Financial Planner and digital advice specialist Hugh Johnson has been appointed to the wealth management team of South West accountancy and finance group Old Mill.
Hugh, pictured, joins Old Mill, which has offices in Chippenham, Wells, Yeovil and Exeter, from tax, wealth and estates planners Fry Group, where he was global head of operations responsible for integrating the firm’s multi-service proposition prior to its acquisition by rival Progeny earlier this year.
He began his career in financial services in 2008, working as a foreign exchange broker in the City of London before finding his vocation in financial advice where he felt he could add more value to his clients.
He took a role at Bristol-based financial planning group Jelf, where he honed his skills as a paraplanner under the founding chairman Chris Jelf, before joining Sanlam as a paraplanner in 2013.
After several promotions he was made head of proposition delivery in 2019 designing, implementing and continuously developing the firm’s advice proposition and building its technology-driven hybrid advice offering.
At Old Mill, he will use his experience in wealth management proposition and digital-first advice delivery to drive the expansion and development of the firm’s current wealth management and financial planning offering.
Hugh said: “One of the things that is really special about Old Mill is that it offers accountancy and tax expertise as well as financial planning and wealth management.
“Offering clients all their professional advice under one roof is such a powerful proposition, and it is this integration that I have been brought into further develop.
“In my new role within the wealth management team, I will be working on enhancing the current financial planning and wealth management proposition to ensure our services are available to all our clients – especially those who already use Old Mill for business advice – the way they want and at the level that best suits their personal needs.”
Old Mill head of wealth management Amanda Browning added: “We are delighted to be able to bring someone of Hugh’s calibre on board.
“His experience in developing successful wealth management propositions and his knowledge and expertise around digital and virtual advice combined with his belief in the power of Old Mill’s integrated services model will be a huge asset, not just to the wealth management team, but Old Mill as a whole.”
Old Mill, which offers a range of services including accounting, financial planning and tax advisory in a wide range of personal and business areas, is targeting 15% growth every year to 2026 and a doubling of its overall staffing to 600.
It currently has 385 staff offering service to 5,000-plus clients.
