Hoxton Life

Promoted to Head of UK Paraplanning within 6 months at Hoxton Wealth - David Whitehouse

• Hoxton Wealth

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In this episode of Hoxton Life, Sam Oakes sits down with David Whitehouse, the Paraplanning Manager for Hoxton Wealth’s UK team, who now lives and works in Dubai. David shares his remarkable journey of joining Hoxton as a UK-based paraplanner and earning a rapid promotion to Head of Paraplanning. The conversation highlights his professional growth, the unique aspects of paraplanning in an international setting, and how Dubai’s vibrant lifestyle and multicultural community have positively impacted his career and family life.

Whether you're a paraplanner looking to advance your career or someone considering an international move, David’s story offers invaluable insights into the opportunities and challenges of working for a dynamic, global financial planning company like Hoxton Wealth.

Key Topics Covered:

David’s Journey: From UK Paraplanner to Dubai Leader

  • Starting at Hoxton Wealth as a paraplanner for the UK team and being swiftly promoted to Head of UK Paraplanning.
  • Managing a team of UK-based paraplanners from Dubai, leveraging technology and collaboration tools to stay connected across time zones.
  • The pivotal moments that shaped his leadership path and how his prior experience prepared him for success at Hoxton.

The Role of Paraplanners in Dubai vs. the UK

  • Differences in responsibilities: UK paraplanners focus on technical tasks like report writing, while international paraplanners take on more client-facing duties, resembling trainee financial planners.
  • The hands-on approach in Dubai, from managing client meetings to creating comprehensive financial plans.
  • How paraplanning roles in Dubai can serve as a stepping stone to becoming a financial advisor.

Life in Dubai: Professional Growth Meets Lifestyle Change

  • The decision to relocate his family to Dubai and embrace a new way of life.
  • Choosing community living in Dubai’s Villanova area for its family-friendly vibe, green spaces, and sense of belonging.
  • The benefits of living in Dubai, including year-round sunshine, outdoor activities, and the multicultural experience of meeting people from around the world.

Challenges and Triumphs in Professional Development

  • Overcoming personal obstacles, including dyslexia, while studying for Level 4 qualifications.
  • Strategies for excelling in a paraplanning career, from perseverance in exams to seeking opportunities for growth.
  • Building efficient processes for the paraplanning team, introducing tools like AI meeting assistants, and streamlining reporting workflow

Ready to start your international financial planning career?

Hoxton Wealth is looking for ambitious individuals ready to take their careers to the next level. Whether you're interested in international financial planning, compliance, client servicing, or marketing roles within the financial sector, we offer unparalleled opportunities for growth and success.

Don’t miss a beat! Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch full podcast episodes featuring insights from those that work for Hoxton and some of our special guests and partners. Stay connected by following us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X for more exclusive content.

Curious about our career opportunities? Visit our website to explore open positions and learn more about joining the Hoxton Wealth team. Your journey in international financial planning starts here!

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Speaker 1:

You used to be an international shampoo salesperson, didn't you? I did indeed, yes, an international shampoo seller to an international power planner.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, quite the change.

Speaker 1:

Well, look, I must have seen something in you because, like you said, you came out here and in a very short space of time, you're now managing the power planner team. Correct For the UK, right? Yes, and it's a really good time to actually join the business.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, fantastic the fact that the UK is growing as much as it is at the moment. With the acquisitions that Jonathan's doing, it's a great time to get into the business, get stuck in and show your worth.

Speaker 1:

I can imagine it being very difficult or tough to do a power planning role when you are dyslexic right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's a lot of elements that you've got to be able to concentrate on multiple different things. I find now I know exactly what I'm looking for. It almost jumps from the page. Ever thought about becoming a financial planner? It's been on the cards. It's something that I've thought. Maybe why don't I take that step? But I love power planning. A power planner is not there just to take orders from the advisor like, say, this is where I want to move this pension it's. We have to read the whole meeting, speak with the advisor and understand the client situation, and then we discuss what the best outcome for that client is.

Speaker 1:

David, thanks so much for joining me on the Hoxton Life podcast. How are you no?

