Financial Planning at Rathbones
It’s reassuring to have a clear plan for the future of your finances. Working one-to-one with our financial planners, you’ll have access to their advice, and their ability to plan ahead to help you achieve your goals.
They’ll aim to ensure you’re better placed to manage financial situations you may not have anticipated.
We will start by getting to know you and your current and long-term needs as well as any personal goals. Using this information, we will work with you to create clear and precise financial objectives to work towards, aiming to reduce complexity and help you focus on what matters to you. Because the best financial plans are always built around individual goals.
HOW CAN WE HELP YOU WITH YOUR FINANCIAL PLANNING ?
We have three ongoing advisory services and as part of our initial advice and planning we will confirm which, if any, is most suitable for you. Our ongoing advisory services are designed to reflect your individual financial planning needs and the type of advice required:
INITIAL ADVICE AND PLANNING
FOCUSED FINANCIAL PLANNING
HOLISTIC FINANCIAL PLANNING
FAMILY FINANCIAL PLANNING
ONE-OFF FINANCIAL ADVICE
Estate planning
Financial planning advice for lawyers

Your financial planning team
You will be looked after by a small team that knows you and your personal situation. Your financial planner will be your key contact. You will be supported by members of the team and they will often attend meetings. The team also has access to a range of in-house experts, researchers and analysts who they can call upon when needed or to at-tend meetings when required.

Ed Wood
Senior financial planner
I joined Saunderson House (SHL) in 2005 as a graduate trainee and am now a Chartered Financial Planner, Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and part of Rathbones Financial Planning following the acquisition of SHL in October 2021.

Gareth West
Regional Manager - Financial Planning
Gareth West
Regional Manager - Financial Planning
London
Gareth is a Regional Manager for Financial Planning in the London Region. He has nearly 30 years' experience in Financial Services. He has a background of number of years delivering advice to clients for a number of firms including Bristol & West, Santander and Lloyds Bank before moving into a Supervisory background and then latterly managing teams of advisers. He has been recognised by colleagues on number of occasions with awards for his passion and dedication to the role in helping others become the best they can be.
Gareth heads up a Team of outstanding client facing advisers in London. He is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and joined Rathbones in 2021.
When Gareth is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, keeping fit and watching sport.
Gareth is a Regional Manager for Financial Planning in the London Region. He has nearly 30 years' experience in Financial Services. He has a background of number of years delivering advice to clients for a number of firms including Bristol & West, Santander and Lloyds Bank before moving into a Supervisory background and then latterly managing teams of advisers. He has been recognised by colleagues on number of occasions with awards for his passion and dedication to the role in helping others become the best they can be.
Gareth heads up a Team of outstanding client facing advisers in London. He is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and joined Rathbones in 2021.
When Gareth is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, keeping fit and watching sport.

George Smith
Financial Planner
George Smith
Financial Planner
London
I am a Chartered Financial Planner at Rathbones, providing holistic financial planning and investment advice to clients and their families. This involves providing a pro-active personalised service to first understand our client’s life goals and motivations, then building a tailored financial plan to achieve. I aim to provide peace of mind for our client’s financial futures and my focus is on building long-term relationships that can help our clients navigate their way through various challenges including:
• Accumulating wealth tax efficiently by making use of appropriate tax allowances.
• Building long term forecasts to help clients understand when they can achieve certain goals such as retirement, gifts or property purchases.
• Helping our clients draw tax efficiently from their assets in the decumulation phase.
• Helping our clients understand how and when they can pass assets on tax efficiently to their loved ones.
• Sensible estate planning with a view of mitigating inheritance tax.
I have also recently been recognised with an individual nomination in the 2025 CityWealth awards. In my spare time I enjoy travelling, playing and watching various sports including football, rugby and padel as well as spending time with friends and family in Hertfordshire.
I am a Chartered Financial Planner at Rathbones, providing holistic financial planning and investment advice to clients and their families. This involves providing a pro-active personalised service to first understand our client’s life goals and motivations, then building a tailored financial plan to achieve. I aim to provide peace of mind for our client’s financial futures and my focus is on building long-term relationships that can help our clients navigate their way through various challenges including:
• Accumulating wealth tax efficiently by making use of appropriate tax allowances.
• Building long term forecasts to help clients understand when they can achieve certain goals such as retirement, gifts or property purchases.
• Helping our clients draw tax efficiently from their assets in the decumulation phase.
• Helping our clients understand how and when they can pass assets on tax efficiently to their loved ones.
• Sensible estate planning with a view of mitigating inheritance tax.
I have also recently been recognised with an individual nomination in the 2025 CityWealth awards. In my spare time I enjoy travelling, playing and watching various sports including football, rugby and padel as well as spending time with friends and family in Hertfordshire.
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