Testimonials

Qualifications and experience of an adviser were important to me and advisers at Lyfords are both highly qualified and experienced.

With Lyfords I got my savings plan underway and have just managed to buy a house through Kiwsaver – just in time before the LVR changes came in!

What I like most about Lyfords is the personalised friendly service with tailored advice specifically to my needs.

I have recommended Lyfords to others because they are good at keeping in touch and keeping me up to date on financial matters as well as making sure I have the right insurance. They are my one stop financial advisory firm.

When we had decided to transfer our UK pensions to New Zealand it was difficult to find out the costs involved in transferring them and what the implications were to us relating to the changing regulations in the UK.

We chose Lyfords to help us with transferring our pensions because they provided clear advice that enabled us to make an informed decision on the value to us of transferring our UK pensions.

Lyfords stood out from the other pension providers because their experience was obvious which was reflected in their clear and valuable advice.

We now know exactly where our wealth is located and feel we have far better control over it for our future benefit.

What we like most about Lyfords is the clear communication on the process involved and progress along the way. We found Lyfords to be very easy to deal with and they made the entire transfer process worry free.

I have every confidence that Alison and Lyfords will continue to meet my need for independent high financial advice, be transparent in their dealings with me, and be professional in their approach to their work, which is helping me meet my financial goals.

From the moment I met Alison and Richard Renfrew I felt confident that my financial problems and future wealth would be well taken care of. At the age of 26 I realised that I did not have much to show in comparison to how much money I earned, and thought perhaps it was time to sort out my financial situation. Alison and Richard have shown me how putting a little bit aside now can make all the difference to the kind of lifestyle I wish to lead in the future”

The financial plan was presented within a very short time frame and I continue to be impressed by the professionalism and precision of its content. Richard and Alison Renfrew are to be applauded on their attention to detail, their availability to clients (there is no chain of command) and their ongoing willingness to inform, educate and advise in a non-judgmental manner.

We’ve just had Katie’s quarterly statement from our new superannuation fund manager in NZ and despite it only having been started less than two months ago it has already accrued a healthy little amount of interest.

When it was in the UK, they NEVER told you anything about how much money it had made…only the Prudential did that and then only once a year!!

I genuinely feel that we are making more interest in NZ and it’s nice to be regularly informed as to the performance of the policies.

Thanks for your recommendations Alison.

In September I had another holiday in Bali but while there I had a stroke, something I would suggest you avoid if you can.

I spent 3 days in a hospital in Bali before I was flown to Singapore, with a medical team to look after me. I was admitted to the Raffles Hospital where I spent 7 days.  My partner, daughter and I were flown back to New Zealand, though my poor daughter, after flying up to Singapore to see me and sort out everything, got a seat in cattle class, while my partner and I were in business class at the expense of Southern Cross Travel Insurance. Don’t leave home without it is all I can say, I would hate to say what the cost of a Lear jet and medical team would cost.

I spent 7 weeks at Porirua hospital learning how to walk again as well as getting the use out my left hand, which is still not right, but they time is a great healer. I being the non-patient man I am don’t have the time to sit around awaiting this all to change.  There are some things I used to be able to sort out but currently this isn’t one of them.

So how am I now? I can walk without a crutch, I am not going to break any speed records, but I get there.  Driving is something that needs to be accessed.

Tiredness is the big hassle with this brain injury, the so called reconnection and learning all the skills again just floors me at times. I describe it as a car battery going flat, one minute you are ok, the next you can’t be cranked over, referring to the car battery. So life is quite different and people, like doctors and rehab specialists, say it could take 2 years to recover back to whatever, but I am working on changing that time frame. I have things to do and places to be is another way of putting it.

 I have no idea when or if I will ever be able to return to work and am grateful for both the income protection and trauma insurance that my adviser Alison Renfrew had arranged for me.  Six months of income protection was paid in advance along with the trauma claim within two weeks of my accident.  It made a huge difference to know that I didn’t have any financial worries.  If I cannot return to work I will be paid a benefit until I’m 65.

I first learned of Alison Renfrew several years ago when she was being interviewed by the National Radio on Financial Planning.  I was so impressed of her knowledge and selfless approach to helping people to meet their goals.  I had been sceptical of Financial Advisers because I had a belief that they did not offer a service that is in the best interests of the client.  However I realised after hearing Alison, that there are professionals in our community that do act in our best interests.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Alison and everything I believed of her was correct.  She displays a high level of integrity, trust and honesty. She is transparent when speaking about the services she offers and giving financial advice, which helped me feel relaxed and that I was in good hands.  Not only has Alison been generous in her time with helping our family, she has also given financial advice to my son of 24 years of age.  He now has adequate insurance that fully covers him should anything adverse happen.

Young people are not always aware of what they need to protect themselves and to build their future.  This is where Alison has the expertise to guide and give direction.  I would recommend anyone that is looking for financial planning advice especially young adults to contact Alison.