Speaker 2:

problem. Thank you very much for having me. Yeah, very good. Thank you, good man.

Speaker 1:

Good man, right? Well, we've known each other a little while now, because you came out around about the same time as me, didn't you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, mid-august, yeah, yeah, you moved a family as well, indeed out around about the same time as me, didn't you? Yeah, mid-august, yeah, yeah, moved a family as well, indeed, yeah, how's that going? It's going well, uh. My daughter's absolutely loving it. I think that's the biggest benefit. She's outdoors all the time loving school. My wife is enjoying it.

Speaker 1:

She's working from home, going swimming midday, so can't complain, can't complain so I decided to live in the marina, chuck myself into probably the most expensive area possible, and now I'm slightly regressing it because everywhere I turn it's like living in a theme park and I have to spend money and I've just really kind of like had a bit of an anxiety meltdown these last few weeks about just how expensive it is.

Speaker 1:

It's a shock, yeah it doesn't have to be that expensive. I'm making silly choices, by the way, and I'm doing that whole kind of reflective thing at the moment and budgeting and working it out, but you chose to go more towards, like the community's end, right? So bang in the city right next to JBR.

Speaker 2:

You're more outside of the city. How is that? It's lovely. I mean, we started in JBR as well, just down the road from where you are in an apartment, and it was just hectic. It was busy, like you say, it was like a theme park tourists everywhere and we decided to move out to Villanova, which is out in Dubai land. It's quite a big community. You've got your own mall, you've got everything you need. There's greenery, grass areas, parks for the kids, and it's just quiet Like when you're in the garden. You don't think you're in Dubai, so it gives you that peace of mind.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we just went to a lovely hotel in the desert actually, and it was peace and quiet, you, and it was peace and quiet. You could hear birds. That's it, wow.

Speaker 2:

You can hear the locusts, or cricket cicadas, I think they're called yeah, and you can just hear those chirping all day and it's beautiful, yeah, fantastic.

Speaker 1:

Slightly jealous actually. I think once my 12-month tenancy is up, I don't think I'll stay in the marina. I think I will move to one of the communities.

Speaker 2:

But they they call it a community, right. So is there a community feel there? 100 like they've had halloween party, a diwali party, everyone's invited. There's lots going on community barbecues, sports clubs, you can go play tennis there's loads going on really and gets you involved in the community, gets you feeling like you're part of something. Does he feel like you want to be involved as well? Yeah, definitely there's loads of like. You've got people from all kinds of backgrounds. There's english, french, multicultural. You're meeting families with all different aspects.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and how about your daughter enjoying school?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, she's absolutely loving it. She's just turned four so we had a birthday party, invited her friends. So normal birthday party back in the UK would be inside a church hall in the rain. Yeah, this time was a bouncy castle in the garden. Eight of her friends came around. Fairy party, unicorns, the works.

Speaker 1:

What did you think about the old paying for school side of things? Did that give you a bit of a shock?

Speaker 2:

It was a shock, but it was something we were considering doing in the UK anyway. Considering how expensive nursery fees are, private school for the next stage was actually going to be cheaper than nursery, so we would have had money back not as much money, and now we are paying slightly more, but it's 100% worth it. She's one of 13 in her class, yeah, so the teacher to student ratio is unbelievable out here. What school is that? Durham, nice Durham College? It's a sister school, so there is one in Durham in the UK, yeah, and the headmaster is of both. Oh fantastic.

Speaker 1:

My daughter goes to Arbor, yeah, which is like this kind of eco school, and it's got these eco domes with a turtle as well walking around. But when I went there, I was just blown away by it. The actual um layout of the school was beautiful. They even had like cognitive coloring throughout. So as you walk through the rooms I was like why is it so chilled out in here? It's like it's really chilled and everything's really tidy I was just like why is it so tidy?

