Richard Birch

My name is Richard Birch. I’ve been with Metis for a few years now, and my financial advisor is Mike Smits.

Originally, I was with Lloyds who changed over and the service there dropped. Then a colleague recommended Metis, and so I had a quick chat with Mike and immediately had a good relationship with him. I really felt it was what I was looking for.

My aspirations for working with Metis were to be comfortable with the amount of risk that the funds in my portfolio were under. But really just to keep on top of monitoring it. That’s where I felt that it fell down previously with Lloyds, but it’s always been quite good with Metis and with the constant updates I’ve never felt like things were out of control.

What made me choose Metis was that initial meeting with Mike Smits. I felt like I can trust this person, I can work with him, he understands my situation and has my best interests at heart.

Now I’m working with Metis, I feel like I’m in safe hands and it’s taken the stressful side of managing finance away. It’s under control, so I can focus on other things.

At the time, I didn’t know that I wasn’t getting a great service, as it was my first experience with that kind of thing. I had inherited money from my mum and dad when they passed away, so I was completely new to that situation. Only when I moved to Metis did I realise that they could show me that what was a good investment and a good use of my money, and what wasn’t. That made me feel a lot more comfortable knowing that they were giving me much better advice than I previously got.

The three words that I would use to describe Metis would be safe, friendly, and responsive.

The best thing about working with Metis is having that personal contact and friendly approach. If you’ve got an issue or query, you get a quick response, you’re dealing with the same person, and the whole process doesn’t feel like a chore. I feel like I get the advice I need straightaway.

For me, the best thing is that I can be a bit more risky in my 30s than I previously thought, and build that knowledge about different investments. Knowing that you can look a bit further into the future, you can take more risk than previously thought.

I would recommend Metis 100%. They are there for me, they have been brilliant, and absolutely perfect for what I need.