Riccardo Spagnoli

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

As i entered my 50's i realised that i need to understand the true position of my various pensions.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

I contacted Riccardo following a family recommendation as i needed professional advice/guidance with my various pension pots.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Riccardo was able to explain options available to me and provide a detailed advice and clearly show me the benefits in an easy to understand plan.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I had a lack of clarity about my long-term financial health.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has provided sound advice over a number of years now. He has done a lot of the hard work for me - consolidating many sources of information into a simple to follow plan that will enable me to enjoy my life whilst being secure financially for the long term.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

My investments have grown over the past few years despite extraordinary external events that have seen global markets struggle. Whilst my long term goals won't be realised for at least another 25 years, a clear plan has been laid out for me to help me get there.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Needing a private pension and ensuring we were planning and saving effectively for retirement.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

He has helped us to review and understand our multiple workplace pensions, to understand the advantages and disadvantages of transferring to SJP, he’s helped us to buy a private pension but more importantly demonstrated what we need to save / plan to enjoy a comparable retirement with our lives today.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Absolutely - everything we have needed Riccardo has delivered

What could they have done better?

Nothing, the whole process couldn’t have been easier!

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I needed a new pension and investment product

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo’s given clear real world advice that has really clarified my road to retirement

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

As far as having a clear path to retirement, and better understanding of my existing products go - yes. The ultimate outcome will be after my product had matured

What could they have done better?

Nothing better

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Planning for my retirement. I wanted to know that I will have enough money to give up work.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

He showed me how to make the most of my pension.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Not yet but this was a recent change.

What could they have done better?

Face to face meeting. But this was not an issue for me. Just thinking about others.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Planning for the future for my family and retirement

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Set up a financial plan to enable me and my family to reach our financial / retirement goals

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

To early to say, but the advice to date and information provided by Riccardo has been invaluable and bodes well for the future.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

My husband and I wanted advice on how we could better manage our savings and improve our future pension situation.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has helped us massively in terms of understanding what our financial situation looked like and what it was projected to be in the future. From our very first meeting, Riccardo put us both at ease with his professional yet friendly approach, and we left all our meetings feeling confident about our future thanks to the information that Riccardo had given us. Through our meetings and discussions with Riccardo, we now have a solid, comfortable plan in place which should help us to achieve our long-term retirement goals, but with the flexibility to change elements should our situation alter at any time. Riccardo also gave us information and has helped us put in place insurance policies that will protect us and our family - many of which we were totally unaware of. We would not be in this very happy position if we had not received Riccardo's expert advice.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Our engagement is based on pension and insurance requirements. We now have the right insurance policies in place that will protect us and our young family should something tragic happen. With us both being self-employed this was very important to us. Our pension plan is also now active, and we feel confident that with the continued management and advice from Riccardo, it will meet our long-term retirement goals.

What could they have done better?

We cannot fault the service that we have received from Riccardo, and don't believe that anything could have been done better. He was quick to respond to any queries we had and also provided us with clear and detailed information. His excellent five-star rating from us is based on his exemplary approach and the professional service we have received.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Several years ago Riccardo reached out to me. Following a few meetings with him, I felt confident in his abilities and knowledge, and decided to set up a SIPP with him, which has been running now for several years.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has been great at financial planning, in particular around pension contributions. He has also helped me to understand the various pitfalls and opportunities around tax planning and ensured I maximised these to my benefit.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Time will tell how the investments suggested by Riccado will preform. In terms of on-going advice, Riccardo has been extremely valuable when planning for both medium and longer term life goals.

What could they have done better?

I find SJP's (that is the umbrella company under which Riccardo operates) fees to be on the high side, especially in the earlier stages of financial planning where matters are still relatively straight forward. I'd like to see a staggered approach, where as the portfolio grows, it attracts a lower AMC.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Intially, the conversation was firmly focussed on retirement planning and pension but that focal area has expanded in recent years.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has been working together with my wife and I to re-evaulaute and make recommendations relating primarily to our retirement planning and pension accumulation. The service has been both professional and insightful, making changes that will benefit both ourselves and our children

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

The outcome from both conversation and investments have yeilded the expected results.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I was reviewing my pension and was considerably concerned that I didn’t have enough money for retirement. I had no understanding what was available to me so sought an advisor. By chance a colleague had recommended Riccardo.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Very happy to have Riccardo as our financial advisor. He has a great understanding of our needs and requirements and will advise best way to move forward.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes, if the world stops pandemics and wars, it would have been even better!

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

My husband was offered a consultation through his employer and we wanted to discuss financial planning for the future.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo firstly helped us understand what we needed to plan for, including really helpful visuals - this included life events such as buying a house, having children and retiring. He then explained the options that we had to financially plan for these events and provided his advice to help us decide. Riccardo is very clear in his explanations and advice and we have always been able to ask questions and discuss our positions at length before deciding how to proceed. He takes into account both our short term and long terms plans and always addresses the affordability of the options that he presents.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

So far, we have been very pleased with the outcome of the financial planning that Riccardo has helped us set up.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

We were looking for help with planning for early retirement

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Ricardo undertook a full review of our savings, investments, assets and pensions and helped us to plan how to make better use of them to reach our goal

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes, we have seen a growth in our investments and have a plan in place on how to make the best use of them to ensure a healthy retirement.

What could they have done better?