Speaker 2:

I think we at that and I think they had a thing called Mud Mondays In FS1, the kids just get to play with water and mud all day Monday. That's it so we applied to it, but we didn't get a space. And then, after she'd got into Durham, they did say there's a space, but we were set on Durham. At that point You'd done it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I'm into it, is really enjoying it, she's making lots of good friends. I mean, like we pay for the school bus, so it comes, and you know, coming in and out of the marina every day would be really a nightmare, so we just paid for the bus, so it's been. It's been a really good experience for her and she. She seems like she's growing, she seems like she's enjoying it. I mean, it's leaps and bounds ahead of where she was in the uk, without a shadow of a doubt, you know. And she'll say, oh no, I missed the uk, and it's like no, theodora says the same.

Speaker 2:

She says she misses the rain, misses the snow. I've seen pictures of snow at the moment, so I said I'll take her to emirates mall and we can go and see the penguins, which is quite a bit, a bit different than the uk options, isn't it a penguin cafe? I think so, yeah right, okay.

Speaker 1:

Well, let's get on to the actual podcast itself. It is about careers within fine, you know, within financial planning, especially with international space. It's about your life here at Hoxton. You've come from the UK over to Dubai to work for us here at Hoxton Wealth, so what were you doing in the UK and what are you doing here?

Speaker 2:

now. So I was power planning back in the UK, I worked for Investec, and then I'm doing the exact same job here at Hoxton, but now head of power planning, so managing a team of five other power planners who are based in the UK but from Dubai.

Speaker 1:

So little promotion.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, little well, big promotion. It's an exciting time for me, a big opportunity, so I'm very much looking forward to it.

Speaker 1:

Well, look, I must've seen something in you because, like you said, you came out here and in a very short space of time, you're now managing the power planner team. Correct for the uk, right? Yes, fantastic. So let's make that clear. Like the difference between power planning over here, say as an international power planner, to being a power planner that focuses on the uk. What's the main differences that you see?

Speaker 2:

so I'd say the main difference back in the uk a power planner is you're doing the research, you're doing the report writing. You're not necessarily speaking to clients. Some firms will allow you to sit in meetings if that's part of your career journey you want to become an advisor but out here in Dubai I would say the paraplanner is more like a trainee financial planner. They're taking part, taking charge of meetings, doing fact finds, writing up meeting notes, doing everything that a financial planner would, but not necessarily focusing down on the research and report writing yeah, no, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

I've seen that, you know, and it is very, it's very interesting because you've got the trainee wealth manager role, and I love about the trainee wealth manager roles. It gets them stuck in at the deep end in respect of picking up the telephone, phoning through leads that are coming through the website, qualifying people that have shown an interest I'm trying to dig a little bit deeper to find out whether or not they need financial planning services and then introducing it to the client, to the advisor, but also managing that part of the process as well. So it gets stuck in quite a lot.

Speaker 2:

I think that works really well for someone who hasn't got any financial services experience. They come fresh into the door. This is how you learn, whereas a power planner from the UK, you've probably been an administrator.

Speaker 1:

Whereas a power planner from the UK, you've probably been an that role of becoming an advisor. But they don't want to go out here and build a client. But they don't want to start and build a build a client book from from scratching the uk. Because it's really really hard now aligning yourself to one of the international advisors over here and having that autonomy to work with them a little bit closer and start working with clients.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you start as like a servicing advisor. You're booking in meetings, you're there as the client liaison. If they need anything, they contact you rather than going straight to the advisor first. Yeah, so it builds your confidence in speaking to clients, how to deal with clients being involved in meetings, and it's just a great opportunity.

Speaker 1:

Obviously, living in this place, yeah, doing that job, it's exciting so you're looking after the uk uh clients then and the uk power planner team. Does that cause any sort of problems for you being over here in Dubai then doing that?

Speaker 2:

Not really. Obviously, the time difference is an issue sometimes, but the way that we live now post-COVID, with Teams, whatsapp, everyone's contactable all the time, no matter if I'm on my way home, I can call someone from the car. I can log in when I get home on Teams we can call. There's no issue really we can call.

Speaker 1:

There's no issue, really, yeah, what about other qualifications? Because you know a lot of the advisors out here have got australian qualifications. I mean, some of them are studying this new degree that you have to have in australia. You got individuals with series 65 to be able to give advice on um, american uh clients and assets. Has that sort of petered interested in you starting to delve into the international client scene?

