How Mike and Marie will help us to deliver first-class service to your clients

Maintaining a high level of service over the last year has been a challenge. You’ve probably had to adapt to new ways of working, embracing video meetings and, perhaps, a home office.

Despite the issues we’ve faced, we’re thrilled that our clients have responded well to the efforts we’ve made since the first lockdown. Indeed, in a client survey last autumn, many clients highlighted our expertise and service as reasons they loved working with BlueSKY.

We’re always looking for new ways that we can deliver a first-class experience to your clients, so we’ve recently added two new faces to the BlueSKY team. Meet them here.

Meet our new financial planner, Mike

As we grow our client base, we’re committed to maintaining a high level of personal service. So, we’re delighted to welcome Mike Thompson, who joins BlueSKY as a financial planner.

It would be fair to say that Mike hasn’t followed a traditional financial services career path. After leaving school, he studied marine geography at Cardiff University, and then spent several years working as a seagoing engineer in the oil and gas industry.

Having decided on a change of career, Mike started working in financial services in 2014. He has been a financial adviser since 2017 and now joins the growing BlueSKY team.

He is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS), which is the highest accreditation awarded by the PFS. He is also currently studying for his Resolution qualifications.

Mike specialises in guiding and advising your clients through the changes that life brings, from saving for retirement to ensuring they can provide for the next generation.

As you might have guessed from his degree, when he isn’t advising clients Mike loves the sea. He is an avid sailor and has sailed on every ocean except the Southern. He is currently making plans to sail a friend’s yacht back to the UK from Turkey.

If England are playing, the chances are you’ll find him in the stands at Twickenham singing badly and cheering loudly. Mike is also a strong advocate of buying local, with Barkham Blue and Bond Brews among his favourites.

He lives with his fiancé, Harriet, and their dalmatian, Luna.

Meet our new PA, Marie

As the business grows and the three directors get busier and busier, we were keen to find a PA that could enable our directors to spend more time with clients.

So, we’re delighted to welcome Marie to the team.

Marie’s career began as a hairdresser in Dublin (in her words, “many moons ago”!) before her work took her into the banking, brewing, and hotel sectors. She then joined KPMG where she worked for six years before joining BlueSKY.

Marie has lived in the UK for 35 years, and has two grown-up sons, both of whom work in the music industry. In her spare time, she likes to keep fit, and enjoys live music, socialising, and exploring new places.

Marie says: “I have experienced several different industries in my years as sales coordinator and PA, but I joined BlueSKY because I get to talk to real clients and see that what I do, in my capacity as a PA, can really make a difference.”

How our team ensure you receive a great service

As we grow, we’re committed to maintaining the same high level of personal service we provide to clients. That’s why we were so keen to make Mike and Marie part of the team.

Mike increases our capacity to take on new clients. As a Fellow of the PFS – the highest qualification – he is well-placed to help your clients with their financial planning needs, from pensions to protection. Obtaining the Resolution qualifications will also make him invaluable to any clients you have going through a divorce and seeking high-quality advice.

Marie has bags of experience as a coordinator and PA and we’re looking forward to her helping the directors free up their time to work with your clients.

As well as these two new BlueSKY team members, our administrators and paraplanners ensure that everything runs smoothly, from collating information to creating reports. They provide vital support to our financial planners as well as ensuring your clients get the very best service.

We believe that the addition of Mike and Marie to our team will enable us to maintain our superior service standards, take on more of your clients and, as the world gradually returns to normal over the next few months, to deliver the first-class experience your clients demand.

Get in touch

If you have any clients who would benefit from financial advice, we’d be delighted to help. Please email info@blueskyifas.co.uk or call us on 0118 987 6655 to find out more.