Nicholas Lock had a good feeling about Birchwood from the first time he met the firm’s Trevor Simms.
That was back in 2009, when he was managing director of one of chemicals giant DuPont’s UK divisions and also part of a 60-strong group being offered voluntary redundancy.
As part of their redundancy packages, Nicholas and his colleagues were offered a one-to-one financial consultation, a service delivered by Birchwood
Following that meeting, Nicholas was happy to use Birchwood’s services without looking elsewhere. He says: “I felt comfortable with Trevor. I didn’t get a ‘big sell’ – instead, he took time to look into my background, what I wanted to achieve, my concerns and my risk position.”
Nicholas’ priority was to invest a lump sum in a way that combined potentially good returns with low risk and Birchwood put together a balanced portfolio of longer-term products running over four and five years.
With the portfolio producing pleasing results, Nicholas’ contact with Birchwood over the next few years was limited to an annual meeting, although he appreciated being able to check the performance of his portfolio on the Birchwood website and the regular newsletters he received.
In 2013 and 2014, with the terms of his initial investments coming to an end, Nicholas had more frequent contact with Birchwood, this time with Peter Simms.
Again, he liked the way Peter discussed his priorities for his portfolio – investment rather than income-producing, with access if he needed it – and risk tolerance in shaping an updated portfolio.
He also appreciated the skills and knowledge that allowed Peter to identify a mix of investments, of the right types and diversity, designed to deliver the maximum return with minimum risk that is important to him.
Nicholas says: “I would recommend Birchwood without hesitation. I like their approach, their sensitivity and knowing I can trust them.”