Speaker 2:

it has a little bit. I've picked up some power planning for chris ball working on some of the us clients. It's new to me. I didn't understand the retirement options for clients in america, how it works, so I had to go and do some research into it and it is exciting. The opportunity that's out there for america and obviously report writing and power planning in america as well, is probably quite big yeah, any distinct differences between working for Investec and working for Hoxton Wealth?

Speaker 2:

Hoxton Wealth is much busier. I would say You've got that startup energy. Everyone's excited, everyone is knuckled down and working hard. From the minute you get into the minute you leave You're not looking up from your desk, sort of thing. It's a good atmosphere to be around and a good buzz. Investec was very it's a very established business. The processes were slick, everything was smooth. We knew the client journey from A to Z. But here at Hoxton it's all kind of everything's ever changing. If you have good feedback, they're very welcome to receive it and action it almost immediately. If it works, I mean it's a really good time to actually join the business. Yeah, fantastic the fact that UK is growing as much as it is at the moment. With the acquisitions that Jonathan's doing. It's a great time to get into the business, get stuck in and show your worth With that kind of startup feel that we have here at Hogston Wealth what does that sort of instill in you?

Speaker 2:

I think it probably gives me the energy and the buzz that maybe I lost in the UK. I find the UK power planning it can be quite slow. You're working for big industries that have been established for many years and it's this is the way we've done it and this is the way we're going to do it, whereas at Hoxton now we've just introduced an AI meeting bot that's going to be recording meetings and producing meeting notes for us. They're very interested in technology. Obviously, with the app, everything's moving in that futuristic generation, and to be a part of it and grab onto the coattails is amazing opportunity. Fantastic technology for you is as exciting. Yeah, it does. I don't really understand it. I'm not a massive techie myself, but seeing the benefits of it and what it can do for us in terms of streamlining processes and speeding up and basically creating better outcomes for the client, that's the main thing that we're looking for. Yeah, yeah, 100%.

Speaker 1:

And what about training and development? Are you sort of delivering a lot of training and development to power planners as well, because I know you've just taken on a power planner?

Speaker 2:

role I will be as the role develops. Obviously, as we bring in new power planners depending on their stage of power planning I guess how long they've been in the industry I'll be offering training sessions to them, helping to build them up, get them.

Speaker 1:

You used to be an international shampoo salesperson, didn't you?

Speaker 2:

I did indeed. Yes, that was my first. Well, I say my first job. My first job out of school was I worked in a deli selling meat and cheese, right, and then didn't really know what it is I wanted to do. And through my next door neighbour, she put me onto a friend who was an international hair care seller. So I started selling shampoo.

Speaker 1:

Fantastic, the international shampoo seller to international power planner.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, quite, quite the change. Was it good? It was a good opportunity. Again, it's. It was one of those things. I knew nothing about shampoo. The first question I was asked when I walked in was what shampoo do you use? And I said shower gel. So it was like threw me into the deep end. I needed to learn about shampoo, learn about hair. I'll try and link it back to paraplning. Actually, my first day as a paraplaner, I was thrown in do a defined benefit transfer. I knew nothing of it. I passed my exams. I knew the technical stuff but I didn't know what was included in that report. But you had to stick yourself in, get stuck in, learn the process and build it up did selling shampoo, sort of ensure you became head and shoulders above the rest.

Speaker 1:

You could say that.

Speaker 2:

I was massively trying to get head and shoulders in there. Then that worked well, brilliant.

Speaker 1:

So, how did you end up getting into power planning, though? So what was your sort of journey into that? Because a lot of people struggle to get into power planning.

