Robert Boland

At Cotswold Independent Financial Services, we’ve been helping individuals, families, and businesses make confident financial decisions for nearly 30 years. Based in Earlsdon, Coventry and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we are proud to be a trusted and well-established firm with a reputation built on integrity, professionalism, and impartiality. We are completely independent, which means we can search the entire market to find the right solutions for you – not just a restricted panel of providers. This independence, combined with our approachable nature and client-first mindset, ensures the advice you receive is always clear, unbiased, and focused on your goals. We believe financial planning should be understandable, relevant and centred on people's lives. Our approach combines face-to-face advice and long-term relationships with modern planning tools, including cashflow modelling, to help clients understand their options and make informed decisions about their futures. We measure success not only through growth, but through the quality of our service and the trust our clients place in us.

We have strived to bring together the best team possible to ensure we deliver the best client outcomes. Our Advisers have a wealth of experience and continue to strive to improve and our focus is provide the best quality advice and ensuring our clients are our advocates. By championing professionalism and the future we have been able to attract fantastic talent who will become the future of our business and the profession. We are proud of our staff retention and boast long service for many of your staff highlighting that we provide the right fit for career development and continuity for our clients.

Achieving Chartered Financial Planner status remains one of the proudest achievements of my life. It represented far more than a qualification; it symbolised resilience, opportunity and the belief that your background should never define your potential. Today, as a Chartered Financial Planner, Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (FPFS), business director and education champion, I remain committed to delivering high-quality advice, improving financial literacy and making financial planning more accessible. I grew up in a low-income household with five children, where money was tight and opportunities were often limited by our circumstances. We relied on charity shops, bargain stores and local support, and financial advice was never something my family accessed. University felt out of reach because I could not secure the financial support required. At the time, this was devastating, but it ultimately strengthened my determination to succeed through an alternative route. My Nan, Pauline, was the exception. She taught me the importance of saving, planning and thinking about the future. Her encouragement planted the seed for a career that would eventually transform my life. After leaving home at 18, I worked various minimum-wage jobs before spotting an advert for a cashier at Bradford & Bingley. Two people helped change my outlook: my colleague Jane Marston, who encouraged me to pursue qualifications, and branch adviser Jenny Howl, whose work with clients and Chartered certificate inspired me to follow a career in financial planning. My journey has taught me that determination, opportunity and the right support can overcome significant barriers. Achieving Chartered status proved to me that there is no single route to success. More importantly, it gave me the confidence and credibility to make a difference to others. Financial planning has changed my life, and I am passionate about helping others experience the confidence and opportunity.