Video transcript

Hi, my name is David. I’ve been with Ovation for about 20 years. 

I’d been working as a self-employed actor and writer for many years, and I’d had various financial advisers, but I never really got what it was that they were trying to tell me. I found myself with a decent amount of money, but I didn’t really know what to do with it, so I was on the lookout for a financial adviser, and a friend recommended Ovation. 

I was aware that I didn’t necessarily have any arrangements in hand for my retirement, because as a self-employed person, I didn’t have an occupational pension. I didn’t know what to do with this money, but I also knew that if I wasn’t careful, I’d just spend it all. So, I wanted somebody to tell me what I could do with my money to make sure that when I did retire – which I kind of am now – I still had some money left. 

For me, when choosing somebody who’s going to be looking after my money and advising me on what to do with it, it’s about trust. I got to know Tom really well, and I would trust Ovation with my life – I trust them with my money, and the track record proves I should. If I look back on my investments over the 20 years that I’ve been with them, they’ve just grown and grown and grown despite my best efforts to spend them all. Ovation has looked after me really well, and I trust them. 

Ovation has been able to help me in several ways. They’ve helped me hang on to my money, which is really important, and they’ve helped me grow my money, but also, particularly because of their concentration on financial wellbeing, they’ve made me realise that having money isn’t just about amassing wealth, it’s about what you can do with it and how good it makes you feel. That’s really freed me up to enjoy the money I’ve had through spending it on travel and experiences rather than things, and I think that’s probably been the most useful thing. 

I feel a lot more secure about my financial future since I’ve been working with Ovation. Clearly, I’ve reached a point now where I’m not earning as much money as I used to, and therefore it’s important to make sure that what money I do have, I look after, and they look after it very well on my behalf. 

I think the best piece of advice that I’ve had from Ovation is to not be a slave to my money, not pursue money for the sake of it, but to enjoy the money to make myself happy.

The thing that marks Ovation out as being different is their approach to financial well-being. Their focus isn’t just about amassing wealth, although, obviously, that’s really important, or growing the wealth as best as you can. It’s about what you can do with that money. It isn’t just about racking up a huge amount of money and going, “Look at all the money I’ve got. Look at it. Oh, I need more, I need more!” it’s, “Have I got enough now?” And if I’ve got enough now, “What am I going to do with it? How can I use that to increase my own personal well-being?” They’re very good at that. 

I would recommend Ovation unreservedly. I’ve got a friendship with Chris, and with Tom, but my experience over the 20 years that I’ve been with the company has been positive all the way through. They’ve been there for me, they support me, and I would recommend them unreservedly to anybody who’s looking for a financial adviser.