Client Testimonials

Malcolm Hall

When Malcolm Hall was made redundant from his managerial role at the Prudential in 1995, it was a shocking blow.

With one son already at university, another who could soon be joining him and a younger daughter, he had had no intentions of retiring until he was at least 60. But a new management had other ideas and at the age of 50, Malcolm, from Reading, was forced to deal with a major life change after 34 years with the Pru.

The Prudential put in place a support programme for people in Malcolm’s position, which included counselling and seminars on topics like preparing a CV. It also included a session with Birchwood Investment Management on financial issues, such as pensions and investment options for substantial lump sum redundancy payments.

Malcolm liked what he heard and worked with Birchwood to put together an appropriate investment portfolio, including long-term equities and unit trusts, designed to accrue the returns over the years while he built a new career in consultancy work.

He retired in his mid-50s, when he started to draw on his Prudential pension, and now fills his time with golf, lunches and holidays. He says: “Like all retired people, I don’t know how I ever fitted work in!”

During his time with Birchwood, Malcolm has worked with advisers including Trevor Simms and currently Margaret Gray. They have built a productive working relationship through regular telephone calls and he describes her as “very, very good”.

He is also pleased with the performance of his portfolio, which he describes as “pretty good”, and the opportunities to take his investments into new directions. For example, Birchwood introduced him to Cofunds, largest independent investment platform in the UK and a regular award-winner for its performance and service.

Malcolm is particularly impressed by Birchwood’s customer service. He says: “If I ring them and the person I need to speak to isn’t there, they always call back, which I find isn’t the case with many other organisations these days.

“The quarterly and annual portfolio reviews are good and I also use the Birchwood website to check on the performance of my portfolio from time to time.”