Combined Financial Strategies Ltd

I have known Jonothan McColgan for over 14 years when I met him at Regency Financial Advisors. He subsequently left them and set up his own business as Combined Financial Services and I moved my account to his company. During the previous years he has helped me manage both mine and my wife’s financial affairs and recently, after my father’s death, he has helped planning the finances for my mother's long term care needs. During this period I have found Jonothan to be most helpful and understanding of our situation to provide the right solutions to address our income, capital, tax and estate planning needs. He has also helped me with advice for a pension scheme for one of the companies I advise. In summary, I find Jonothan to be very knowledgeable of the market situation and being able to advise on a solution to suit individual needs.

For several years now Jonothan has helped me with the complexities of a multiple pensions portfolio and other financial challenges both personally and in my business. He has gone out of his way to not only offer excellent advice and solutions but to never let go of our changing personal and business needs. He remembers milestones, he updates me on relevant legislative changes and has been a clear and tough mentor on critical business challenges. He listens, remembers and above all follows through on everything we decide upon. Bottom line. - I rely on his advice and trust him implicitly.

For many years now our financial adviser for both our personal affairs and our business matters has been Combined Financial Strategies. Jonothan has our complete trust and respect, which he has earned over the years in many ways. His areas of knowledge are vast and we can move from pensions to investments, or savings to tax advise with complete ease as his understanding of all topics is so up-to date and invaluable. We have gleaned so much information from Jonothan which has given us more confidence in dealing with all aspects of our finances. We have also, with no hesitation, recommended CFS to many friends who have reported back to us that they too have been impressed and now use him exclusively.

I worked in Financial Services for 28 years and thought I knew how to spot a good Financial Adviser, but prior to meeting Jonothan made the mistake of accepting a personal recommendation to a well known national firm, and repented at my leisure (as they say). So with Jonothan I got to know him well first, did my due diligence and the track record of delighted clients and national recognition (e.g. Financial Adviser of the Year, Retirement & later Life Advice Specialist of the year to name but two) backed all this research up. Even so, having got my fingers burnt, I was still very cautious and asked lots of questions. Jonothan was extremely patient, knowledgeable and structured in his whole approach. His communications were prefect through the whole transfer process (which was complicated by Lloyds Pension Administrators being changed 'mid-transfer') and Jonothan dealt with the problems as they arose and together even got the new administrators to resolve a complaint when mistakes were made during the transfer process. I am confident that we now have a solid investment strategy and he is now advising my wife too on her pension investments. So I'd not only add my endorsement I would thoroughly recommend Jonothan to anyone looking for pension or pension transfer advice, especially those 55+ Lloyds / TSB Ex-employees that are trying to work out the pros / cons of leaving their pension where it is.

I am a Bath resident and owner of a small business. I have been a client of CFS for several years, and have benefited from Jonathan McColgan’s advice. Initially CFS were appointed to provide a financial review of my family finances and assessment of my pension provision. At the time I was also seriously considering setting up my own business. Jonathan provided excellent advice about the implications of this, and how to plan for the future. This advice helped me make an informed decision and to make appropriate allowances in my financial planning. CFS provided a first rate service, taking meticulous care to fully understand my specific situation and provide a highly tailored financial plan rather than simply providing generic investment advice. They have provided clear and well explained advice at a pace which suited me and I am very happy with the financial plan I have in place. Jonathan continues to provide guidance and assistance and has been very helpful in the setting up of my business and providing useful business contacts.

Since 1989 I have run my own businesses and in 2002 I sold my first company. I received a reasonable amount of capital for this and engaged an IFA’s to manage my investments. Unfortunately over the next few years this relationship did not develop well. The IFA made a good deal of money out of my portfolio but my investments did not increase as had been anticipated. Added to this my portfolio had been put together with little regard for the tax concessions that were available. So for example no part of my investments were set up to generate capital gains to take advantage of the allowances available In 2007 I joined another technology start-up and realised I needed to get my investments into order. I considered looking after my own portfolio. I am a qualified accountant and so am familiar with finance matters. However I lack detailed expertise in tax and estate planning and managing a pot of capital. I was recommended to Combined Financial Strategy (CSF) by my personal accountant. He used CFS himself and was very happy with the relationship. CFS presented to me and my wife and we decided to ask them to manage our investments. My wife and I decided that we wanted a relatively low risk investment approach but we did want to take advantage of the different tax breaks available. This was very important to us as we did not want our portfolio eaten away by a combination of inflation and tax payments. CSF set up a new portfolio for us that took advantage of the bulk of tax breaks available in the UK. This included making the maximum use of the annual allowance for our pension contribution and some backdating of our pension payments; using the full ISA allowance for both of us; focusing a significant element of the investments to generate capital gains rather than income; setting up an offshore bond with the tax breaks that this provided and advising on how much income we should draw down from a Limited Company that I had set up for carrying out consultancy work. Each year the portfolio has been adjusted to realise the appropriate level of income to take advantage of the tax allowances and any changes in tax regulations. In 2011 I sold a second business and generated an additional capital sum from this. Not long after this a relative died and I received an inheritance under a trust. CFS advised us on inheritance tax planning and for these sums and our estate and helped us set up a new trust to manage part of our investments. In terms of the fee structure I agreed a fixed annual fee at the outset of our relationship. Compared to some of the charging structures from the large IFA’s the sum was very modest. The annual fee has been money well spent. I have the peace of mind that an expert is looking after our investments and have saved the annual fee many times over from the detailed tax and estate planning that has been provided.

I have never written a Testimonial before, and not even entirely sure how to spell it without my trusty dictionary, which gives me the spelling as well as the meaning: “a formal statement testifying to someone's character and qualifications”. Jonothan's qualifications are impressive and there for all to see. His character is what clinched the deal for me - working with him is a joy and an inspiration. He is clever and curious, inventive and fundamentally kind. He wants what is best for me, and will go to all lengths to answer questions and explore options. He does his homework; talks a lot and listens more. Honest, cheerful & hardworking. To have him in my corner makes me feel safe and self-sufficient, and I am pleased and proud to count him as a pillar of my team.

Jonothan has an excellent appreciation of my needs, and regularly assesses the amount of risk I am prepared to take. He is always ready to listen to queries and answer them promptly. He oversees the investments regularly and makes changes when necessary. He visits annually even though it entails a round trip of about 250 miles. Following my husband's death he has been liaising with the solicitor re setting up a trust, and is giving my sons advice on tax planning. He will go the extra mile to make things easier for me.

Jonothan has been very effective at laying out a financial strategy with a plan that has been straightforward to understand, and that has stood the test of time. It has delivering good results for me and required the minimum of changes. I regard this as a very strong testament to both his professional integrity and good judgement.