Speaker 2:

So I started as a financial administrator which was sort of doing the application forms, paperwork side of things. It was quite a mundane job. It is a difficult. You've got to just get stuck in with it, but it helped me with my studies. Um, when I started the app the administrative role it was right you need to get on this journey of starting your level four qualifications. So I did mine through the chartered insurance institute. There's six exams which I struggled with massively. I'm dyslexic so I really struggled to obtain that or take the information from the books without losing the information at the same time if that makes sense. I struggled to get it out and actually retain that information. So I was reading the book five times, writing buckets of notes and failed my exams multiple times. But I stuck with it and obviously, like I'm here today and this is the opportunity that it's kind of given me and obviously like I'm here today and this is the opportunity that it's kind of given me.

Speaker 1:

It's really, really interesting, because I can imagine it being very difficult or tough to do a power planning role when you are dyslexic, right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's a lot of elements that you've got to be able to concentrate on multiple different things, pull out certain bits of information, but I find now I know exactly what I'm looking for. It almost jumps from the page, whereas before, where I was trying to learn from that page, everything was just muddled. I couldn't see the woods from the trees.

Speaker 1:

Did you um? Did you have to, did you have to learn some, some proven strategies that people with dyslexia um that help people with dyslexia? Is it different person to?

Speaker 2:

person, I'd say different person to person. For me, like I said, it was read everything a million times and write a hell of a lot of notes, um, and just keep trying at the exams isn't there like some color thing you can put? You can, yeah, colored paper or colored glasses. It didn't really work for me, yeah, um, but there is.

Speaker 1:

There's loads of different opportunities out there to yeah, I know another um, I know a financial planner who's dyslexic and he he said that was a massive help to him.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the colored pages, um, yeah, very interesting, because that's that's challenging right yeah sometimes you want to give up right, oh, 100, the amount of times I called my wife after failing another exam yeah, to say do you know what if I don't pass it next time? That's it, I'm done, I'm walking away from this and I'll go and do something else.

Speaker 1:

Well, but when you were in school, then did that. Was that a struggle when you were in school as well?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I struggled in school. Teachers always said I was brighter than I'm showing on paper, which is the story of a lot of people I think you get. It gets missed and you're the kid disrupting the room or you're someone who's not paying attention because you're looking out the window, or something like that. But it was more. I'm struggling. I need some extra support. But rather than knowing what was going on, I was just playing the fool. Yeah, yeah, sounds familiar when play in the fall. Yeah, yeah, sounds familiar. When did you find out I think I was? Maybe I'm sure mom and dad got me tested, maybe when I was like 11.

Speaker 2:

Okay, right, um something like that funny.

Speaker 1:

My nan was diagnosed, uh was diagnosed as dyslexic when she was in her 70s wow so she didn't, you know, all through that sort of period she didn't really understand why she was struggling. And then he was like, yeah, you're dyslexic. She's like, oh my god, like at 70 odd years old, yeah, gone through life without knowing yeah, well, you, yeah. That's the thing, isn't it?

Speaker 2:

and I suppose back then no one knew, no one was looking for it, and now it's much more prevalent.

Speaker 1:

So when we look at um your power planning role at the moment. Okay, where you? Where do you see yourself in like five years time? Do you think about like a five year plan at all?

Speaker 2:

I never did until I came to Hoxton. I think it's. A lot of people always ask those kinds of questions what do you want? Where do you want to be what? What's the net, what's next? And I think obviously the promotion I've had to head of UK is a massive opportunity. So I want to build out on that, make sure that our process is super smooth. Everyone so, from someone coming in as a brand new power planner after that first week of inductions, they know okay, I'm going to hit the road ground on Monday. This is how Hoxton do it have everything in a smooth process suitability, report, templates on point and absolutely everything. That's just super smooth for everyone.

Speaker 1:

Are you thinking about maybe implementing a career framework as well for power planning? Because I think I remember someone called Michelle on the podcast who runs ePowerPlanner, epowerplanner Connects and she went through like her outsourced power planning company and there was like multiple roles within it. You know there must have been about five or six different roles and I've always said like I think the power planner role itself can be broken down into specific type job roles.

