Company History
The firm’s origins date back to 1985 and the practice has operated as an independent advisory practice ever since. The firm became a Partnership in 2000 and a period of substantial growth in the business has occurred between 2000 and now,
Today the practice is a thoroughly modern enterprise which invests in and utilises the latest technology in order to enhance business disciplines. We invest in our people too in order to ensure the highest levels of client service and administration.
What has never changed over the years is the firm’s commitment to its core traditional business values and placing our clients at the centre of our activities. At the foundation of the Partnership the firm’s key aims were to:
- Provide professional impartial financial advice
- Incorporate technical excellence in our advice
- Provide excellent client service
These principles have not changed and are timeless; the practice will always ensure that we utilise the latest technology and professional practices where appropriate but the core values remain in place.
At the beginning of 2007 the firm was responsible for client assets under management in excess of £150 million. We also provide taxation, technical and protection advice to clients as part of our comprehensive financial planning service.
The firm also offers a bespoke private client service to individuals who demand the highest levels of financial planning and a separate dedicated website is utilised by them which holds individual Nolan Baptist & Bond WRAP accounts accessible 24/7 through a secure server.
The Partners of the firm are Derek Baptist and Ceri Robbins and in addition Jim Robertson is a member of the advisory team as an Independent Financial Adviser.
Jon Salt heads up the support team as the firm’s Financial Controller and the principal administrators are Helen Crick and Gemma Burrows.
Derek C Baptist AIFP
Derek studied law at University before joining the RAF where he served for 10 years as a Commissioned Officer mainly on the Tornado strike and air defence forces.
On leaving the RAF he joined the Financial Services profession and held senior roles at Equitable Life before joining Scottish Widows where he was Head of the Financial Planning Unit and was the senior authorised adviser in the company responsible for the advice provided by Scottish Widows sales force. Derek became an Independent Financial Adviser in 1997 and was a Director of a substantial regional independent financial practice before joining AWD Thomsons as a Divisional Director of the national practice.
Derek founded Nolan Baptist & Bond with Alan Nolan and Deborah Bond in 2000 and has been the firm’s Managing Partner ever since.
Derek was one of the first advisers in the UK to hold the full Advanced Financial Planning Certificate which he attained in 1994. Derek holds advanced level qualifications in Taxation and Trusts, Business Financial Planning, Personal Financial Planning and Pensions. He is an Associate of the Institute of Financial Planning.
Derek can be contacted on dbaptist@nolanbaptistbond.co.uk
Ceri H Robbins BSc (Econ) AIFP
Ceri graduated with an Economics degree and on leaving University joined a Dutch shipping company as a Graduate Trainee. He subsequently joined the European division of an American Fortune 500 company where he became Business Manager and travelled extensively throughout Western Europe including frequent visits to the manufacturing plant in Sweden. He was relocated from the London office to Manchester in 1993.
Ceri joined the Financial Services profession in 1995 with Scottish Widows initially and subsequently with Equitable Life. He became an Independent Financial Adviser in 2001 and joined Nolan Baptist and Bond in 2002, becoming a Partner in 2003.
Ceri holds Advanced Level qualifications in Taxation and Trusts, Pensions, Retirement Planning and Pension Investment Planning. He holds the full Advanced Financial Planning Certificate and is an Associate of the Institute of Financial Planning. Ceri specialises in Pensions, Investments and Trusts.
Ceri can be contacted at crobbins@nolanbaptistbond.co.uk
Jim Robertson
James (Jim) entered the industry with Save & Prosper in their Direct Sales Division in 1982 after a successful career as a Professional Footballer spanning the 60’s until the late 70’s with Spurs, Arsenal, and Ipswich & Stoke City. He then joined a large Midlands based General Insurance broker as an IFA in their Life & Pensions arm.
In 1985 he joined Task Force Group PLC an Essex based company who provided IT consultants to the financial services industry. He was responsible as an Independent Financial Adviser for the provision of Pension and Investment advice to the client base mainly self employed IT consultants.
In 1995 James set up on his own as a sole trading Independent Financial Adviser based in Stoke on Trent under the umbrella of the Sesame Network the largest of the IFA networks. In 2000 the business relocated to Whitehall House and in late 2006 merged with Nolan Baptist and Bond.
James can be contacted at jrobertson@nolanbaptistbond.co.uk