Four new members join PFS POWER Panel

Adam Field, Kate Evans, Sam Patterson and Sean Banks join Chair and PFS President, Carla Brown, alongside the nine other panel members.

Established in 2017, PFS POWER produces a broad range of resources as part of the PFS CPD programme, most recently publishing guidance on how to adopt a consumer outcome approach, with the PFS POWER Guide to Personal Financial Planning. PFS POWER’s purpose is to encourage more personal finance professionals to embrace the use of tools and techniques that can help both professionals and their clients achieve excellent outcomes and support financially secure futures.

Adam Field is a Financial Planner at William Highbourne Wealth Management, and considers financial planning to be one of the ‘most worthwhile and impactful services we can offer’. He is currently working to become a Certified Financial Planner and a Fellow of the PFS. Adam also volunteers with the Exeter & North Devon PFS and the PFS My Personal Finance Skills initiative, providing talks on personal finance careers to 14-16 year-olds. In 2023 he was named in Citywire’s Next Generation Advisers Top 35 Under 35 Financial Planners in the UK, and received the regional PFS Young Professional of the Year Award.

Adam Field said: “I'm incredibly excited about the next few years on the PFS POWER Panel, working alongside some fantastic financial planners to create content and awareness around the value of professional financial planning. Exciting times ahead!"

Kate Evans is an independent financial planner at Lucent Financial Planning who joined the profession following an ‘excellent’ experience with her own financial planner. She is a strong advocate for the positive impact financial planning can have on people’s lives, and is passionate about improving accessibility to financial planning.

Kate Evans said: "Financial Planning should go beyond numbers - it should support your life goals and aspirations, helping you through both good times and bad. I'm passionate about making this a reality for everyone and excited to be part of the PFS Power initiative as it helps reshape the future of financial planning."

Sam Patterson is Head of Delivery at Equilibrium Financial Planning, where he collaborates with the senior leadership team to drive operational excellence and deliver the highest standard of service to clients. He has previously held both traditional and modern client-oriented paraplanning and management roles before transitioning into consultancy. Sam is also Head of Mentoring at The Paraplanner Club, a nationwide mentorship program for paraplanners. He is passionate about enabling others to create holistic, client-focused financial plans, and firmly believes in the powerful role paraplanners play in this process.

Sam Patterson said: “My entire career has centred on the paraplanner role; first as a paraplanner myself, then managing paraplanners, and now mentoring them. I’ve come to appreciate just how much value a strong, coordinated relationship between a financial planner and a paraplanner brings, not only to the financial planning firm but, most importantly, to the clients. Through the POWER Panel, I hope to create content that enhances this partnership by offering practical insights and support, empowering paraplanners and planners alike to work in sync. I believe that by fostering this collaboration, we can contribute to better client outcomes and raise the standard of excellence across the profession.”

Sean Banks is a senior financial planner at Pembroke Financial Services. He is passionate about the value of meaningful financial planning, helping people feel financially secure and plan for the future.

Sean Banks said: “I wanted to join the panel to help spread the power of real financial planning across the profession, and encourage more people to consider adopting this incredibly rewarding way of delivering financial advice. I’m incredibly excited to see how far PFS POWER can go in shaping the future of our profession and improving the public perception of financial advisers. I strongly believe if we continue to beat this drum, we’ll attract more talent and build more sustainable financial planning businesses to serve clients long into the future.”

Carla Brown, Chair of the PFS POWER Panel, said: “We are delighted to welcome Adam, Kate, Sam and Sean to the PFS POWER Panel. Their breadth of skills, knowledge and expertise will be of huge benefit to the development of PFS POWER content and resources. We look forward to working alongside our four new panel members, as we continue to support our members in maintaining the highest professional standards and delivering excellent customer outcomes.”

The work of the PFS POWER Financial Planning Practitioner Panel is supported by CII Group Membership Director, Mark Hutchinson.

More information and PFS POWER resources can be found here.