It’s been a while since we’ve written a team update for you, so we thought you may like a little insight into what the Magenta team have been up to so far in 2022.
We have had lots of changes and reasons to celebrate since December 2021, such as moving into our new office, having our new team member, Claire Darragh, join us as our Technical Specialist and our Associate Planner, Jessica Geere finishing off her dream holiday to Thailand with an engagement.
We are an active lot at Magenta, with skills and hobbies that keep us busy, some of which the team will be telling you about in this blog.
We would love to hear about what you have been up to as well. Perhaps you can motivate us to try something new!
Gretchen
The new office is wonderful and just as we’d hoped, bringing the team closer together and working well with our hybrid working policy.
I’ve joined the Personal Finance Society’s Practitioner Panel – which shapes content for financial planning professionals and I’ve also been asked to speak at their conference at the end of the year.
I’ve been enjoying time with family and friends now restrictions have lifted and of course seeing lovely clients face to face too!
I managed to have a holiday in Tenerife which allowed me to relax and recharge ready for 2022.
Now spring has sprung I’ve been gardening and enjoying time outside with Teddy and Pumpkin who enjoy watching as I work on the garden and crafting.
Teddy and Pumpkin have grown so much and, as ever, keep me very busy and entertained.
Ally
I have been busy settling my daughter into college since September and making sure she is keeping up with the new workload.
As a keen paddleboarder I have tried to get out on the water, but winter seemed overly cold, and I only braved one attempt.
I have managed to get away to Belfast, London, and Birmingham. My 17-year-old daughter enjoyed spending some time with me which as any parent of a teenager knows is a rare occasion.
I have booked a holiday to Lanzarote for July. It’s the first time I have been abroad since the start of Covid. Roll on sitting by a pool and relaxing in the sun.
Work has been busy. I have been training Izzy to take on some of my tasks and been involved in recruiting our new Technical Specialist Claire Darragh.
I sat and passed my LGBT Champions exam, and I have rolled out the training to the team. I’m looking forward to the new year and the exciting changes we have ahead and helping Gretchen with growing and developing Magenta.
Mandy
I’ve been busy helping to streamline our systems for new prospects and making sure that all of you who need to use allowances before the end of the tax year have the money in the right places. I’m enjoying chatting to you all on the phone when I call to arrange your appointments.
In January I said a final farewell to my mum aged almost 95. I have spent some time at a lovely holiday cottage in Penuwch called Hector’s House, this was our 6th visit and we have already booked our 7th, for the summer this time though as it has become a joke with the owners that every time we go there is a storm – this last time there were 3!
Clare Hopkins
My last few months have involved me being a personal assistant, chef and taxi service for my teenage son! He had a couple of drama productions he had been rehearsing for came to fruition at the same time. Also a school trip to New York that had been delayed due to COVID, is now going ahead in a speedy fashion, which involved getting him a new passport, the correct visas and all the planning that comes with a long haul trip. He also has his GCSEs upcoming and had to apply for 6th form, A levels and colleges for options.
On a more enjoyable note, I have 2 holidays to look forward too in the summer one for a friend’s 50th birthday to Portugal and one post exam/school holiday to Cape Verde (all being well) plus my niece is expecting a baby in May.
I have also squeezed in working full time 😊
Isabel
In terms of work, over the past couple of months, I have enrolled for a new qualification, Business Administration – Level 4. I am hoping to fly through this course and gain both personal and professional development, especially in my confidence. I have been helping Allyson with some more Business Admin related tasks, which has been really enjoyable and eye opening. Overall, in the past few months my confidence in work has grown massively.
Over the past few months, honestly, I haven’t been up to much. I have just booked a holiday for September, which is my first since covid, so it is really nice and exciting to finally have something to look forward to, with this in mind I have started back with my diet and training, which I am really enjoying. I have also been wedding planning with my sister who got engaged last summer, being a maid of honour is hard work, but again very exciting, I love a good project to take on!
Carly
I’ve been busy with cashflows, helping to bring new clients on board for Gretchen and move across Jamie’s clients to Magenta.
I have been training Izzy and Claire Darragh and am enjoying taking on new projects when they are given to me.
The last couple of months have been spent trying to get my head around my son Lucas starting his GCSEs and his first lot of exams and coursework.
As always I spend most of my time running around taking the boys to football, rugby and my daughter Olive to swimming and gymnastics.
We have Just got back from a long weekend in Devon (West Bay) and looking forward to getting the camper back out, now the warmer weather is coming.
Jamie
I have been busy bringing on new clients to Magenta and enrolled on a speaker and influencer programme through NextGen Planners network, resulting in giving a 10 minute TEDx-style talk at the NextGen global virtual conference in May. I have been busy networking and supporting Gretchen and the team.
Its been great moving into the new office and getting to see everyone more now that we are on one floor.
Myself and my partner Lorna have been busy working on the house we bought at the end of last year; having a new shower and new boiler installed, a whole house re-wire and resulting plastering done. We have also taken advantage of the good weather to sort out the garden and decking , but there’s plenty more to do!
I have booked Glastonbury for June which I am really looking forward to.
Jessica
2022 started off with a whirlwind holiday to Thailand. To my dismay near the end of the holiday, thankfully not the beginning I caught covid and had to spend 10 days in hospital. When I got out of hospital my partner John surprised me by proposing. I obviously said YES.
Work has been super busy with the tax-year end approaching, so I have been helping out with reports as well as developing my skills within client meetings. Julie has been helping me with role plays and she has loved hearing about all our lovely clients in our training sessions.
Claire Darragh
I have just joined Magenta from another financial Advisory Company who were making some redundancies. I am really pleased to be here and excited to be working for a smaller company with very friendly staff who have made me feel very welcome.
It will no doubt take me a while to learn the ropes and how things are done here, so trying to get to grips with procedures and processes.
I moved into a new house at the beginning of January, so my change of job as well as a new home not the best of timing but everything seems to be working well. I had to store all my household goods for four and a half months so unpacking everything was very exciting. The thing I missed the most was my bed, so that was unpacked and set up first. My new home is a newbuild (hence the delay in moving in as builders were struggling to source all the materials they needed), I am getting all the extras in place and although it will probably be a while before it feels like home, everything is coming together.
As you can see we have enjoyed a busy couple of months and like most of the country, we have found the lessening of restrictions has allowed us to see family and friends more, and allowed us to get away for a couple of days.
No one knows what the next couple of months will look like, but I can promise that the Magenta team will be embracing everything that life has to offer us. We hope you get to do the same!