John Farrell

I feel reassured, supported and confident that my pensions are on track.

My name is John Farrell. I’ve been a client of Paramount for roughly five years, and I deal with Keith Brooks. 

I’ve got some fairly complicated pension arrangements due to having changed careers a few times. So, I was looking for someone to look at them and explain and reassure me about my options for my pensions moving forward. 

I actually saw an article in the Glasgow Herald that Keith had published at that point. It was just luck on a Saturday that I saw his name. I did a bit of a background check and got in touch with him. 

Keith and I had an initial discussion where we went into depth about what my position was. I had a lot of questions, and it was the way that he dealt with me – his interpersonal skills – that stood out to me. He could take these fairly complex subjects, complex for me anyway, and break them down to my level so that I could understand what my options were. It was very much the perception and how I felt after that first meeting with Keith, face to face, that sealed for me that he was who I wanted to deal with. 

It’s very much a service that I get from Keith. If I get a query from one of my pension accounts, I can email Keith and say, “What do you think about that?” And he’ll get back to me, very often on the same day. So, his service is outstanding. The worries that I have about my pension, I can ask Keith the questions, and he comes back to me quickly and reassures me or gives me some guidance as to what the result is, and that service is outstanding. 

Working with Keith makes me feel relieved. He takes a lot of the pressures off and makes me feel supported. I feel reassured that things are going according to plan. There are obviously a lot of things that Keith and I can’t control, but I’m very happy that the things we can control are in place and we’ve got a regular meeting set up to review things. 

Three words I would use to describe Keith are honest, relatable, and knowledgeable. 

Some of the best things about working with Keith are that he’s a nice guy, he’s a reliable guy, and the service that he gives me is superb. That’s what I’m looking for in somebody who works in financial services.

I think the best piece of advice that Keith has given me is to make my own decisions. He can only advise, but at the end of the day, the choices are up to me. So, I think that’s the best piece of advice, that it’s my pension – my decisions – at the end of the day. Although he’s advising, it’s my decision. I thought that was really good advice. 

I would highly recommend Keith and Paramount, and I’ve already done so to friends and some of my family. Because of the knowledge, the security that he gives me, and the service that he provides, I’ve already recommended them, and will continue to do so.