The first instalment of our 'A Day in the Life of' series sees FMB's David Edwards walk us through a typical day as a Financial Planner.

After ensuring the children have got off to school okay, I set off for work with the aim of arriving around 8.45am. I grab a coffee and catch up on any e-mails and voice messages I may have. Once I have attended to any queries or outstanding tasks I set about making a ‘to do’ list.

On my list today I note that I have to phone two clients to arrange review appointments, both in Barrow. I also have notes to update and to provide a Review Summary for my client following yesterday’s meeting and have some Pension Nomination Forms and a Letter of Authority to send off. Once I have completed my notes, I can pass the file on to my Relationship Manager, Patrick, who will set up and assign the relevant tasks to our Client Services Team who will input the necessary data on our back-office system and will send the forms on to the providers. I meet with Patrick to discuss the meeting notes and my recommendations so he can make a start on writing the recommendation report.

I have four appointments this week and now have the files on my desk with agendas, valuations and  documents to review in advance of my meetings. By late morning, I have reviewed the files and looked at where we up to at the last meetings. I remind myself of the client's situation and consider whether their investments remain suitable for them. I make notes of things I need to ask them – I’m now ready to go.

I call my two clients in Barrow to arrange a suitable date their review appointments and they’re now both booked in, that's another thing ticked off today's agenda.

Once it gets to 3pm, I set off for today's client review appointment. I enjoy meeting with my clients and hearing about what they have been up to since we last spoke. It's really important to find out about their situation and anything that has changed and to discuss any plans they have for the future. We talk about how they feel about the investment portfolio and if they are still comfortable with the amount of risk they are taking and also discuss utilising their ISA allowance for the 2019/20 tax year. I leave his house at around 5pm and head home. Before I sit down for something to eat, I jot down some additional notes to include in the Review Summary that I'll type out tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow will involve similar tasks, but I also will be attending a fund update and commentary run by Seven Investment Management (7IM). Given recent speculation around China and US tariffs being increased and of course the never-ending Brexit saga, it will be good to get a fund manager’s insight into what may or may not be affected. I also need to chase up a few outstanding information requests for one of my clients so I can form a recommendation report for them.

It's a great job, and it's wonderful to help people make the most of their money and help them worry less about the future.