A Financial Planner has described how he dealt with clients whose filing system was “basically a series of plastic tubs”.

Pete Matthew CFPTM APFS, managing director of Jacksons Wealth Management in Cornwall, has outlined how he tackled a case with paperwork in the “worst state of disarray I think I have ever seen”.

Writing for the new Financial Planning Today magazine, he explains how a planner can bring order to chaos for the messiest of money management.

See below for how to access the new magazine to read the full article about the case.

In the Planner Casebook feature, he tells the story of clients Gary & Janet, he who knew from an amateur dramatic group.

Mr Matthew, the creator of MeaningfulMoney, a financial education website and podcast, which has been downloaded over half a million times, explained that Janet was being offered early retirement and redundancy from her senior role in the NHS.

The couple needed to know whether this was going to give them all that they needed to retire fully. But he was presented with paperwork in a state of chaos.

He said: “It was clear that there was a great deal of work to do first, before we even got to their major financial decision. Their filing system was basically a series of plastic tubs in which everything was placed, with no distinction at all, in date order. The most recent bit of post was on the top, and that was it. There were six of these tubs, dating back to the early 2000s.

“Gary and Janet had absolutely no idea how much money they had, or where it was invested. Clearly this was no basis on which to advise them on a major financial decision. They confidently assured me that there would be no non-financial paperwork in the tubs. Despite the assurances, I found various hospital appointment reminders, holiday bookings and newspaper clippings – they really had no clue!”

To find out how Mr Matthew overcame the problem and helped them reach their Financial Planning goals read the new digital Financial Planning Today magazine.

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Financial Planning Today is a new 40-page digital sister magazine to this website

The new editorially-independent digital magazine has exclusive content produced by a team of experienced financial journalists in London.

Other editorial highlights in the launch issue include:

• Exclusive new features including Inside My Business, Planner Casebook and more
• Business growth tips and advice
• Paraplanning news and comment
• Comment and columns from leading planners and other leading figures in the profession plus an exclusive article from former Pensions Minister Baroness Ros Altmann

The magazine is being launched by Portfolio Publishing, publishers of Financial Planning Today and Sipps Professional websites, both of which offer daily news to thousands of professional financial advisers.

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