Why choose us?

At Jane Smith, family values are at the heart of everything we do – and there’s a very special reason for that. The company was set up by Jane Smith herself in 1994. Six years later her daughter, Nicola Watts, joined the business and was ready to take over the helm when her mother stepped back from dealing with clients – and then later retired.

Today, our team of highly trained and qualified professionals still follow Jane’s ethos. To offer a financial planning service that’s totally independent, easy to understand and, above all, kind and caring. The relationships we build last a lifetime – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

"Nicola manages to have the right balance between her professionalism and a friendly approach. She heads up a fine team." Helen & Neil

Get to know us

People come first at Jane Smith. What’s important to us is that you feel looked after and valued – each and every time you come in, call or send us a message. And that’s why we’re so proud to have a team who are dedicated to making that happen.

"The whole team work well together and knowing our financial affairs are being looked after so well gives us great peace of mind." Peter & Lisa

Meet the team

  • Nicola Watts Director and Certified Financial Planner

    Nicola Watts

    Director and Certified Financial Planner

    Experience and background

    Nicola has been qualified to provide advice since 2001 and has been a director of the business since 2006. Since the retirement of her mother (Jane Smith), Nicola is responsible for the management of the firm, and the advice provided to clients.

    Her common sense and direct approach enable her to easily communicate the often dry aspects of financial advice, bringing clarity to the most complicated areas of financial planning.

    She is a Chartered Financial Planner and holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Licence, an internationally recognised benchmark for competence in financial planning. She also holds the ISO22222 quality standard, a recognised for best practice in providing personal financial planning. Nicola’s advanced level qualifications and expertise primarily lie in the areas of pensions, investments and inheritance tax planning, however, her focus is on financial planning and helping her clients to achieve their goals.

     

    Let’s get to know Nicola a little better…

    What drew you to Jane Smith Financial Planning?

    My mum, Jane Smith.

     

    What goals are you working towards now?

    There’s a list of places I’d like to get to and things I’d like to see. Holidays and experiences are a big thing for us a family. In the last couple of years, we’ve been to South Africa and Thailand and next on the list is orangutans in Borneo. But, equally, we love the UK. There are some beautiful places to see and we often say if you could rely on the weather, parts of the UK can beat anywhere else in the world.

     

    When you’re not at Jane Smith Financial Planning, what keeps you busy?

    Two children, my husband, a large garden and Poppy and Bertha the Labradors.

     

    If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

    You’re more capable than you think – go for it! In hindsight, with a bit more confidence, there are things I could have done much earlier than I actually did them.

  • Clare Lehman Technical Specialist

    Clare Lehman

    Technical Specialist

    Experience and background

    Clare joined us in January 2018 as our Technical Specialist and quickly became the ‘go-to’ team member for technical questions.

    Clare has worked in the financial services industry for ten years and has successfully completed the Certificate in Paraplanning and Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. She now works towards attaining Chartered Financial Planner status.

     

    Let’s get to know Clare a little better…

    What drew you to Jane Smith Financial Planning?

    The company manages to complement professionalism with a family, friendly feel. Also, we are female-led, which you don’t find very often in financial services.

     

    What goals are you working towards now?

    Professionally I am working towards completing the advanced financial planning exams. Personally, my goal is to keep experiencing and learning new things and visiting new places. I try not to say no to too many things.

     

    When you’re not at JSFPL, what keeps you busy?

    Making sure I spend time with friends and family, especially my two-year-old niece. For treats, I enjoy spa days and champagne afternoon teas!

     

    If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

    Not to worry about being scared! It’s horrible having to push yourself outside of your comfort zone but you always get great returns for doing so.

  • Amy Nechat Client Services Administrator & Quality Manager

    Amy Nechat

    Client Services Administrator & Quality Manager

    Experience and background

    Amy joined us in May 2016 with a wealth of client experience, and has since achieved CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing (Digital Essentials) (VRQ) With Distinction.

    Amy is the main point of contact for our clients, but also looks after the very busy administration side of the business.

     

    Let’s get to know Amy a little better…

    What drew you to Jane Smith Financial Planning?

    To be honest, the office dog was the biggest pull! Being part of a small team was also a big attraction and the fact it was local to me as I live in Olney.

     

    What goals are you working towards now?

    An aim, rather than a goal, is to understand more about marketing as I have taken on some of the marketing activity within the business. It’s been far more interesting than I expected and I’m really enjoying the challenge.

     

    When you’re not at Jane Smith Financial Planning, what keeps you busy?

    My daughter has a busier social life than me! So much of my time is spent taking her places. Outside of that, I love musical theatre and reading. I very often have 2-3 books on the go at any one time. I also try to indulge my creative side through painting and modelling clay, but not always successfully!

     

    If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

    Life changes in an instant and sometimes you are the only one who can save yourself – don’t give up, it will get better.

  • Jo Lambert Business Assistant

    Jo Lambert

    Business Assistant

    Experience and background

    Jo joined us in May 2019 as our new Business Assistant to support Nicola and Amy N in ensuring the smooth running of the business at an administrative level.

    Jo is extremely customer-focused and brings varied administration skills coupled with management, HR and training experience to the role.

     

    Let’s get to know Jo a little better…

    What drew you to Jane Smith Financial Planning?

