Testimonials - Lifestyle Management

ALL BELOW TESTIMONIALS AND MANY MORE SPANNING OVER THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO VIEW FOR AUTHENTICITY AT OUR INTRODUCTORY INITIAL MEETING

“There are few people out there that put you at ease almost straight away. Coaching is a serious business, life, finance or otherwise, you tend to have great expectations once meeting a coach and those are, in case of Les, always fulfilled. He brings to the table a great combination of tactful interpersonal skill and great life experience and very soon a life coaching becomes a series of examples from his personal past which allow you to get yourself fully immersed into his coaching lessons! All those who hate following books and like a real world experience would love Les. The above skills as a coach are underpinned by a fantastic, no nonsense personality who ‘gives it’ they way it is. If you cannot face the truth, well, perhaps you need someone else but if the truth is what you’re after Les is, without a doubt, your man!”

“My wife and I have been clients of LSM since 2011. We left the comfort of a public sector job and pension in the UK in 2010, and moved to Africa to a large corporate business where, as an expat, I was not eligible for the pension scheme. We were looking for a flexible solution for long term financial security that could meet the medium term demands of school fees in the UK or abroad.

LSM encouraged us to raise our perspectives to a longer term consideration of life goals, and did so in a warm, friendly and encouraging manner without any sense of pressure or pretence. Through this consultative process we have learnt of the tax advantages of saving while ‘offshore’, and begun contributing to a vehicle that gives us comfort that we are taking sensible steps to ensure the financial security of the family in the future.

For the duration of our relationship with LSM, everyone we have dealt with has been helpful, discreet and keen to ensure that their advice is tailored to our specific needs. One notable example stands out where at short notice there was a prospect of returning to a job in the UK. This presented a significant change to our family and financial plans with considerable implications for school fees in the short term. The LSM staff went to extraordinary lengths to explain the various options open to us to manage this transition as efficiently as possible from a tax perspective, and to provide the analysis that showed that the savings vehicle we had chosen would deliver what we had planned.

I can’t recommend the team or the service highly enough, and am happy to be approached by any prospective clients for further questions or discussions.”

“I have been a client of LSM since February 2009. I have been highly satisfied with the level of service offered in regards to my personal financial future. In particular, I have been impressed with the documentation provided during frequent review meetings.

One should always be particularly cautious when signing any contracts in regards to investments. Unfortunately there are a number of unscrupulous individuals out there. The decision to become a client of LSM was made after much contemplation, asking of questions and researching both LSM and the investments that were suggested. I commend LSM for wise counsel given and the accuracy of the information provided.

I regard LSM as a sound provider of financial advice. I recommend, without reservation, LSM to all working overseas seeking long term ‘Lifestyle Management’.”

“I have been a client with LSM since September 2006. During that time, I have found the staff of LSM to be highly professional and able to provide sound assessments of my personal financial position and give wise counsel regarding my long-term investment decisions.

During that time, I have been very happy with the financial performance of the investments suggested by LSM. I have been particularly impressed that LSM steer clear of ‘hard sell’ approaches both in attracting their clientele and when recommending specific investment products.

As someone who has lived overseas for more than thirteen years, I value the experience that LSM offers with regard to retirement planning, offshore investments and taxation.

I would highly recommend LSM to any person working in an international setting and seeking the long-term investment advice needed for effective lifestyle planning.”

“Following advice from LSM representatives, I made a decision to sign up for a regular savings policy in 2008 and am absolutely delighted with the growth of my investment. Advising a couple – my husband and I – who are as financially dissimilar as the sun and the moon would have been impossible for anyone else but with LSM we were guided through various options and were able to choose an option that is customized to our divergent investment priorities and needs.

During my 14month association with LSM, my experience has been entirely positive and I am confident that my hard-earned cash could not have been channeled through more professional, experienced and competent investment managers. In particular, I am pleased to see that despite the global financial downturn, my investment has grown by nearly 20% due to the smart financial decisions made by LSM on my behalf.

Through their openness, prompt feedback and advice, I have been able to monitor the growth of my investment and now have financial peace of mind. I would therefore not hesitate to recommend LSM to any prospective investor.”

“My wife and I have received financial advice from LSM in Nairobi since 2009. The service provided by LSM has at all times been friendly and informative and the funds we invested have performed well, especially given the volatile market.

I am happy to keep investing via LSM for the foreseeable future as the funds we set aside will be our nest egg for retirement 20 years from now and I have every reason to recommend LSM to others as financial partners and advisors.”

“I have been a client with LSM since October 2008 and I must say that I am extremely pleased with the professionalism with which they do business. All of the staff I have encountered in the last two years have been really courteous and accommodating in helping me achieve my goals. I get a true sense that the entire LSM team is on my side and that they are working in my best interest.

The primary advantage of being an LSM client for me is being able to plan my savings accordingly to my current and aspired lifestyle. It has enabled me to set goals for myself and know that I will be financially able to achieve them when the time comes. The regular assessment meetings, updates on the prevailing global economic situation also give reassurance that one’s investments are being looked after. Moreover, to see the turnover from my savings in just two years and during a time of global financial crisis, suggests that I am indeed in good hands.

The relationship that LSM has with its clients therefore goes beyond that of business and takes on a personal dimension in ensuring that their clients are satisfied and able to achieve their dreams. I would therefore recommend LSM to anyone who needs long-term guidance in getting their financial situation in order, and especially for younger people working in an international / expatriate environment and trying to ensure that they make the right choices in securing their future.”

