Harrison Smith delighted to be back in hometown helping others to plan for the future

A Hartlepool-born financial adviser has marked moving into his new Greenbank office by helping fellow tenants understand the importance of planning for the future.

Harrison Smith has been a self-employed adviser with Corbridge-based Wealth Management business Emerald Associates for the last two years and was keen to set up a base in his hometown.

And the 27-year-old, a graduate of Francis Marion University in South Carolina, USA, is excited to have created a suitable environment at HartlePower Community Interest Company (CIC)’s Greenbank, Stranton, Business Centre.

Room 80 is now decorated green and white in line with Emerald’s branding. Harrison has already used the site to headline a networking event where he has provided an insight into the benefits of planning ahead financially.

Networking

Harrison said: “There were a few options where I could have moved into but this to me felt very Hartlepool and suitable for me. HartlePower has a similar line of thinking to me, they want to champion Hartlepool and the people here.

“That was huge for me from the outset when I was looking around. I didn’t want to be in a big corporate business park, I wanted to be in the heart of town – and that’s a big reason why I am here.

“When I did the first Brew and Butties networking event for around 20 of the tenants it was important for me to share the services available to them through me at Greenbank and how I can help them plan for themselves and their businesses.

“I’m looking to do more events like that in the future – hopefully get involved with more businesses, charities and individuals.”

Harrison Smith has moved into new office at Greenbank, Hartlepool. He’s a financial adviser at Emerald Associates. Pictures by Tom Banks

Having split his time between Corbridge and Hartlepool over the last few years, Harrison believes there is a gap in helping others understand more about their financial situations across the town.

Harrison will generally provide a no obligation consultation to hear what an individual or a business would like to achieve in an informal fashion.

He offers a long list of services from retirement planning to personal insurance, but really the solutions are built specific to individual circumstances.

Available to everyone

Harrison said: “I want to provide financial advice and make it available to everyone – whether that is personal or corporate clients, there is always something you can do. There is still a perception that this isn’t the case.

“A big part of financial planning is giving yourself time, don’t think about it five years away from retirement for example. The earlier you do it, the more attainable people’s goals are.

I consider myself to be a financial goals adviser, it’s about what you want to achieve financially.

“One person might want to retire at 65, another at 55. It is about guiding someone realistically to what is attainable. Let’s try to make it happen if we can.  It’s not a one size fits all. That goes for a business, a family or an individual.”

Harrison was born and bred in Hartlepool. The former English Martyrs student has always lived in the town except for a four-year football scholarship in the United States studying History and Mass Communications.

After a period in business development, Harrison joined Emerald Associates having studied for his Chartered Institute of Insurance Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and he has expert support from an established company boasting 160 years of experience behind him.

Harrison, a former Hartlepool academy player, has continued to play football locally and sponsors Hartlepool Cricket Club FC Over 40s, a team his dad, Nic, manages.

This year has seen him play the drums for local talent Michael Gallagher at the Tall Ships and Bastille gigs. His partner, Madeleine, is a nurse in the town and his late grandad, Robert, had a scrapyard at Graythorp for many years.

He said: “I’m proud to be from Hartlepool and I’m excited to now be based here with an intention to help others as much as I can in areas they may not feel they know much about.”

Emerald Associates is an appointed representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. Emerald Associates is a trading name of Emerald. Financial Associates Ltd