Speaker 2:

You could niche it out. You could have a power planner who specializes on protection cases or a power planner who specializes on DB. We have a lady in our power planning team and she specializes just on the defined benefit transfers and then you've got protection. There's loads of these different elements that if someone wants to focus on that niche, you can do it. Do you niche down on anything? I wouldn't say so. I mean, the majority of the work that we write is pension transfers. I'm quite confident with pension transfers, offshore bonds, trusts, things like that. It's a lot of what we used to do, especially at Investec. We had a lot of offshore bonds and trusts, so that was something that I found interesting.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, ever thought about becoming a financial planner.

Speaker 2:

It's been on the cards. It's something that I've thought maybe why don't I take that step? But I love power planning. I really enjoy reading up on the client situations, finding what's missing and putting a plan in place. I think I mentioned to you before it's like telling a story. So we we read the fact, find, we read the meeting notes and we're like, okay, let's see where does this client want to be in 10 years time? Where they now? How can we get them to that finishing point? And it's that kind of puzzle that I think appeases my brain like let's figure it out. How can we get you to your end goal in the most suitable way possible?

Speaker 1:

I've always thought with power planning. When you aren't in the client meeting, for example, it's difficult to interpret the notes as not being bias. Yes, how do you deal with?

Speaker 2:

that Lots of questions and lots of challenge. A power plan is not there just to take orders from the advisor like, say, this is where I want to move this pension it's. We have to read the whole meeting, speak with the advisor and understand the client situation, and then we discuss what the best outcome for that client is.

Speaker 1:

I think that voice note app as well, where it's going to take absolutely everything down and AI is going to assist in doing it out, without biases, I guess. Yeah, a hundred percent Instantly recognize opportunities where it can probably challenge.

Speaker 2:

But, as you say, if a power plan is not in the meeting and something gets said and the advisor then doesn't put it on the meeting note, we don't know about it, whereas if we're using this AI tool, everything gets recorded. If there's one snippet could change the whole advice, so that. So that's what we need and that's why we're using that company From a power planning perspective.

Speaker 1:

Then what about the Hoxton Wealth app? What do?

Speaker 2:

you think Brilliant, fantastic, for a client to quickly look on their phone to see exactly where they are, exactly where their projections are going, and also see the benefit of our advice. They'll look at it now, before meeting or before sitting down with the advisor. You can see your position and then, once we've implemented our changes, have a look at it again and you can see where it's going to go it also feeds into our crm, doesn't it?

Speaker 1:

matrix um, which is built in-house. I mean, hoxton chris, the team, very much invest in technology. I think it's about 25 developers here in Dubai, um, and they're constantly looking to improve it. What do you think of that CRM? Do you think it's a slick?

Speaker 2:

bit of kit. I think it's a slick bit of kit and I think it will be even slicker. I think I've worked with other CRMs in the past which are ready to go out the box and it's got a lot of these options. But I've mentioned this to Mansell and to jay there's changes that can happen and there's things that they will implement and, as I say, if you've got an idea and it will work and benefit the business, they are happy to do that yeah, and I think as well, where it's been built for more of an international audience.

Speaker 1:

That's what makes it unique, yes, and in the uk really is quite. It's always been there, but it's quite new in respect of a growth perspective. So, bringing a power planner in where they perhaps didn't have as many power planners before, some of your experience as well, where you're looking at things and you can see the ways that things can be improved and you're not afraid to actually feed that back right, it's really, really valuable so you can make those changes that they might not have seen. And that's what I found with Hoxton as well. They are very open to feedback found with hoxton as well. They are very open to feedback, very open to doing things differently. Um, I enjoy those conversations, um, I'm always kind of being quite creative and we see problems a lot.

Speaker 2:

Well, I think that it was almost evident from my first week it was I came in, did my inductions and then, right, let's write some reports. Yeah, and you look through the files, you look what's there and what's missing, and there were certain things that we need, as power planners, to write reports that just weren't being collected. So I fed that back. The next week We've produced a brand new meeting note that the advisors now all follow and it gathers all the information that we need as a power planner to write that report. And it was instant. I said this is missing. They were like, okay, let's get it in, spread it out to the team, and everyone was on board and sometimes I can take forever. Yeah, well, yeah, in a big company say like, like your investex places like that, if you feed up, it's got to go through one person, to the next person, to the next person. Whereas it was like, okay, great idea, do it. Yes, and it's instant. Speed and agility here isn't it?

