Dr Sonya Lutter, creator, researcher and author

Keynote: Practical ways behavioural science can help clients overcome money hang ups.

Dr Lutter leads curriculum and continuing education opportunities in financial psychology, financial therapy, and financial behaviour. She earned her PhD in Financial Planning from Texas Tech in 2010 and holds degrees from Kansas State University in marriage and family therapy and financial planning. Dr Lutter’s clinical work bridges the gap between mental health and financial planning. Her developmental work in financial therapy is summarised in Financial Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice with co-editors Drs. Brad Klontz and Kristy Archuleta, based partly on her role as co-founder of the Financial Therapy Association.

Dr Lutter is also the creator and author of A Couples Guide to Love & Money: 15 Exercises to Strengthen Your Relationship. Her work at the financial counselling centres at Texas Tech University and Kansas State University have guided her effectiveness of financial counselling research agenda, which culminates with a co-edited book with Dr. Dorothy Durband titled, Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development.

Dr Thomas Mathar, Aegon UK

Keynote: What school didn’t teach you about money.

Dr Thomas Mathar heads up Aegon UK’s Centre for Behavioural Research, supporting internal and external stakeholders with behavioural research and the application of nudge-theory to help people live their best lives, now and in the future.

Thomas has been with Aegon since 2016, having previously worked in research agencies and government, health, consumer industries and in finance.

Jon Dunckley, ‘About…’ Consulting Group

Keynote: Financial flourishing: Applied positive psychology and financial wellbeing.

Jon Dunckley is founding director of the ‘About…’ Consulting Group, a multi-disciplinary training and consulting organisation with specialisms in financial services and positive psychology. He is a keynote speaker, author, subject matter expert, and sought-after trainer. Before setting up About Consulting Group, he worked as a financial adviser and Head of Technical services for life insurers both onshore in the UK and offshore in Dublin.

A self-confessed geek, Jon is a fellow of seven different organisations and describes himself as one-part financial planner, one-part psychologist. He is currently researching whether personal resilience is impacted by a belief in manifesting.

Alexandra Miles, Legal and General Investment Management

Breakout discussion: Retirement Reimagined.

Kim Bendall will be moderating the Victoria Dale’s breakout discussion: ‘Diversity in the financial sector: Who’s doing what well?’ She is the founder of Go Paraplanning, and is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society, Certified Financial Planner^TM and a CISI Fellow and Accredited Paraplanner. She moved into outsourced paraplanning in 2012 and founded Go Paraplanning in 2020.  Go Paraplanning has grown organically since then, and now employs a team of very highly skilled and experienced paraplanners providing technical and consultancy support to a select group of like-minded, high-quality financial planning firms throughout the UK.

Sebastian Elwell, Switchfoot Wealth Limited

Breakout discussion: Wellbeing in a warming world – how financial planning may hold the key to everything.

Sebastian Elwell is director of Switchfoot Wealth Limited, a Certified B Corporation financial planning firm.

Sebastian is an Advisory Board member of SOLLA, Chair of the STEP Surrey Branch, a member of the PFS Sustainable Advice Forum and was recently invited to join the FCA’s ‘Adviser Sustainability Group’ which is due to report back to the FCA by the end of 2024.

Sebastian is also the author of ‘Sustainable Financial Planning’ a principles-based methodology to reform the financial planning process to take account of climate breakdown. Switchfoot’s mission is to make sustainable financial planning the default.

Becca Timmins, When We Think

Breakout Discussion: The magic of silence: The rare power of not interrupting.

Becca Timmins is a consultant, coach and facilitator at When We Think.

Becca has had a long career in financial planning, first as a Paraplanner and latterly as Operations Director at Emery Little. She now works with business owners and leaders, Financial Planners and teams, supporting them to uncover and realise their own potential and that of their clients. Her work is grounded in the Thinking Environment™, focusing on creating respectful, trusting relationships, deepening listening skills and asking better questions to support great thinking and ultimately, great outcomes.

Becca’s experience of coaching and training leaders and their teams has culminated in the launch of Unlocking Excellence, a coaching skills course specifically for Financial Planners wishing to deepen relationships with their clients, offer greater value, and simply do things better.

Alan Whittle, Unburdened Solutions,

Breakout discussion: Reading your clients to enable smarter financial decision-making.

After working as a Paraplanner, Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, Alan Whittle set up the Unburdened Consultancy in 2019 with the intention of supporting smaller financial planning firms in the areas of compliance and professional development. Alan has combined this with his love of developing the next generation of financial professionals, bridging the gap between the academic and professional spheres as a Lecturer at Robert Gordon’s University on both Financial Planning and Sustainable Finance.

A great believer in lifelong learning, Alan holds an MSc in Financial Planning and Business Management, the focus of which was the Motivations for Responsible Investing. He has recently completed a successful defence of his thesis for a PhD in Financial Planning, the subject of which is the intersection of Behavioural Finance and Impact Investing, how reference dependence, frames and framing impact investment decision-making.

Tom Morris, Ovation

Panel discussion: How to avoid the bumps in the FW road.

Tom Morris is taking part in the panel discussion ‘How to avoid the bumps in the FW road.’ The discussion will cover how to incorporate financial wellbeing into processes.

Tom is a Director and Chartered Financial Planner at Ovation Finance, based in Bristol. He was a founding Director of the IFW when it launched as the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing in 2019.

Tom has been researching the topic of financial wellbeing for over six years and uses it to help individuals and business owners plan for the future.

Chris Budd, IFW founder

Chair of breakout discussion: What school didn’t teach you about money.

Chris Budd is chairing the breakout discussion with Dr Thomas Mathar: ‘What school didn’t teach you about money?’

Chris founded the Institute for Financial Wellbeing. He is the author of six books, including The Financial Wellbeing Book and The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. He is also the architect of the Financial Wellbeing Pulse, a tool for measuring financial wellbeing. In 2018 he sold the majority of his financial planning company Ovation Finance Ltd, the company he founded in 2000, to an Employee Ownership Trust. Chris lives in Somerset with his family and too many guitars.

Hiren Panchal, IFW Vice Chair and founder of Wensons Financial and Wensons Legacy

Chair of panel discussion: How to avoid the bumps in the FW road.

Hiren Panchal will chair the panel discussion ‘How to avoid the bumps in the FW road.’ The discussion will cover how to incorporate financial wellbeing into processes.

Hiren is Vice Chair of the IFW as well as being a Certified Financial Coach and Founder of Wensons Financial and Wensons Legacy.

Hiren Panchal provides trusted advice and guidance to help clients live the lives they visualise.