Karl Hopper-Young
Development Director
MSc. FPFS CFP FCMI AIFP FIBC Comb Cert Couns FCIM FIDM FinstLM Adv CeMap CeLTM CeRGI CeRCC CeRER
Chartered Marketer
Certified Financial Planner
Chartered Financial Planner
Karl Hopper-Young has a considerable amount of knowledge and experience within the financial services profession.
Initially as an adviser, having spent time in training, product development, marketing and ultimately as a senior manager responsible for a large region from Devon to East Anglia of financial advisers based in the South East of England for a large well known life office.
Karl was a fellow of the Life Insurance Association by diploma and has held various positions, including Chairman of the Management Development Association for Sussex and Surrey.
He was a founder member of the Society of Financial Advisers, for which he was an Associate and was Regional Coordinator for the South of England for several years. The Society of Financial Advisers was the financial services arm of the Chartered Insurance Institute, now the Personal Finance Society of which he is a fellow (FPFS) and in December 2005 he became a Chartered Financial Planner. He has also chaired the Institute of Financial Planning's Kent and Sussex region and is a qualified member holding the Certified Financial Planner qualification, which is an internationally recognised qualification and acknowledged as the pinnacle of financial planning and advice within the profession. Karl has spent, over the years, a considerable amount of time training within the profession and was involved in the Chartered Insurance Institute putting together the questions for the industry benchmark examination (The Financial Planning Certificate) and was heavily involved in the syllabus of H15 (Supervision and Sales Management) advanced module.
Karl is a holder of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Advanced Certificate in Mortgage advice and Practice and as such is a Certified Mortgage Specialist. In addition he holds the Certificate in Regulated Equity Release and is actively involved in Long Term Care planning. He is also a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and holds Chartered Marketer status. Karl has considerable experience in external assessment and verifier work and has worked with a considerable number of public and private sector organisations where he has developed wide and varied management experience. He holds an MSc marketing Degree course at Leicester University (2003). He was instrumental in obtaining Chartered Status for the Firm ( June 2007).
In September 2008 Standards International certified Karl to the ISO 22222 Personal Financial Planning standard. Standards International is accredited by UKAS. The ISO 22222 standard provides an internationally agreed benchmark for personal financial services. Achieving the standard demonstrates a recognised level of competence and ethical behaviour, giving consumers confidence in the service they provide. He has also completed the Chartered Insurance Institute ISO 22222 assessors’ course.
In addition he now sits on The National Skills Academy – Financial Services South East Employer Board and has now been appointed its Chairman. Karl is also a Director and Trustee on the National Board for the National Skills Academy - Financial Services. The National Skills Academy was established by the Financial Services Skills Council in late 2006. The Financial Services Skills Council is an independent, employer-led organisation, established in 2004 to provide strategic leadership for education, training and skills development for financial services, and more recently accountancy and finance across the UK. Karl was involved in the working group for the Financial Services Skills Council to review National Occupational Standards (NOS) for providing Financial Advice.
Mark Thomas BA (Econ) ACA CertPFS CeRCC
Director and Company Secretary
Mark has considerable experience in the accountancy and financial management field. He is an Economics Graduate of Leeds University. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990 and after 9 years of auditing in a London practice took up senior financial management roles in the commercial sector before joining Sussex Independent in 2004.
Mark deals with a number of the compliance issues within the firm as well as the financial management and risk controls within the firm and provides clients with advice in relation to self assessment and small business accounts.
Mark was appointed a Director of the company at the beginning of 2008.
Julie Lawrence CertPFS CeFA CeMAP CeRER
Independent Financial Adviser
Julie is based at Head Office where she provides Independent Mortgage and Financial advice to clients as well as providing paraplanner support to Karl Hopper-Young.
Julie’s primary background was in the banking commercial finance sector where she advised and underwrote secured lending.
Julie has been continually employed in the financial services sector since leaving school and has studied for and passed the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice, the Certificate in Financial Advice, the Certificate in Equity Release and is currently working towards her Diploma in Financial Planning
Keith Badger CertPFS CeMAP CeRER
Independent Financial Adviser
Keith entered the financial services industry in 2002 after a career in the City of London working as an IT Project Manager in the London insurance market with Lloyds of London.
Keith qualified as an adviser by gaining the Certificate of Financial Planning from the Personal Financial Society. He is also qualified as a mortgage specialist by holding the Certificate Mortgage Advice in Practice and can offer advice in Equity Release having gained the certificate in Regulated Equity Release.
Keith is based in offices in Bexhill.
Steve Gann CeMAP CertPFS
Independent Mortgage Adviser
Steve started life at Andrews Financial Services in July 1989. He also worked for General Accident Property Services and Hambro Countrywide until the early 1990s when he joined Commercial Union Home Link trading as Agency Financial Services where he worked until 1998 and then decided the time was right to become an Independent Financial Adviser and has been with Sussex Independent ever since.
Steve has arranged a considerable number of mortgages over the years and related insurances and has a very detailed knowledge of the mortgage market. Steve is based in Hastings and looks after offices in Battle and Rye, working alongside a leading independently owned Estate Agent, Rush Witt & Wilson.
Steve holds the Financial Planning Certificate and the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice.
Mark Taylor Cert PFS Cert CII (MP) CeMAP CeRGI CeRER CeLTM
Independent Financial Adviser
Mark has over twenty one years experience in the financial services sector starting out in a homes service environment with Pearl Assurance and widening his knowledge with a later move to United Friendly. He has spent the last ten years as an Independent Financial Adviser.
Mark holds the Financial Planning Certificate and the Certicate in Mortgage Advice and Practice and is currently studying towards Advanced CeMap status and hopes to achieve Financial Diploma Status later this year.He is qualified as a Long Term Care Fees specialist holding the Certificate in Long Term Care, and can offer advice on equity release having gained the Certificate in Regulated Equity Release.
Mark provides wide ranging advice to the Company's clients and to the clients of the firms professional introducers.
Administrator
Jo has worked within the financial service industry for just over 30 years. A large part of this was at Refuge Assurance dealing with administration, accounts, policy servicing and new business, as well as supporting the District Manager at the Eastbourne branch.
Thereafter Jo moved to the Co-operative Insurance Society carrying out similar work.
Jo is involved in dealing with the client database, dealing with day to day administration as well as providing Illustrations for General Insurance and supporting the Admin Function in the progression of client cases.
Jo completed her Certificate In Regulated Insurance in December 2008 and her Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice in July 2009.
Jill Witham
Receptionist and PA
Jill has worked as a secretary for a firm of Chartered Accountants, and has also worked with the DWP as well as working in education.
Jill, within Sussex Independent is involved in property management, dealing with client appointments and also administration and supporting the research functions within the firm.
Jill is normally the first point of contact within the firm for any matter, whether it be advice related or property management related.
Thomas Williams MSWW
Tom joined the Company in 2002 after passing a course with the Society of Will Writers, he was subsequently elected as a Member of that Society
.
Tom undertakes to construct any documents relating to estate planning that the Company's clients might need
Tom is on the Board of Eastbourne Credit Union Limited and East Sussex Credit Union Limited
Steve Curryer CeMAP
Administrator
Steve joined the team in September 2008 .He brings with him a wealth of Mortgage Advice experience having previously worked as a mortgage adviser for both Independent Financial Services for three years and the Independent Financial Advisers, Hoare Jacques Partnership for a further year.
Steve holds CeMAP Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice and is currently studying towards the ifs CeFA qualification,Certificate for Financial Avisers.