Meet the people behind Taylor Oliver

Louise Oliver DipPFS CFP

The Journey so far.
Louise has worked in the financial services arena for over 25 years, initially with large corporate life assurance companies where she gained her experience and qualifications. She is a 'Certified Financial Planner' and holds a number of specialist advanced qualifications.

In 1997 Louise formed her own financial planning businesses and subsequently established Taylor Oliver along with Steve Taylor in 2002.

Media Involvement
Louise is a regular panellist for BBC Radio 4 Moneybox and BBC Radio Sheffield. She also featured as an expert for the BBC on the Panorama documentary critiquing the financial advice provided by the High Street Banks.

Group Involvement
Louise is the Chairperson of the Chamber of Commerce Inspiring Women Group which promotes networking, mentoring and knowledge for women in business. She is also the Vice President of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs (BAWE) an international group with worldwide affiliations. BAWE is mainly involved with women running more established businesses.

What are her passions?
Louise enjoys working with individuals and their families to facilitate informed decisions as a result of good solid financial planning.

She has a particular interest in working with people going through a divorce, inheritance tax planning, retirement and funding long term care provisions.

Louise has a wealth of experience in advising individuals on how they can manage their finances to enable them to achieve their aspirations in life.

What's important?
Louise cares about her clients and prides herself in delivering a high degree of personal service.

Her overall aim is to create a business that she can be proud of whereby individuals aspire to be clients as well as attracting the right recruits to add to our special team.

Nothing pleases her more than to see the people she has worked with take control of their personal finances and achieve what they desire in life.

Family Life
Married with 2 boys she enjoys the odd round of golf and is an aspiring skier.

What will her epitaph be?
Seize the day!

Steve Taylor APFS CFP

The journey so far
In 1987, Steve was lured from an enjoyable five years at the Yorkshire Bank into the exciting world of Financial Services. His first job was as a ‘trainee consultant’ for Standard Life in Sheffield where he worked with local financial advisers in persuading them to recommend Standard Life products to their clients. This gave Steve an insight into working directly with the general public and in 1996 Steve became a main board director of a national firm of financial services, heading a team of financial advisers in the Sheffield office. Having gained plenty of experience as an adviser and as a manager, Steve then moved to the financial services division of a northern based fund manager where he gained an insight into being a fee-based financial adviser. Steve completed his learning experience at a local and much smaller firm of financial advisers before setting up the Taylor Oliver Partnership with Louise in 2002.

Qualifications & memberships
Steve is a Certified Financial Planner through membership of the Institute of Financial Planning and a Chartered Financial Planner through membership of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Details of these qualifications can be found at http://www.unbiased.co.uk/ifa-qualifications. These qualifications are based on both experience and the passing of individual technical exams in areas such as pensions, investments, taxation, trusts and long-term care planning. Steve is currently studying to become a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institiute.

Why do clients choose to work with Steve?
Steve has a very personal style and spends a lot of time with clients making the complex issues of finance more understandable. With his experience and qualifications, Steve is well aware of the opportunities available for clients but likes to keep things as simple and non-contentious as possible.

Personal Profile
Steve is 46 and lives in Chesterfield with his wife and two boys but what else can we tell you about him?

What was your first job?
I was a Trainee Buyer at a joinery firm in Sheffield.

If you weren’t in your current position, what would you be doing?
I would probably be a teacher. I am currently a Board Member of the North Derbyshire Board of Young Enterprise and a mentor to teenagers at the local comprehensive school.

What’s your ideal day away from the office?
A walk in the country with my family interrupted only by a pub lunch in a traditional country pub.

Name one person you would like to have dinner with and why?
I would have dinner with Warren Buffet, the greatest investor of our time because I would like to know how he remains so grounded being one of the richest men in the world. He likes burgers and Coke and gives an enormous amount of his wealth to charity.

What are your hobbies?
I enjoy suffering with my football team Sheffield Wednesday and drinking real ale.

What would you like your epitaph to be?
He did his best – now do yours!

Marlene Ford - Accounts Manager

Marlene has worked in the financial service sector for the last 14 years and has been with us since its inception in 2002. She was instrumental in setting up the specialist software that we use today and getting our office up and running.

