Steve Martin CFP™ Chartered MCSI
Director
Chartered Wealth Manager
Certified Financial Planner
Steve, 46, is originally from Ayr in Scotland but moved to Altrincham in 2003 now lives full time in Spain. He is a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner (CFP™) as well as a Chartered Wealth Manager, a holder of the Investment Management Certificate and is a former Assessor of the CFP™ licence.
Steve founded Smart Financial Planning Limited in 2008 and serves as it chief executive. He also founded Smart SSAS, a pension trustee business in 2011 and Smart Divorce, a divorce specialism in 2018 and released the Change The Future programme in 2020. In 2021 he launched Smart Financial International to support clients moving out of the uk into Europe.
He was Chair of the Manchester branch of the Institute of Financial Planning for 5 years before standing down in 2015.
Steve is married with two children, is an Ironman Triathlete, a keen runner and a CrossFit level 1 coach and is a committed fund raiser for the CF Warriors and the Cystic Fibrosis trust.
Steve has over 20 years’ experience in the profession, having been a Partner and Managing Director of previous firms.
Steve specialises in advising business owners as both a financial planner and a business consultant as well as expatriating UK nationals.
Steve and Damien host the Financial Life Coach Podcast
Damien Rylett
Director
Chartered Financial Planner
An exprerienced Chartered Financial Planner and leader that has been operating in the profession for the past 25 years.
I work with a broad range of clients but specialise in providing life-centred financial planning to small business owners, senior executives and professionals. As a qualified business coach and mentor, I am well placed to help clients through the many transitions in life, be that retirement or exiting and selling a business. Ensuring families can identify, achieve and maintain their desired lifestytle without fear of running out of money has been my passion for 25 years in the profession and I have done this through meticulous, strategic planning to ensure that clients’ capital and resources are totally aligned with what is important to them allowing them to live a happy and fulfilled life.
Through The Financial Planning Training Academy, I help train Financial Advisers in the soft skills they need to be great Financial Planners and get chance to influence more lives through these great planners.
In 2011, I fulfilled a long-term ambition to establish my own financial planning firm. Brunel Capital Partners aims to deliver FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE, FINANCIAL SECURITY and PEACE OF MIND for its clients through comprehensive, life-long financial planning.
In June 2016, Brunel Capital Partners acquired Pilgrim Financial Planning, a Chartered Financial Planning firm based in Wells, Somerset. In 2017, I helped launch IronBright Investment Management Limited, a DFM built by Brunel’s financial planners for financial planners to provide a sensibly priced, well diversified, managed portfolio service to private clients. In October 2022 Brunel merged with Saltus.
I am a Regional Director at Saltus and am responsible for the financial planning team in the West of the UK. Identifying, nurturing and developing talent is important to us as a firm as we look to bring through the next generation of financial planners and we do this through our Graduate Scheme and internships, both of which I lead on.
As a former IFP Branch Manager, Conference Chairman and Chair of the PFS Financial Planning Practitioner Panel, I have always looked to get involved and make a difference to the Profession to ensure that financial planners are well equipped to deliver great outcomes to their clients.
Damien and Steve host of the Financial Life Coach Podcast
Tamsin Caine MSc., CFPTM Chartered MCSI
Trainer
Head of Financial Planning – Smart Financial
Tamsin joined Smart Financial in January 2015. She had 15 years’ experience in financial services in businesses from a small family company to a large PLC. Since meeting Steve Martin about 10 years’ ago, during his time as chair of the local IFP branch, Tamsin had wanted to work with him, providing lifestyle financial planning to clients. Having secured her dream job, she soon discovered that transforming from a traditional transactional IFA to a lifestyle financial planner was not as easy as she had anticipated. However, 2 years’ on and too many role plays to count, she is now helping others through the academy and mentoring several new and existing planners.
Having completed a Masters in Financial Planning and Business Management at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2015, Tamsin now works as an Associate Lecturer at the university in the Accounting and Finance department.
She now uses a combination of teaching at the university and coaching skills developed on the rugby field to help to develop successful lifestyle financial planners.
Antony Smith CFPTM Chartered MCSI
Trainer
Founder – Providus Financial
Antony is a Chartered Financial Planner, CFP® professional, and the founder of Providus Financial, where he helps clients live more meaningful lives by aligning their finances with their values. He began his career in 2005, working on endowment reviews, which sparked a deep commitment to client-focused advice.
With over 20 years in the profession, Antony held advisory and leadership roles in London-based IFA firms before launching Providus in 2015. He specialises in working with business owners and high-earning families, using lifetime cashflow modelling and behavioural coaching to help clients make confident, informed decisions.
At the Academy, Antony helps deliver our CFP® training courses, sharing his passion for Lifestyle Financial Planning and supporting planners on their journey to becoming fully qualified professionals.
Outside of work, Antony is a keen runner, cricketer, scuba diver, and dedicated family man.