For what we required there was nothing extra that Ricardo could have done

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

We realised that we needed to start planning for retirement.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo is very approachable and explained to us, in terms we can understand, how we could achieve a comfortable retirement. We would not have been able to make the type of calculations he makes and we would not have been able to understand what it all means until he put it into perspective for us.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes, our investments are doing well.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Self-employment

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has consolidated our pension fund contributions with excellent help, advice and support.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Ongoing

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I wanted to retire at 55 and had no idea of what was needed to get there.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has been instrumental to my learning and education. He has been pivotal to enabling me to put things in place to achieve my objectives in investments, pensions and retirement.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Absolutely - I could not have asked for a better service - would highly recommend. I have already done so on multiple occasions

What could they have done better?

Nothing springs to mind which is always a good sign

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Looking for help to incentivise and optimise my retirement savings

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Provided clear and helpful advice on how to optimise my retirement savings by bundling my different pension pots and by tax efficiently maximising my pension contributions and other saving pots

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes, I have seen a clear improvement on my projected retirement income

What could they have done better?

Nothing really, been very helpful

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I didn't have one!

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Helped with planning for my retirement/ financial future and answered any questions I had. Explained everything clearly and in detail.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Its too early to say but so far I'm satisfied.

What could they have done better?

Nothing

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

High income tax and looking for methods to be much more efficient

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo helped build out a 30+ year life plan showing savings potential. He has been very educational in regards to tax mitigating tools and overall has a very friendly approach / is not pushy in any ways.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Planning for my future

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

To understand the benefits of doing things now, but described in a clear and easy to understand way

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes

What could they have done better?

Not sure anything

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

A desire to ensure retirement planning was on track and would be sufficient for myself and my wife, plus the need to understand when retirement was going to be possible!

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Set out simply how were were saving now, showed us where the shortfalls were and how to overcome those.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

That's a question for 2030 when I retire, but so far everything is looking good!

What could they have done better?

I was very happy with the service Riccardo provided. SJP's subsequent paperwork however came in glossy folders on expensive looking paper and I received quite a few of them - I've been able to change over to a paperless account but it would have been good to be able to have done this from the outset, for the sake of the environment.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I was contacted by Riccardo as he was looking for new client. He convinced me on the phone to have one meeting and from there he explained me where he could help me.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo decrypts for me what can be done and how that can help my future. He clearly explains actions and consequences

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

I have see the outcome matching expectations from my regular catch up with Riccardo

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I was looking to diversify my risk from one pension fund.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

We arranged a new fund through his Practice.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

It is still relatively early days but things are going in the right direction.

What could they have done better?

Nothing, Riccardo provides a great service and ensures that I am aware of my options to maximise my allowances.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Becoming more conscious of longer term planning for future and financial security of family

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Practical input around how much required to invest to have a comfortable retirement and advice on how best to manage pensions and investments.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

I feel more secure about the future, with a better grip on what is needed to ensure financial security for the family and what provisions i need to put in place ongoing to best achieve that. Also I now have practical tools to measure progress year on year and understand how to track and monitor income.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Whilst I have an ability to manage our financial affairs, given our busy lifestyle needed an advisor to manage our investment portfolio.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Developed a personalised long term plan that makes best use of the level of investments that I can currently make and plan the most tax efficient draw down during my planned early retirement.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes, plan is reviewed regularly. Also managed the transfer of a defined benefit pension into my St James Place portfolio.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Looking for ways to consolidate pensions

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Provided advice on how to consolidate pensions as well as detailed retirement planning.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Wanted advice on savings and retirement planning

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Super practical advice, and no hard sell of products. Annual review of my overall financial position is also really useful.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes! Fees are towards the high end, but the returns have (so far) outstripped fees.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

I've recently moved into a higher tax bracket which meant I lost a significant portion of my tax free allowance. I was keen to understand how to become smarter with bonuses and company shares income, and plan better for an early retirement.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo listened to out current situation, and asked all the right questions to determine what we needed to do to plan for our future. He spoke to my wife and I in simple English, and advised us on how we need to invest moving forward in order to realise our goals.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

We're at the beginning of the journey, but very clear that if we follow the plan we'll more than achieve the positive outcome we strive for.

What could they have done better?

I genuinely can't think of anything here. Everything has been handled impeccably.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Lack of growth in my work pension

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

He helped me see how my current rate of savings and pension contributions match up to my expectations of retirement lifestyle and advised me on the best way to improve things.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes I definitely have more clarity on where I am and where I want to be

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Friend recommendation

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo is very knowledgeable, listens carefully to your circumstances, advises on products that he thinks would be beneficial to you but does not push any products that are not suitable or that you say you are not interested in at this time. He provides a detailed review of the plan at intervals you are comfortable with.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes, I have been pleased with the performance of my pension fund

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Becoming self employed I needed to set up a private pension.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Transferring my pensions from previous employers to one account. Setting up a private pension.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes - very helpful and informative!

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Lack of knowledge on the UK pension benefit schemes

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

He optimised my pension contributions, obtaining significant tax savings

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes

What could they have done better?

n.a.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Primarily pension advice and retirement planning

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo was recommended to me by a trusted work colleague. His approach is first class - he takes time to explain the rationale for recommending alternative options and uses clear & precise language to ensure jargon is avoided.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes

What could they have done better?

Nothing I don’t believe ! We followed a process of education & validation and achieved the desired results.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for an adviser?

Now in a relationship where my partner recommended sorting out my pension and investments.

How has Riccardo Spagnoli helped you?

Riccardo has helped me setup a comprehensive pension program, restructured my investments and fully optimising my taxation entitlements.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Yes. My pension pool is increasing and my tax code is the lowest its been for over a decade

What could they have done better?

I cannot fault Riccardo. He is extremely helpful, very clear and gives great advise.