aboutus
A family-run firm established in 1978, providing independent financial planning with a focus on long-term relationships and clear, straightforward advice.
Our Story.
As a family-run firm established in 1978, Hitchell Financial Planning has been advising individuals and families for over four decades.
Our focus has always been on building long-term relationships and providing clear, straightforward financial advice that helps clients make confident decisions over time.
While the financial world has changed significantly since we were founded, our core approach has remained the same – taking the time to understand each client’s situation and providing advice that is thoughtful, personal and aligned with their long-term goals.
The beginnings of the firm
In 1978, John Hitchell, with a young family to support, had just taken the difficult decision to leave a secure job with a high street bank and was looking for the next challenge. He had hated the corporate, target-driven culture of the banking industry and felt there must be a better way to treat clients.
It was fair to say the bank was very traditional, even insisting that John shave off his beloved beard as ‘it was scaring the older customers.’ However, the final straw was having found his dream home, his mortgage application being denied because it ‘had more bedrooms than he needed,’ only to discover that his manager had bought the house instead.
Unsure what to do next, John applied for a job advertised in the local paper for a self-employed financial adviser, and one thing led to another. John's personality and his desire to help people meant that he thrived in this new environment. Things were very different in those days, but many of the clients he met in these early years became good friends, and many of their families remain clients to this day.
John was very proud when two of his sons, James and Richard, joined the business. They are both Chartered Financial Planners demonstrating how far the industry has evolved since the early days when John first saw that advert in the paper.
The business has continued to grow and working alongside James and Richard is Rob our Mortgage & Protection Adviser, Louisa our Practice Manager, Jan or senior administrator and our outsourced administration team.
John’s ethos, of treating clients as though they were family, is still very much alive and practised by James and Richard today. Hitchell Financial Planning continues to thrive, continuing John’s legacy of providing people with expert financial advice and always striving to go the extra mile.