Rory: Retired partner of top HK law firm

My name is Rory. I was previously the head of a financial services practice group at a leading Hong Kong law firm, Deacons. I’m now retired, and started working with Charlton House about three years ago.

I deal with David Snelling at Charlton House. I originally got in touch with him because I had some legacy UK pension schemes that had been sitting dormant for about 30 years, and when I retired I thought it was time to deal with them.

I came to deal with Charlton House because I had asked for a referral from one of my friends who’s a partner at one of the big four accountancy firms, Deloitte. Through his network, he put me in contact with David Snelling at Charlton House.

When I spoke to David, it was quite clear that he puts the interests of his clients first. He doesn’t work on a commission basis, and that remuneration model, I think, is much more suitable for independent financial advisers. I also felt, which has been my experience throughout my dealings with Charlton House, that I was going to get more of a personalised service.

One of the things that I have really noticed with David is that when we have a conversation, he knows and remembers my personal background information and my financial information. And he always has at his fingertips the issues that we’ve been discussing, whether there have been developments, and I really feel that he knows me.

Charlton House helped me to transfer some relatively small pension pots from the UK into a much more efficient pension scheme. It was not an easy process because the UK pension providers weren’t very interested in helping with the transfers out, but Tat Wong from Charlton House was very helpful in making sure that those transfers were made in as timely a manner as possible.

Even though the portfolio that I have with them at the moment is not huge, I am treated as a valued client.

Charlton House has some rather useful tools that form the basis of our regular reviews. They look at what has happened in terms of the performance of the portfolio, what’s changed in one’s personal circumstances, and you can see the results immediately of what the impacts are. I find that very useful and very reassuring.

If I was asked to describe Charlton House in three words, I would say: professional, diligent, and personal.

If I had to choose the best thing about working with Charlton House, it is the personal relationship and the personal service that they provide.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Charlton House to other people. I think their advice is sensible, David has a high sense of integrity, and his advice is prudent. He doesn’t aim to shoot the lights out, but he aims to get a decent return for his clients and that’s exactly what gives me comfort.