Advisers you can actually sit down with.
PBS Financial Solutions has been advising Lancaster and Morecambe from a real office since 2007 — independent, whole of market, and grown almost entirely by recommendation.
Built in Lancaster, grown by word of mouth.
The short version: one adviser, one office, and nineteen years of doing the job properly.
Paul Brett-Smith founded PBS Financial Solutions in 2007, after more than ten years advising clients on their money. The firm began with mortgages and insurance, then grew into pensions and investments as clients' lives — and their questions — grew with it. Many of the people we helped into their first homes now trust us with their retirement plans, and some send us their children.
Independence is the whole point. We're not tied to a panel of providers and we're not part of a larger organisation, so when we research the market we mean all of it — and the recommendation you get is simply the one that fits you best. We're authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference 624550.
Most of our clients are in Lancaster, Morecambe and the surrounding area, though plenty are now scattered across the country — moved away, but not moved on. And because this is home, we like to give something back, supporting local clubs and charities where we can.
Paul Brett-Smith — Director & Financial Adviser, DipFA MIFS
Paul started in financial services in 1997, in a part-time admin job at a firm of advisers while he finished his A-levels. He qualified, began advising on mortgages and protection, and broadened into pensions, investments and insurance as his clients' needs evolved — then founded PBS in 2007 to bring that kind of independent advice to Lancaster.
Ask him what he enjoys most and the answer is people: no two clients are the same, and many he's now known for years — long enough to be helping their children plan too. His style is clear and friendly, so you understand your options and why one of them fits. Away from the office it's rugby (a former player and junior coach at Vale of Lune RUFC), a growing interest in karting and Formula 1, and travel.
Ross Humpage — Mortgage & Protection Adviser, CeMAP
Ross began advising on mortgages in May 2008 — straight into the housing market crash, watching deals withdrawn almost as fast as he could source them. It was a baptism of fire, and it's why nothing about the current market rattles him. He advises on mortgages and on protection: life cover, critical illness, income protection and general insurance.
What he enjoys most is the problem-solving — especially finding an answer for someone who's been turned away elsewhere. And he stays your one consistent point of contact from first chat to completion, so there's always someone to call. His rule: if he doesn't know the answer, he'll say so — then go away and find it. Outside work, his young family keeps him busy, mostly on the touchline at Carnforth FC.
Your first conversation is free, and there's no obligation. See how it works
The advisers
The team behind them
Put faces to the names over a cup of tea.
Drop into 9 King Street, or tell us roughly what's on your mind and we'll call you back within one working day. No hard sell, no obligation, no jargon.