    Knowing nothing about the world of financial services, I wanted a role that would challenge me and also liked the idea of working for a smaller company. My background is large corporate organisations (in my life before children), so working with just six colleagues and a smaller number of clients is certainly different. I also liked the flexibility that Jane Smith Financial Planning offered with being a working mum and of course there was a mention of Poppy the lab! Being a dog lover, it’s a dream to work with her every day.

    What goals are you working towards now?

    I want to continue to learn more about the financial world and become a competent, knowledgeable member of the Jane Smith Financial Planning team. It’s all very exciting.

    When you’re not at Jane Smith Financial Planning, what keeps you busy?

    My two giggling girlies! Bella and Sophie are full of mischief and fun. I enjoy being with my family and my husband Darren.

    If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

    Concentrate on things that really matter and don’t worry about the stuff you can’t control. Have confidence in yourself, you really can achieve more than you give yourself credit for. Time is precious, waste it wisely!

  • Leanne Carmedy Business Manager

    Leanne Carmedy

    Business Manager

    Experience and Background

    Leanne joined the team in April 2021 to support Nicola in the smooth operational running of the office and the team.

    In previous years Leanne has successfully held manger level roles within the travel, marketing and background screening industries, providing her with extensive general business management experience. Thriving on full and varied roles means Leanne is used to juggling and organising an ever-changing workload that comes with managing operations for both herself and the team.

     

    Get to know Leanne a little better:

    What drew you to Jane Smith Financial Planning?

    I really wanted to be somewhere I could make a difference, so I was looking for a smaller team with a great company culture. From day one I could see I chose wisely, Jane Smith Financial Planning is friendly, professional and has such openness between its management and team, which is great to be a part of.

    What goals are you working towards now?

    Having little experience of the financial services industry I need to improve my knowledge surrounding the industry best practices so I can assist the team and make clear judgements in improving operational processes if and when needed.

    When you are not at JSFPL what keeps you busy?

    We have an eight-year-old Cocker Spaniel called Brodie so my husband and I love to take him on long walks and holidays to the beach. We have a great circle of friends and I’m always the one to organise our get-togethers and our girls lunch dates never get missed.  More recently I have taken up Paddleboarding so enjoy a chilled and scenic paddle down the river during the summer months.

    If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

    Accept that worrying won’t stop the bad things in life, it stops you from enjoying the good.
    Believe in yourself and always know your worth.

  • Roxanne Hill Client Services Administrator

    Roxanne Hill

    Client Services Administrator

    Experience and Background

    Roxanne joined the team in February 2022 as a Client Services Administrator.

    In previous years, Roxanne has had 3 years of experience within the financial industry and thrives on giving great client service. Before being within the financial industry she worked as a retail manager for six years. Before that Roxanne gained a fashion degree at the University of Hertfordshire.

    Let’s get to know Roxanne a little better……

     

    What drew you to Jane Smith Financial Planning?

    I came across Jane Smith Financial Planning through a friend and became highly interested in a career within the company. I really liked the fact that the team at JSFP are a small team and how friendly and professional the company looked as well.

     

    What goals are you working towards now?

    To gain as much knowledge and experience within the company’s processes and to also gain qualifications to be a potential paraplanner.

     

    When you are not at JSFP what keeps you busy?

    I’m a very family orientated sort of person (being half Italian) and really enjoy spending time with my partner and family. My partner and I love to go out to the cinema, for dinner and for weekends away. I am quite creative so I really enjoy making things such as knitting, pottery painting and making clothes. I do also love to bake a delicious Victoria sponge.

     

    If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

    To not put so much pressure on yourself as life is too short and to live every day like it is your last – happiness is key.

  • Poppy & Bertha Office Dogs

    Poppy & Bertha

    Office Dogs

    Poppy joined the team as a puppy in July 2013. She is a black Labrador and her responsibilities include monitoring the biscuits and being fussed by all members of staff.

    Bertha joined the Watts family in August 2020, and by all accounts is keeping Poppy on her toes. She is already nearly as big as her sister and we suspect she is going to end up dwarfing Poppy!

    Poppy and Bertha have no plans to study for financial qualifications and are not authorised to provide advice.

Well qualified to help you

You’re in safe hands with Jane Smith Financial Planning. We’re an award-winning business with an impressive array of qualifications and accreditations to back up our experience. In fact, we’ve been awarded Chartered status, the industry’s gold standard that only firms who pass its rigorous test can achieve. We’re also Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI), an accolade given only to the most trusted financial planning firms in the UK, and those who can demonstrate excellence in everything they do.

And when it comes to Nicola, she’s a Chartered Financial Planner and holds the Certified Financial Planner™ Licence – an internationally recognised benchmark for competence and a measure of the best planning results.

Read more…

"I really feel that Nicola and her team consistently provide excellent service which would be hard to beat." Jo

Upfront fees and no nasty surprises

If we’re going to have an open and honest relationship, we think that also means us being clear about our fees. That’s why we always discuss these early in our relationship, giving you details of our charges in writing and agreeing them before we do any work. Our first meeting will always be free – so it won’t cost you anything to have an initial chat and see if you’d like to work with us.

Read more…

Independent, now and always.

We’re proud to say that we’re totally independent. We can access the whole of the market, researching many different product providers to find you the very best financial solutions – rather than only having the pick of one or two. That means you can be sure our advice is totally fair, unbiased and always based on a comprehensive analysis of everything that’s available. And even more than that, it means we’ll only recommend products that suit you best – not ones we’ve been told to offer you.

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