5 minutes with…Tom Reed

What makes Carpenter Box Financial Advisers (CBFA) stand out from the rest is our people and their commitment to having great relationships with their clients, and with their colleagues.

In our ‘Five minutes with…’ series we meet some of the great team at Carpenter Box Financial Advisers. We posed various sets of questions to people across our firm to provide a glimpse into their lives and perspectives.

This week we meet Head of Gatwick – Financial Advisers, Tom Reed!

Tell us about yourself

I am Tom Reed, Head of Gatwick – Financial Advisers, born in Chertsey, Surrey. I am married with two sons aged 1 and 5 and live in West Sussex. I’ve had stints working in hospitality and local government prior to joining the financial services industry in 2007 at a FTSE 100 life office in a pensions technical role (retirements team). I moved to an international focussed financial advisory firm adviser in 2012 and took my advice exams gaining experience. I joined CBFA in Aug 2017.

Outside of work, what keeps you busy?

My priority is spending time with my wife and two young sons. We also hope to soon put our own stamp decorating the house we bought in late 2019. When the opportunity arises I am a fan of theatre, running, snooker, film, cooking, football, music and literature.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the financial industry?

The widening of the advice gap. Regulation is necessary for consumer protection, but over regulation proliferates the advice gap, denying many people access to the important improvements financial planning advice can provide. I would also advocate adding financial education to the national curriculum.  

Tell us about an accomplishment that shaped your career

Reaching Chartered status was the culmination of 16 exam passes, this is a noteworthy accomplishment for me. Recognised across a variety of professional sectors, the Chartered marque is the gold standard amongst advisers and provides new clients additional confidence in the technical competency of the adviser they are dealing with.  

What do you value most about working at Carpenter Box Financial Advisers?

There are many regards in which the culture of CBFA dovetails with my own mindset. There are too many shared ideals to list in full here but to name a few: The client outcome and the client experience are held as primary drivers when shaping process/business decisions. Our collegiate approach to proposition development welcomes new ideas from all our staff. The principle of fairness is firmly entrenched and also how the team is supportive to each other as individuals. These are some of the bases of my affinity with the CBFA ethos. The firm has a fun and varied CSR and charitable aspect which they encourage all staff to engage with. I have helped to raise funds for two local charities running 10k races and recently acted as a Chef for a Carpenter Box Charitable Foundation breakfast event.

Find out more about ways in which we can help you by getting in touch with our team on 01903 534587.