Speaker 1:

yeah, and what the feedback from the advisors that are working with you since you've joined?

Speaker 2:

I hope it's good. I hope I've improved things for them. I think I have um, but yeah, I think most of the feedback that I am getting is that they're enjoying the change. Yeah, like they've been doing things certain ways because that's the way they've always done it, whereas now someone's coming with fresh ideas they're happy to to jump on board.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, are you missing much from the uk at the moment it's a funny one.

Speaker 2:

I'd say if, if you asked me a year ago, would I ever see myself myself living abroad? I would tell you not a chance. I've always said it. I know Jonathan's always wanted to move abroad and I was like, why, why would you do it? But now I don't miss anything. There's not much. Obviously I miss my family, I miss my friends. Maybe the rain every now and then would be nice, but I'm absolutely loving life out here.

Speaker 1:

There's a financial planner in the UK, quite well-known guy called Warren Shute, who tagged me in a post this morning, and he's out having a winter walk and it's really frosty.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And the sun was coming up and he's walking his dog in the countryside. Those days I miss. Oh my God, man, that was like. I love that. I love that fresh, cold, sunny morning.

Speaker 2:

in England it's sunny morning in england and I the the uk office is actually well, one of the uk offices jonathan's just opened is in liverpool, which is where I'm from we're not from, but where my house is and where I lived for the last 10 years, and when I'm speaking to them I can see out the background, the city of liverpool, and I do miss it. I miss that, yeah, the people, the buzz, the feel of just being in the city, british culture, exactly yeah, you miss the british culture.

Speaker 1:

I think you'll always miss that, but I think you know. You know crisis like what? Seven hours on a plane? And like not far specific times of the year is actually quite cheap. It's quite costly at the moment. My wife's going back actually um in december to the uk. It's like double the price, really. Yeah, it's way more expensive at the moment. What's cool, though, she's going out with my daughter to see her mum for a week, and then my brother the same day is coming here.

Speaker 2:

Oh, so you won't be alone for too long.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so me and my brother are going to hang out for a week, nice, which I'm really, really looking forward to, because I actually miss my brother massively. You said you're missing friends and stuff. Right, I miss my brother. Obviously, I miss my parents and I always say the one thing I'm missing is community.

Speaker 1:

I had like a core group of coffee shop. I had them there. If I went to the gym, I had them there wanted to go for a run, I had people that I would go to, my specific neighbors that were around me, and I didn't realize. I didn't realize just how much I built a support network and of people I could turn to when I wanted to do something specific or have a specific conversation or go for a nice walk, whatever it was, and they were all different age ranges and you know male and female, and it was like, okay, and I've come here and it's like I haven't done that because I've been so head down in work and don't get me wrong, a benefit here I'm like I'm bossing it in work, I'm loving it, I'm I'm like it's really feeding my, my um growth mindset, like I can, I can obsess about work and I'm loving it. Yeah, but I definitely would say I'm. I need to build now a bit of community outside of work, as I need to go and find those it's there.

Speaker 2:

I think, if you like, it is there here. I've noticed like the other day after work I stayed in the office a bit late and then ended up at top golf with a group of dads. Yeah, so my wife's made friends through school or through new mums who have come to dubai. There's a facebook group, um, and then there was a group of the dads that we all went to Topgolf, yeah, and it was just a great to meet new people to talk about their journey over here, what they've liked, what they've disliked, everything like that. And I think, living again go back to the community that we live in. Yeah, we now know the neighbors. We now know my daughter's made friends with people who live on the same place at the swimming pool. We see people we recognize every day.

Speaker 1:

So it's it's a nice feel yeah, we've met a few parents actually, and isabella started to have play dates, yeah, which is really nice. In fact, one of the neighbors looked after isabella when we went away um a couple of days. Um, so that was really really nice. Um indian couple, and we went around for um diwali, yes, which was fun. Yeah, you know, we had a good time. But we say it's so multicultural and so international here, like, I mean, the whole party was just everybody from different countries, yeah, um, which was quite nice actually. You know, I did enjoy it. Um, I think I've just got to find my tribe, in the sense of, like, I was really into my fitness in the uk and since I've come here, I haven't really been as into it yeah, I've dropped.

