Ellis Bates News

On 18th May, employees across Ellis Bates raised funds for the Mental Health Foundation by taking part in “Wear it Green Day”, an initiative set up in aid of Mental Health Awareness Week to raise money to help improve mental health for all of us.​

We are committed to supporting mental health initiatives ​and have 9 qualified Mental Health First Aiders across the ​business to support our colleagues.​​

If you’d like to find out more about the Mental Health Foundation, and how you can get involved, please take a look at their website: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

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We are delighted to announce that Ellis Bates has achieved Top Rated Firm 2023 status.

The Top Rated Firm accreditation is a powerful standard for financial advice firms which identifies and celebrates the UK’s best financial advice firms, based on client feedback.

Top Rated firms are champions of transparency and providers of brilliant client service.

A delighted Michael Cope, our Managing Director, said “This accreditation is a testament to our commitment to delivering exceptional service and transparent financial advice. We put our clients at the heart of everything we do, and we are delighted that our efforts have been recognised through this prestigious award. Being featured in the 2023 Guide to Top Rated Financial Advisers is a great honour and we are grateful to our clients for leaving feedback that helped us achieve this accolade.”

Director of Financial Planning Ben Clapham congratulated those of our advisers who also achieved Top Rated Adviser status: “Helping our clients achieve their financial goals and dreams is the top priority for each and every one of our advisers. A massive well done to everyone at Ellis Bates who looks after our clients day in and day out. The biggest thank you of all goes to our clients for leaving us such heartfelt reviews and feedback.”

Our North Financial Adviser Team

Our Midlands and Yorkshire Financial Adviser Team

Our South Financial Adviser Team

Congratulations to our Winners

As part of celebrating our 40^th Birthday, over 200 nominations were received from team members voting for their colleagues across 8 categories:

Rookie of the Year award

Winner: Lee DeRedder, Trainee Financial Planning Analyst

For colleagues who joined us since March 2020, this is for someone who integrated and has become one of the team despite the lockdowns and remote working. This colleague sets the benchmark for future new recruits with regard to their attitude, approach and early contribution to their teams and company.

Rise to the Challenge award

Winner: John Della Pietra, Head of IT

Despite the situation and challenges, this colleague rose to the challenge, despite problems and/or set-backs and came through better and stronger as a result.

‘We are ambitious’ award

Winner: Rachael Dowde, Academy Manager

This colleague often goes above and beyond, they take on extra work or more responsibility and they are very engaged, putting their heart into everything they do to support the performance and growth of the team and company.

‘We are passionate’ award

Winner: Henry Walsh, Client Research Administrator (Apprentice)

For a colleague who is full of enthusiasm, always positive and finds the good in everything; they help to create a nice working environment, boost morale, has energy, and enthusiasm, and is a bit of fun too!

‘We do what’s right’ award

Winner: Mark Chandler, Chartered Financial Planner & Head of Estate Planning

This colleague chooses to do the right thing even when it isn’t expected, is more work for them, or isn’t the easiest option. It could be for a client or a colleague but in both cases they will have shown that, despite the difficulties, the right thing is always done. (Certificate posed by Ben as Mark could not be with us).

‘We do it together’ award

Winner: Cheryl DeRedder, Client Servicing Team Leader

This is for a colleague who helps others to grow and develop, provides appreciation and praise, puts their team first before themselves and makes the effort to establish genuine relationships with other team’s members based on mutual trust and respect.

Living our Values’ award

Winner: Beth Irwin, Client Review Team Leader

This colleague truly lives our values across all areas of ambition, passion, integrity and teamwork; and has many examples of things they have done, become involved in, led and driven across the business which have helped us to bring our values to life.

Mission Impossible award

Winner: Jo Fallon, Head Receptionist

This colleague always solves the problem, figures out a way to make something work, and can be called upon to help with most things. Unfortunately we do not have a photo of the winner as she was unable to join us on the night.

Thursday 29^th September 2022 saw us all in our best party outfits to celebrate our 40th birthday.

