Spotlight Series - Felicity Morris

Talk us through your career to date

After leaving university, I secured a job as a Personal Assistant in a large wealth management firm, not knowing what career path I wanted to take. I loved the independence and autonomy working gave me, but it also turned into an opportunity for a career in finance. I had no clear plan of what I wanted to do, however I saw progression was linked to qualifications, so I completed my Diploma in Financial Services, and progressed through the firm as I ticked off the exams.

Personal circumstances moved me to Edinburgh, and I joined Carbon as a Paraplanner. Paraplanning is a technical role, involving all the nitty gritty research, calculations and writing of detailed recommendations. I thought this was the perfect job for me, until the opportunity of moving into a financial planner role presented itself and I am delighted I took it!

My approach to my career has always been to do my best every day and see where that takes me so let’s see what the future holds!

Tell us about your role and Carbon and why you wanted to work for the business?

As a financial planner, my role involves speaking to clients and looking after their finances, allowing them to focus on the important stuff in their life.

When I moved to Edinburgh from Bristol, I didn’t know the local Financial Planning market particularly well. When meeting different firms, I got the impression that some were stuck in the past but meeting the team at Carbon was different. It became apparent very quickly that they are a firm who want to keep improving and stay at the forefront of the industry. When I joined, I found myself surrounded by enthusiastic people who want to keep learning, developing and improving the service we offer to clients.

I’m delighted I joined the team as I’ve been so well supported in my career and development to date.

What is it about your role that excites and inspires you?

I think this answer can be distilled down to helping people. The best part of my job is speaking to clients and understanding what’s important to them. We can then make their finances work in such a way, that they can go out and do those things without worrying.

We want to understand what makes people happy, whether that be travelling to new places, helping their family, or slowing down at work. The satisfaction that comes with showing them what’s possible, and hearing about it once achieved, is fantastic.

From your perspective, what are the key financial issues to be aware of over the next few years?

In my view, the changes to various legislation over the last decade, has moved the onus onto the individual to make sure they are comfortable in retirement.

It was often the case that an individual might have worked for the same company for 30 years. Retirement to them often meant transitioning from being paid a salary, to a guaranteed pension income. The growing costs of these sorts of pension schemes and changes to legislation means they have virtually died out in the private sector. In other words, it’s important for each individual to look out for their future self. This can be a scary prospect, especially when you start to think about investing and tax!

I like to help people to develop their own understanding of their finances, giving them the confidence and freedom to live their lives.

What is the most important piece of advice you give to your clients?

The best time is now. As with most things, you don’t need to wait until the start of the new year, or a Monday morning, to make a change. If you’ve got a goal, start working towards it now. This applies to so much in life but is especially relevant when you’re talking about money. You don’t need to wait till you get a new job, or the markets look better, start saving now. Your future self will be grateful.