Prior to this she worked in the Printing Industry for many years as office manager, introducing a new computer system to the office and implementing office procedures.

Here at the Taylor Oliver Partnership she is responsible for all the accounts, payroll, preparation and submission for FSA reporting, PII preparation and is our TCF Co-ordinator.

She is responsible for producing client valuations and often liaises with our clients.

What do you enjoy about your job?
We are a small team here and work well together (a second family almost) we support each other and often have to diversify our roles to achieve the success of a smooth running company which our clients expect. It's a pleasure to be part of the team!

Personal Profile
Marlene enjoys socialising, cooking, swimming and holidays, particularly visiting her daughter who has lived in Australia for the last 7 years.

Claire Goodwin CeFA - Paraplanner

Claire joined Taylor Oliver in May 2011 and quickly became one of the family. After starting her financial services career in the 1990's working for Aviva, Claire moved on to work for various financial advisers before settling in with us here.

From a background in administration, she has progressed to the more technical Paraplanner role and has a keen eye for detail. She has a wealth of experience in the industry and is a great communicator.

Qualifications & Memberships
Claire holds the Certificate for Financial Advisers (CeFA) and the NVQ Level 3 in Business and Administration. She is currently studying for her Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and is aiming towards gaining Accredited Paraplanner status. She is a member of the Institute of the Financial Planning and Chartered Insurance Institute.

Personal Profile
Claire describes herself as a proud Yorkshire woman! She lives in Sheffield with her husband Graeme and their two children.

What do you enjoy about your job?
I love the variety that working here brings, I have gained so much experience in the short time I have been here and that's great for my development. I like meeting our clients and getting to know them; both Steve and Lou give me the opportunity to take part in client meetings, which is very useful when we are working on a case file and of course it's always good to put names to faces. I'm a very personable person and we are fortunate here to work with some genuinely lovely people.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Family time comes first in my book, but when I get time, I catch up with the world of Formula 1. I love motorsport and have been to quite a few Grands Prix. One of my favourite weekends was a girly camping trip to Silverstone.

I appreciate good music and listen to all kinds, seeing live bands when I can.

I also enjoy travelling and have a soft spot for the Catalan areas of both France and Spain. We have had some amazing family holidays there and we would love to own a little retreat somewhere in the region one day.

What motivates you?
The fact that every day offers something new. Someone once told me that you should learn something new from every situation, good or bad, and that is certainly a mantra that I subscribe to.

Rachael Taylor - Administrator

The journey so far
Rachael has been with Taylor Oliver since it started in 2002. On leaving school at 16, Rachael joined the Yorkshire Bank in Chesterfield and eventually became Personal Assistant to the Manager. She left in 1994 to have a family and combined this with a part time job as a negotiator at a local chain of estate agents. With the family now growing up, Rachael joined the Taylor Oliver Partnership at inception in 2002.

What does Rachael do at Taylor Oliver?
Rachael concentrates solely on administration which makes full use of both her organisational skills and attention to detail. She enjoys meeting and working with clients as well as the various strategic partners of Taylor Oliver. These include product providers, fund managers, software providers, solicitors and accountants. Rachael also deals with some aspects of fee reconciliation.

Personal Profile
Rachael is 45 and lives in Chesterfield with her husband (and boss at work!) Steve and two boys, but what else can we tell you about her?

What is your favourite food?
Indian cuisine or a 'curry' whichever you prefer.

What is your favourite drink?
I have just acquired a taste for real ale and quite enjoy the occasional 'Jaeger bomb'.

If you weren't in your current position, what would you be doing?
Working in an office somewhere getting systems organised and the quality of work improved. I would only like to work in an environment where I could make a difference.

What is your favourite TV programme?
I really enjoy '24' with the wonderful Kiefer Sutherland and the much more British 'Spooks'.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
Being caught kissing my then boyfriend in school by the Headmaster. My boyfriend thought it was a friend winding him up and made some inappropriate gestures!

What would you like to do when you retire?
Continue having lovely holidays with my family, but perhaps spreading our wings a little further afield. I would also love to do my weekly shopping at Marks & Spencer!!

Contact Taylor Oliver Today