Grant Ellis & Peter Bates

Michael Cope, Managing Director

Our Directors

Our Financial Adviser Team

Our Reception Team

Our IT Team

Our Investment Team

Our Paraplanning Team

Our Compliance Team

Our New Client Team

Our Client Servicing & Client Review Teams

Our Accounts Team

Our Marketing Team

Our Leadership Team

It was the 10th Anniversary of Cycle to Work Day on Thursday 4th August 2022, a day established by Cyclescheme.

The cycle to work scheme is an initiative under the Government’s Green Transport Plan and is an employee benefit that can save you between 26-40% on a bike and accessories.  It enables you to buy a new bike and pay through salary sacrifice and because you pay for it from your gross pay, you save tax and national insurance on the monthly payment. Ellis Bates is proud to offer this scheme as part of our company benefits.

Cycling to work is a great way to enhance your mental and physical wellbeing, as well as being environmentally friendly. With the cost-of-living crisis encouraging us all to re-evaluate our spending, commuting via bike can be cost effective and rewarding.

Angela from our Newcastle office took part in the Cycle to Work Day. She didn’t get any pictures of herself but took some shots of the lovely scenery along the way.

Visit the Cyclescheme website to learn more about the scheme.

On Thursday 30th June, a group of 6 employees from Ellis Bates volunteered at Leeds Parks and Countryside Service on Otley Chevin and carried out some invasive species control in the form of Himalayan Balsam Bashing. Himalayan balsam is a major weed problem, it grows rapidly, spreads quickly and smothers other vegetation.

Ellis Bates will support colleagues who wish to do volunteer work by providing one day a year where they can use their working day to volunteer within their communities or for charitable institutions. Charitable work supports our values of caring for our colleagues, customers and communities.

It allows colleagues to positively impact causes that are important to them and shows that the business is committed to its Social Responsibility principles. Volunteers can use the skills that they have developed at work to help the community, learn new skills, and help to improve morale, physical health, and work life balance.

They had a great day out volunteering and finished with a well-deserved drink.

We recently held a jubilee bake off for the Queens Platinum Jubilee to raise money for two brilliant charities, Alzheimer’s Society and Smile for Life. The delicious array of sweet and savoury snacks were judged by our very own Academy Trainer, Catherine Duncan, who needed a lie down after taste testing.

The selection of treats included cheese scones, cupcakes, savoury plaits and a variety of different flavoured cakes.

The winners were:

• Best savoury:  Cheese and onion plait
• Best sweet: Chocolate brownie
• Best looking: Lime cake & icing with raspberry & blueberries
• Most comical: Hedgehog

Thank you to everyone who got involved, whether that was by baking or donating – even the Queen made an appearance!

For more information on the fantastic charities we are raising money for please visit their websites:

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

http://smileforlife.org.uk/

Promotions

• Two of our Advisers have moved into Regional Manager roles
• Ben Clapham, an Adviser and Regional Manager is now our Director of Financial Planning
• Lauren Nickell-Lean, has moved from a Client Research Administrator to a Trainee Paraplanner
• Lee DeRedder, has moved from a Client Servicing Administrator to a Trainee Paraplanner

Exam Passes

• Amy Butler has passed the Pensions and Retirement Planning (R04) CII examination
• Adam Blakey has passed the Regulation and Ethics examination (CF1)
• Laura Craven has passed the Equity Release (ER1) exam
• We have 11 newly qualified mental health first aiders have completed the MHFA course

New Starters

• Rebecca Summersall joining us as a New Client Administrator
• Jaymee Stronach joining us as Mortgage Administrator

Many of our team members have close links to some fantastic charities. As part of our social responsibility initiative, supporting charities is one of the key areas we focus on.

One of our Financial Planners, Kim Bath, married in August 2021 and rather than requesting wedding gifts, asked guests if they would kindly donate to charity instead.

Sadly due to Covid their ceremony was postponed three times and should have taken place in June last year. Devastatingly, between these dates three people who should have attended passed away from cancer-related illnesses. So, with this charity being close to their hearts, Kim and her husband chose Cancer Research UK.

The total amount raised by guests was £400, and Ellis Bates matched this so the charity benefitted from a generous total of £800.

Cancer Research is an incredible charity looking at the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Thanks to the extensive research that has been done, the survival rate has doubled over the past 40 years.

For more information on this incredible charity, visit https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/