Sarah Elson

Operations Director & Chartered & Certified Financial Planner

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01937 223055

Accreditations Qualifications

At work

Sarah is co-founder of Berry & Oak, along with her husband Andrew. Sarahā€™s role covers two functions; Operations Director, and Financial Planner. Sarah is aĀ Chartered Financial Planner and holds the Certified Financial Plannerā„¢ professional licence.

As Operations Director, her role includes HR responsibilities, such as recruitment, payroll, staff training and development, as well as premises, submitting FCA returns, VAT returns, and overseeing compliance and office processes. Sarah also has responsibility for the marketing strategy, social media presence and delivering the Berry & Oak Business Plan.

In her role as an adviser, Sarah meets with clients to work with them on their financial plan to achieve their goals and ensure that they stay on track.

Sarah has been awarded the “Champion of Advice Award” at the 2023 Professional Adviser Awards, The “Outstanding Achievement Award 2023” at the Yorkshire Financial Awards, “Director of the year 2022” at the Yorkshire Financial Awards and also the “Financial Adviser of the year – North East for 2022” at the Professional Adviser Women in Finance Awards.

Sarah is a member of the PFS Financial Planning Practitioner Panel, a group formed by the professional body, the Personal Finance Society, to help promote awareness of financial planning to the next generation.

 

At home

Sarah enjoys running and hopes one day to be able to run a marathon. She also enjoys photography and spending time with her family and friends.

Sarah enjoys pushing herself to take on challenges to raise money for the Charities that Berry & Oak supports. In July 2011, Sarah completed a cycle ride from London to Paris, raising money for Help 4 Heroes. In October 2018, the Berry and Oak team completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks raising over Ā£3,200 for St Gemmaā€™s Hospice and in September 2019 Sarah completed the Great North Run raising more than Ā£1,000 for the Alzheimerā€™s Society.

In the spotlight

What does a day in your working life look like?

Some days I meet with clients and help them plan their future, another day I could be writing the company newsletter, or reviewing the business strategy for the next quarter. I set the vision for the business and keep us on track. Iā€™m passionate about building a team that reflects our culture, lives our values and strives to be the very best.

What do you like most about working at Berry & Oak?

I enjoy seeing how the planning that we do with our clients can help them get the most from their lives ā€“ whether it be knowing they can retire early, or take that holiday of a lifetime.

What are your top three life highlights so far?

  • Marrying Andrew at the Ice Hotel in Sweden
  • Becoming a mum. Our son constantly amazes me.
  • Walking along the Great Wall of China ā€“ incredible!

Is there an ability you wish you had?

To be able to fly like Superman, where I could travel anywhere on a whim and see the world from a birdā€™s eye view.

Whatā€™s currently top of your bucket list?

I would love to go back to Chengdu in China and spend time volunteering with Pandas International, supporting the work they do and getting the opportunity to be close to these amazing animals.

Which song gets you on the dancefloor?

It would have to be Mr Brightside by The Killers ā€“ every time! Itā€™s also Andrewā€™s favourite song so the best way for me to get him up on the dance floor with me.

Do you have a talent people would be surprised to know about?

Iā€™m a second Dan in Karate!

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Ready to talk?

If you want to know more about getting the most out of your finances for your retirement, investing or estate planning, please get in touch. You can send us an email or use the direct message box at the bottom of this page. Or call us and we can chat through your needs and, if you are ready, make an appointment to better understand how we can help.

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