Want to know what makes the AFWM Ltd team tick? Find out more about our St Agnes based Independent Financial Adviser Trevellyan Ward.
Talk us through your career path
I’ve been working as a finance professional for over 12 years. I started at the London-based institutional asset manager, Saguenay Strathmore Capital (SSC), which is now part of the Titan Asset Management Group. My role saw me specialise in the analysis of investment managers and hedge funds at the cutting edge of investment finance, and I offered investment recommendations to some of the world’s largest pension funds.
A very strong desire to move back home to Cornwall saw me pivot my career. My next role was equities and FX analyst for private clients at GAIN Capital, where I was charged with the day-to-day management of the firm’s advisory stocks and-shares trading portfolio. I played a key role in the development of new trading strategies and helped to improve trading profitability.
After that, I took my personal finance exams and moved to Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management – completing my transition from institutional asset manager to independent financial adviser and my move home to Cornwall.
Can you explain your role at AFWM Ltd?
I offer clients unbiased advice on how to unlock the true potential of their personal finances to best meet their long-term goals.
This includes:
- maximising individuals’ retirement income and restructuring their personal finances so that they can retire early;
- making sure that families are safeguarded in the event of a loved one passing or falling ill;
- mitigating tax liabilities and ensuring a client’s beneficiaries receive the maximum inheritance possible following their passing.
What do you like most about your job?
I’m genuinely able to make a positive difference to people’s lives. I really do enjoy my job and that’s been the case from the very first client I took on four years ago (I helped her to retire five years’ early thanks to bespoke retirement planning), through to today’s work of supporting a family to set up trusts for their two daughters.
If you could do any other job for a day, what would it be?
I’m a keen sportsman and a huge rugby fan. I used to play rugby for Falmouth and would love to have swapped places with Jonny Wilkinson for the Rugby World Cup final in 2003, as long as I also gained his talent in the process!
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
I love skiing, but island hopping on the Calypso (my brother’s boat) on the Isles of Scilly is pretty hard to beat. My free time is usually spent near the sea, walking along coastal paths, visiting friends in London or family on the Isles of Scilly, or watching live sport. That said, with an ever-growing list of nieces, nephews and second cousins (I’m very close to my family), pushing children on swings also deserves a mention!
What’s your favourite place to visit in the South West?
The Isles of Scilly. It’s where I grew up. Most of my family still live there and the islands have provided me with so many happy memories.
Can you recommend a restaurant for our readers to try?
Argoe, in Newlyn. If you like seafood, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s run by the son of a fishmonger and his partner, and is situated in the middle of Newlyn harbour. From your table, you can see the fishing boats that caught the fish you’re eating.
What’s been your best holiday and why?
My first skiing holiday in St. Anton, Austria. I went with a large group of university friends; the conditions were perfect and only rivalled by the food and drink.
If your house was burning down, what’s the one non-living thing you’d save?
I have two paintings of a young boy playing cricket, batting last and ‘carrying the hopes of his team’, only for him to be bowled first ball. In truth, they are very much an acquired taste, but they were given to me by my grandad, which is why I’m so fond of them.
What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given?
As a teenager, I lived in Panama, which made me appreciate the advantages we have here in the UK. The experience taught me to be extremely thankful for the opportunities I’ve been afforded and really made me think about what I wanted to achieve in life. A quote from Joseph Campbell encapsulates this so really resonates with me: “Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”
What is the main thing you want to achieve? To look back on life and be able to say that I maximised the opportunities I had and made the most of my time with friends and loved ones (a big reason I moved home to Cornwall). I also want to know that I acted with integrity at all times and to be able to say that I helped to leave the world a better place.