“I have been a client of the Lifestyle Management Africa (LSM) since February 2012. I heard about LSM through various friends and professional colleagues who had used and expressed satisfaction with their services. Following on from an initial introductory meeting, I was sufficiently convinced to become a client and have been extremely satisfied with the level of service and professional advice that they have since offered.

The regular review meetings and continuous availability of the team to answer my questions and provide advisory services allow me to keep abreast of my personal financial plan and to feel assured that I am in the right hands. I regard LSM as a sound provider of financial advisory services and would recommend them to anyone seeking personal financial and lifestyle management services in Kenya.”

“The above company have been advising me on my long-term financial planning especially in regard to retirement and the education of my children through to the end of their university careers. I have found them to be professional, accurate and genuinely concerned in regard to the service they provide. I have no hesitation in recommending them to others and hope that if involved with them, you gain the same comfort of mind that I have due to my association with them.”

“My wife and myself have been clients of Lifestyle Management since July 2010.

I can honestly say that we have had nothing but good service since the day we were flrst approached. A lot of care was taken in assessing our investment requirements, and our future proposed “lifestyle”. This same standard of care was continued through the process of identifying a suitable investment opportunity. In addition, where I would especially commend Les Symons and his team, is in their commitment to keeping in touch with their clients, giving regular feedback, and working through any queries or issues that might arise. In the course of this interaction it has become apparent that Lifestyle Management keeps its eyes open for a range of fiancial products and services that might be suitable for their clients.

I would have no doubt that any future prospective client would derive the same degree of satisfaction with LSM’s services that we have experienced.”

“The LSM team has been very professional and efficient from the beginning: John Mc Donald first gave us a detailed and easy to understand explanation of the importance of planning and described for us the various schemes available. Les Simmons then guided us through the choices to be made and helped us make an informed decision. Finally, Richard Waugh has been very effective in updating us regularly on the evolution of our portfolio and linking this to the economic context which, we must say, can be overwhelming given the constant changes in the market. Having Richard explain this using the most “understandable” terms possible for “non-economist” like us has been very reassuring. The timeliness of LSM’s feedback is commendable.

One of the most important added value of working with LSM has definitely been this possibility of getting anytime a face to face meeting to discuss changes in our plan or explanations and updates. The flexibility of the plan has also been an important benefit throughout the years.”

“When I was first approached by LSM in early 2008, I was sceptical about financial advisors.

Looking back I am pleased that I agreed to meet with them and further agreed to sign up to an investment plan.

I welcomed the advice on how to approach longer term financial planning and the various options available. I particularly appreciated the explanations on the risks, the impact of market volatility on certain investments, the importance of portfolio diversification, and the need to focus on the long term. This all helped to identify an appropriate investment vehicle that suited my needs.

While my investment has not yet appreciated as much as I originally hoped for, I am totally satisfied to see that it has continued to grow with my regular contributions. This fits well with my overall financial planning as I am looking at the long term.

In terms of services provided by LSM, I am happy with the regular reviews and updates on my current portfolio. I am also pleased with the advice I receive with regard to new opportunities to complement my existing plans.

Based on my experience, I can recommend LSM to anyone looking to approach long term financial planning in a structured manner.”

“Les is a driven and dedicated quality business professional who genuinely cares for his clients and their financial planning needs. His due diligence process is second to none and I cannot recommend Les or his company highly enough. A pleasure to deal with and a pleasure to know.”

“Having worked with Les for a period of time overseas in Africa and South East Asia one of the main attributes that he had was his attention to detail and his training and personal development skills. Having been in Financial Services for several years i found his lifestyle management training a breath of fresh air and it was going back in time in this profession when we used to talk about dreams, goals and aspirations and discuss outcomes based advice with clients rather than the more modern ways of ‘selling’ a product to a client to receive a commission income. The old style has certainly been lost through the years but with my training & development under Les it was a breath of fresh air and indeed i utilise these skills back in UK again. Indeed there are several writers and learned Financial and lifestyle planners in the UK now who earn an income by presenting at conferences and other arenas the virtues and benefits of Lifestyle Planning as opposed to ‘selling’ products. Something that the UK FSA are more than happy with.”

“I have known Les for a long time. His knowledge of his industry and his commitment to provide an excellent level of service has always impressed me.”

“I have known Les since 1999 and we have worked together directly for 7 years during this time. He has provided me with invaluable support both professionally and personally and I am immensely grateful for this. His passion for helping and developing people is infectious and this also translates to how he deals with clients and the advice he gives them. I look forward to working with him for many years in the future and count him as a close friend.”

“I recently attended a course with Les and since then we have started to do some projects together. From day one it’s been a total pleasure knowing Les. I have found him to be genuine, sincere and very ethical. Les is a straight talking kind of guy and and his attention to detail is impeccable. I totally admire the way he conducts himself and he is an absolute pleasure to work with. I look forward to many prosperous and happy years of doing business with Les and it is an honour to endorse him here on LinkedIn.”

“Despite only being in the industry a short time and entering with minimal knowledge, I found Les a great teacher who communicates at a very understandable level, and makes his courses very enjoyable!”

“Hi, I am Remiss! I should have let you know that we did indeed receive the funds from Hansard and to say thank you (asante sana) to you, Les and your team. We’ve always appreciated LSM’s philosophy and approach to helping clients understand our financial options and opportunities without pressuring us. I guess all good things come to an end, as they say!
All the best.”