Helena Wardle

Helena began working at Nationwide in 2006 and decided early on that she wanted to become a financial adviser. Helena qualified as a financial adviser in 2011 and has been helping support clients ever since.

Helena very much values learning and loves the challenges of getting to grips with complex and technical concepts, which is what led her to become a Chartered Financial Planner. She took on a different challenge in 2018 and completed her MSc in Financial Planning. It was by far her most valuable learning experience; improving her objectivity, understanding of people, and her interest in academic reading and research.

As a self-confessed pensions geek, Helena specialises in helping people plan for retirement and understand if they have enough to last. Her aim is to bring these complex financial planning areas to life for people in a way that they will understand.

For Helena, financial planning is about helping people define what they want, decide on what they are prepared to compromise on (if they need to) and give them reassurance and a simple plan to follow.

The conversations Helena has with clients are often less about how much you have and more about what you want to achieve. It can sometimes mean having tough discussions around subjects people would rather avoid, but Helena is always honest and sensitive in her approach.

Helena loves the team spirit everyone has created at Smith & Wardle; working together, laughing together, and supporting each other. She would say there’s a very special atmosphere in the office; everyone cares about both the work we do and the clients we work with.

Since 2019, Helena has been on a mission to help more people access good Financial Planning. She started Money Means with this mission at its heart, writing a book called “Money Means More Than Numbers” and building an app to help her deliver advice to more people.

Money Means is a digital financial planning subscription service that is completely unique; it has nothing to do with products and everything to do with people. It is packed with the human element that is missing from other affordable advice solutions.

As experienced Chartered Financial Planners, we know that what really adds value to clients is knowing where they are financially, understanding what is important to them and what they want to achieve, helping them work out what to focus on and giving them the tools and information they need in plain English to make good decisions about their money. We then help them stay on track with proactive advice and help, especially when life changes.

As a result, she is limited on time, and while still active in Smith and Wardle, she doesn’t take on new clients.