustworthy and it doesn’t matter how silly the question you think you’re asking is, you get a thorough and thoughtful answer. We always feel really comfortable talking to them and we never get the feeling that they’re trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Everything is very open and transparent.

A proactive experience

In the past financial advice has always felt so dry and impersonal – it’s just never been particularly exciting and didn’t leave us feeling confident in what we were doing. So until now we’d been fairly hands off, and this is ok when you’re dealing with smaller figures, but when it comes to your final salary pension, there’s more of a clear and present danger.

Although we pay AAB Wealth to do this for us, they work incredibly hard to make our money work hard. But it’s not just about that, we both like the idea that if there’s a bit or enjoyment involved in our interactions with them, then that’s worth paying for too. We would rather feel engaged and comfortable and enjoy what we’re doing.

Competent, confident and bespoke

We feel that AAB Wealth are friends of ours now. They competent, confident and they’ve made us really happy by making a very cold subject very engaging. We have no specialist knowledge in this area and we could take all the information available out there and still we’d never be able to come to the right decision. But with AAB Wealth, it’s not a one-size fits all solution, it’s bespoke and it’s just right for us both now, and in the future.