Who’s Who?

Introducing the Who’s Who? corner of our monthly Newswire…

Each month we’ll interview one of the team here at KN to tell you a bit more about themselves and their role….after all, everyone loves a good nosey don’t they?!

Richard Leonard – Kirk Newsholme Financial Planning Director

Congratulations to Richard who is celebrating 5 years with the firm this month! Richard joined the Financial Planning arm of the business back in 2014 to work alongside Peter Blinkhorn with the growth of the business and to help their clients in achieving their financial goals. He advises clients on all areas of financial planning and is particularly skilled in the areas of corporate benefit and retirement planning.

Tell us a bit about your role and how you got into the Industry?

This is my 24^th year in the financial services industry. I started out working for the Co-op Insurance Services in my home town of Middlesbrough before moving away to work for AEGON, a large Dutch-owned pension and investment company.

I am now a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and provide investment advice to individuals, businesses and trusts to help them build, manage and protect their wealth. I advise across a broad range of financial planning areas, although my background has always been in investment and retirement planning.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

The best part of my role as a financial adviser is to work with clients to understand their needs and financial goals and to help them put plans  in  place  to  meet  those  goals.  It is particularly rewarding when people find they are able to achieve things they had previously thought were not possible such as retiring early or repaying a mortgage.

What would you be if you weren’t a Financial Adviser?

If I ignore a whole range of unrealistic “dream” careers I think there is a good chance I would have joined the Police (Her Majesty’s not the pop group). My dad was a Chief Inspector in Middlesbrough and if I hadn’t sorted myself out with my first job in financial services so quickly after University I could easily have found myself pressganged into the Force.

Who would you most like to swap places with for a day?

Donald Trump.

What are you currently watching?

While I would love to say it is something highbrow, I have a weakness for American TV drama and I am currently hooked on “Billions”. The lead characters are fantastic and the wealth is deliberately obscene. I regularly run Cash Flow Modelling for clients to help them plan for their retirement to help them understand how their investments will provide for them throughout their lives. Contrast this to Billions where one character in the last series was distressed to be down to his “last $40m” as he had multiple properties, helicopters, jets and staff to pay for!

Where’s your favourite place in the world?

I had a weekend in Rome a few years ago and loved it. I don’t like to work too hard at sight-seeing on holiday and there around every street there is another incredible building, statue, piazza and no end of bars and pizzerias to sit in and enjoy the sights.

If you were stranded on a desert Island, what 3 items would you want with you?

I’m too logical for questions like this and start pondering issues like electricity supply and Wi-Fi. I’d take a knife for food prep and whittling purposes, a family photo and (to pinch from one of the first jokes I ever heard) a car door… so I can wind the window down if it gets too hot!

Find out more about Kirk Newsholme Financial Planning…

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