Simon Bartlett has worked at Sovereign Wealth in Gibraltar since May 2019. We caught up with him as a turbulent year on the international financial markets was coming to its close to learn more about Simon’s background and current role as a Wealth Advisor. We didn’t expect to hear that he may owe part of his success to the spiritual world.
This 30-something Greater Manchester native was born and bred in Bury but has been an expat for ten years. Having completed his education he went straight into B2B sales for eight years – selling IT hardware to other businesses. However, he had always taken a keen interest in financial services and had dreamed vaguely in the past of a life working abroad.
The decision to make the big move didn’t come about in the traditional way but as a direct result of a visit to a clairvoyant. “You will reside abroad” predicted the medium – apparently totally unprompted – “and so will your brother”. Simon needed no further encouragement and started making plans. Did he really believe in the future telling skills of his interlocutor? “Probably not” he smiles, but it “sure made me think”. After a lot of research his thinking progressed to “well, why not?” and the decision was made. And his brother? All these years later he too is planning a move to foreign climes in 2023.
Back to Simon. Through a friend he applied for a job with another financial services company and in 2014 began living the expat life in Lugano, Switzerland. Due to internal re-organisation, the Swiss team was relocated to Marbella just a year later and Simon’s love affair with Spain and the Costa del Sol in particular, began. A big change also happened in his personal life when he met the mother of their son Teddy, now four years old. Whilst the relationship didn’t last, Teddy is being brought up by both parents who live close to each other. Needless to say, his son is very much the pride and joy of his father’s life.
During his entire time at his previous employer, Simon was well aware of Sovereign and knew several staff members mainly through the QROPS pension business. He was introduced to Sovereign Wealth’s MD Eamon Bermingham and they soon realised they had a lot in common. At the time there was great change in the QROPS industry particularly in Malta and in May 2019, Simon joined Sovereign in Gibraltar.
Fast forward three years. Simon has developed a portfolio of clients and provides ongoing support to a significant book of business. The majority of Simon’s clients are European based although mere geographic location is never an issue. As Simon says, Sovereign Wealth clients reside all over the world and his portfolio includes many of these clients. Time zone differences occasionally mean late night or early morning calls but Simon sees this as being merely another part of the service. Most of the clients have some kind of pension structure within which the investments are held. This is by no means a requirement and Simon also welcomes business where pension structures are not used.
Simon lives in Casares less than an hour’s drive from Gibraltar. He is keen to continue studying as part of his professional development. As a regulated individual he studies through the National University of Ireland and is about to take his next series of exams under the auspices of the CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment).
Out of the office, Simon spends a lot of time with Teddy and he looks forward to showing him more of the world as his son grows up. While his football playing days may be behind him, Simon is also a lifelong sports enthusiast. He’s a keen runner and, while he enjoys time on the golf course, he’s self-admittedly got some more practice to do.
As for the future, Simon is keen to enjoy and deepen his Spanish language skills still further. One of the main attractions offered by Sovereign for him though is its worldwide network in over twenty countries globally. He doesn’t rule out working even further afield one day. In the meantime he is extremely grateful to have been invited to participate in Sovereign’s annual conference in September 2022 – held in historic Segovia in central Spain. It was, he says, a fantastic opportunity and hugely appreciated.
Simon’s career is clearly set fair for the future. A rare talent of a background in sales now complemented by providing professional, qualified wealth advice, he also happens to be very likeable and easy to get to know. We wish him and son Teddy all the best and thank him for speaking to us to tell us his Sovereign Story.
