Just over three years ago the credit crunch came to a head with the demise of Lehman Brothers. Global markets tumbled and Chilvester was not immune from the shake out but markets recovered over the subsequent couple of years as did we. As many of you know in 2008 we shrunk almost overnight from a team of thirteen to just four, a shock to the finances initially but this has proved to be a blessing as I am now back to doing what I enjoy the most and is the reason that I established Chilvester initially, which is to work with our clients rather than managing a large team. With the appointment in June this year of Sam as our Paraplanner to provide technical support for Simon and me, our team is of a size that works well together. As you know, our focus is on supporting our clients to the best of our ability and we do find that being a small team, where you are speaking to the same people all the time, is the best way to provide our service pledge.

This Christmas, Linda, who has been with us for the last 12 years, is retiring to spend more time with her grandchildren and also see more of her second home in Spain. I am sure you will all join me in wishing her and Phil all the best for the future. (more…)