John Spiers, chair of EQ Investors
Financial Planning industry veteran John Spiers, the founder of BestInvest and EQ Investors, was handed an MBE in the 2026 New Year Honours List.
Mr Spiers, 75, received the award for services to business and charity.
He is currently chief executive of EQ Foundation and is the founder and chair of EQ Investors, a business he founded in 2014 after buying the Financial Planning arm of Truestone Wealth Management.
The former stockbroker set up BestInvest in 1986 later selling it to 3i in 2007 for more than £165m.
The company was later sold to private equity owner Permira and in 2014 was merged with Tilney, before Tilney merged with Smith & Williamson. That group subsequently rebranded to Evelyn Partners in June 2022.
Mr Spiers’ charity work includes the Spiers Family Foundation set up in 2008 to support charities with an emphasis on early years intervention, tackling poverty and improving education. He set up the EQ Foundation in 2015 to support charities tackling a lack of social mobility. It has since donated more than £3m to charities and social enterprises.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Spiers “enjoys participating in historic motorsport, croquet, scrap metal sculpture and listening to the blues.”
In other awards Cathryn Riley, former non-executive director on the board of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, was awarded a CBE for her services to business leadership and inclusion.
The former Aviva group chief operating officer and group chief information officer had been appointed to the FSCS board in July 2020 and served until April 2025. She is also a non-executive director and chair of remuneration at platform group Nucleus Financial.
After receiving the award she said: “I am truly delighted and proud to have received a CBE in today’s New Years Honours List. I am so grateful to all those who supported me throughout my career as well as in receiving this award.
“I am humbled to have been recognised for my contribution to business leadership and inclusion. Supporting those around me, especially women in business, has given me such pleasure in life.”
Meanwhile Omar Ali, global financial services leader for Ernst & Young, was given a CBE for services to financial services.
He is chairman of TheCityUK, non-executive director of The England and Wales Cricket finance, audit & risk committee, and advisor to the board for the UK Government's Department of Business and Trade.
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