Speaker 2:

That's dropped off yeah, as well, I think I'd go. We'd go to the gym, both me and my wife at the same time. Lunch times, we're working from home, that kind of thing, um, whereas now it's I'm out the house by seven and I'm back at seven. It's a long day, yeah, but it's just getting into it. But you wake up and it's sunny, so what can you complain?

Speaker 1:

but this is the thing you know, and when I when I think about it like I thought about going back to the uk, right, you always think about the things you miss. Oh, it's a crisp, sunny, uh, winter walk and you know christmas is going to be like that. No, it's not. It's gonna be wet. You know, in the summer, the other one or two sunny days in the summer and you kind of really look forward to it and it doesn't come. Yeah, exactly whereas I literally opened my back door, I walked out into the balcony this morning, did my meditation and prayer over the marina and the sun's coming up every single day and there is something in that. It feels good, it does something to you to not think about the weather, yeah, constantly, which you do in the uk it's a running joke, it's like what we talk about exactly, and it's so true.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, as soon as you come out here, you don't? You know, people might get a bit pissed off with me posting here the occasional, occasional picture of me at the beach or the desert or, but it's just different.

Speaker 2:

Like I drive my daughter to school school every morning and the sun is beating through the window, she's got her sunglasses on, she's singing songs and we drive past a camel farm. Like every day she sees camels and she thinks it's the best thing in the world. Like we drive past cows and sheep back home and she wouldn't bat an eyelid, whereas camels in Dubai she thinks fantastic.

Speaker 1:

I'm keen to get out and actually do like in the desert.

Speaker 2:

They do like uh, you can take your kids and do the safari. They do like yeah, like a kind of like um, you'll go find these things.

Speaker 1:

Like snakes and stuff and scorpions and I didn't know we were going on like a june bashing thing at christmas. And june bashing yeah, that's, that's my kid. Yeah, I'm gonna do that at christmas.

Speaker 2:

I think they do carols in the desert they've got everything for everyone out here, like whatever your religion, wherever you're from, there's something for you in dubai yeah, and it's actually quite chilled, like you know everyone's open to sharing as well like celebrating diwali with people we've never met before inviting you into their house. Yeah, it's just a really nice place to be, so you feel like you've made the right choice.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 100 brilliant. Hey, listen, mate. Thanks for sharing your hoxton life today inspired a few power planners to think about the international space, to think about hoxton wealth. Obviously we are multi-jurisdiction. We're growing across the world yeah, asia, america or australia. We're looking for people of good quality people like yourself, all over the place. Yeah, so amazing. If anybody is interested in joining hoxton wealth, they could reach out to you. If they're a power. Yeah, find me on linkedin. That's fine, and they might not have a job opportunity right this second, but we'll certainly keep them in mind yeah, have some conversations, see where their appetite is and if something comes up we can come back to them and we're on the acquisition trail in the uk exactly, so there's going to be lots of vacancies, plenty of vacancies.

Speaker 1:

I also love what you said about power planner to advise a route out here. I think it's something we need to look at in a little bit more detail and I'm having those conversations at the moment about the trainee wealth manager route and how we can change that, and I think jacob also mentioned he also thinks power plants with advisor is a really good route for the right person with the right structure in place. Yeah, so I really love the sound of that.

Speaker 2:

I think if you're sat underneath a good advisor as a power planner, you're going to learn good traits and also, being a power planner before making that step, you're going to be a good advisor. Yeah, I always say someone who an advisor, who's been a power planner, is going to be a good advisor because they know what is required.

Speaker 1:

You bang on mate, you bang on the money. Very good, dave, lovely talking to you. As per usual, we must get out and hang out on weekends. Yes, definitely.

Speaker 2:

Once that barbecue is delivered, we'll get some T-bones on the steak on the barbie.

Speaker 1:

T-bone steak. Mate Love T-bone ste.