Meet Rachel Johnston, Challenging Your Perception Of Financial Advice
If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the idea of talking to an IFA, you’ve probably never met Rachel Johnston.
At Talis IFA, we often talk about our ‘life first, money second’ approach to financial advice, and Rachel Johnston embodies that approach. She has over 15 years’ experience in helping clients to achieve their life goals, and proudly says that she is not most people’s idea of a typical financial adviser.
“When new clients meet me for the first time,” she says, “they are often surprised. Before becoming an IFA, my career was in banking, but I definitely don’t fit the standard, suit-wearing, corporate image!”
Rachel is known for her relatability and approachability, and the fact that she genuinely loves being able to help people achieve their financial goals.
“I’m more focused on the important questions ‘why?’ and ‘what?’ than ‘how much?’. I’m a natural ‘people person’, and it doesn’t usually take more than a few minutes for new clients to feel at ease talking to me about their aspirations. I love people, and understanding them and what they want from life is central to how I advise them. When I’m with a client, I don’t feel as though I’m at work – I feel like I’m having a nice chat with a friend. And many of my clients do become friends. Some have told me they see me as a financial life coach as much as an IFA.”
“When I know why you want to achieve something with your money, and what you want to use it for, I can tailor my advice to help you get there in the most appropriate way for you.”
No question is a stupid question
Rachel’s clients also benefit from her very pragmatic and approachable attitude towards giving financial advice. For example, she encourages people to ask all the questions they want to, and to shed any fears about sounding uninformed or stupid.
“I’ve had clients who have handed me boxes of paperwork that they’ve never even looked at, because they find it too daunting, and who have apologised for being stupid. I like to use the analogy of a car mechanic – if I take my car to be fixed, I don’t worry that the mechanic is going to think I’m stupid because I can’t diagnose and fix the problem myself. If I could, I wouldn’t be there. It’s the same with financial advice. I’ve studied, trained and worked in this field for years. I previously worked for NFU Mutual, so I have a lot of farming clients and I understand the financial aspects of farming. But I don’t know how to milk a cow, or grow 300 acres of wheat, like they do. That’s not my specialist area, any more than tax law is theirs.”
Understanding your finances can have unexpected consequences
People often approach Rachel because they want to retire and are worried about whether they can afford to. Rachel explains that this fear frequently stems from not fully understanding what their money is being spent on.
“Something I often ask people to do is to keep a diary for a month, and write down everything that they spend money on. It’s always really revealing. One client realised they were spending over £200 a month just on take-out coffee. Another discovered that they were only spending about 40% of their income each month, and could easily afford to retire and maintain their standard of living on their pension income.”
No judgement, just personally tailored advice
It can take time to trust an IFA with such detailed information about your life, and Rachel is fine with that.
“I’m not here to judge. I just need to understand your position now, and your goals, to help you work out the most appropriate way for you to bridge the gap between them. Once I understand WHY you want a certain level of income, or savings; WHAT you want to do with it (money, after all, is ultimately for spending), I can get to work to research and recommend your options.
“People are naturally cagey to begin with about what they spend money on, or what they want. Some people are even embarrassed about having dreams, and uncomfortable about sharing them.
“The more open you are, the better I can help you. Client confidentiality prevents me from sharing some of the more unusual life goals I’ve helped people with. But, trust me,” Rachel laughs, “after 15 years as an IFA, I’ve heard it all.”
Get in touch with Rachel to talk about what you want your money to do for you.
