Website Author

Arthur Childs
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My name is Arthur Childs and, in October 2020, I reached the milestone of having spent 50 years of my life advising clients on their financial planning.

During the first 20 years I worked for a number of insurance companies. Then I had my own award-winning financial advice company, Arch Financial Planning Limited for nearly 30 years (now part of Flying Colours Holdings Limited).

 

I am now pleased to let others take the strain.  In particular my eldest daughter who is now on the main board of Flying Colours. I am still keeping my hand in on a part-time basis with a small number of clients and really should fully retire before too long. In the meantime I am happy to share some of the things I have learned with visitors to this website.

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My professional qualifications

I am a Chartered Financial Planner, a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and I hold Fellowships of the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Personal Finance Society. 

Until relinquishing most of my client facing work I was also a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute.

My purpose in setting up this website

While most people would benefit from using a financial planner there are not enough to go round and, in any case, not everyone can afford to do so.  The purpose of this website is to share information which everyone can access and which will hopefully be of benefit.

I am indebted to others

I rarely start writing on any topic on a blank sheet of paper and I am indebted to three groups of people in particular:

  • To the financial services industry (struggling hard to become a true profession) which took me from the world of engineering which was not really for me and made me its own from the first day I joined. For giving me a career in which my interest today is as strong as when I started and for setting me on the journey towards prosperity. For so many great mentors, colleagues and friends over the years.

 

  • To the thousands of clients that I have met with and advised over my career both in South Wales where I began and then mostly in the South East of England. For all the wonderful experiences you have given me, your hospitality, the trust you have shown and the way you have allowed me to practice my profession.

 

  • To those throughout my career who have written on these subjects previously.  Where I have used information, thoughts and ideas from a myriad of earlier writers on these subjects, I thank them for guiding my thoughts and I do them the courtesy of putting their information, thoughts and ideas into my own words as much as I am able.

Not personal advice

It is not intended that anything I write here should be construed as being personal advice.  I do not know you and cannot possibly advise you on your situation.  What I am trying to do is to provide a structure that you can use to build your own financial security.  What that future will look like is your plan, your dream, not mine. 

If you need personal financial advice along the way then I am happy to introduce you to Flying Colours Life who have access to independent financial advisers throughout the UK https://www.flyingcolourslife.com/find-an-adviser/. 

Flying Colours is a trading name of Flying Colours Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under number 672022 at 2 Queen’s Square, Lyndhurst Road, Ascot SL5 9FE