Darren Service (DipPFS)

What attracted you to a career in financial planning?

Living in Edinburgh a lot of financial service companies are based here and this felt a natural path to follow from leaving school and working in various roles with Guardian Royal Exchange, Zurich and AXA which all involved interaction with financial advisors. Part of my role was to educate and train financial advisors and having done this for a number of year I had a strong belief that my knowledge and people skills would be well deployed in providing financial advice directly to clients. I really enjoy meeting and understanding clients, their needs, circumstances and what is important to them and why it is important to them.

What would you like to achieve for clients?

Having worked in financial services for over 30 years I have knowledge of old and new pensions and investments which allows me to understand clients circumstances and potential solutions that would benefit my clients. Ensuring clients understand what they have and any changes being recommended is key to a successful relationship. I believe in simplifying the sometimes-overcomplicated world of financial services and ensuring clients are educated and informed of their current situation and solutions available to them.  I aim to and building a plan that everyone understands and feels comfortable with. Key to any client relationship is trust and making people feel at ease talking about financial matters which a lot of people find a difficult thing to discuss. Diploma qualified with long term care licence.

What are your interests outside of work?

Outside of work, I am always kept busy with family life and activities whilst ensuring there is always down time with my wife and friends. I am passionate about creating memories and doings things that will be remembered - events, holidays, one off experiences. Memories last a lifetime and I try to make that centric to life.