Rayna Stoyanova: Helping people feel calmer about their future

After graduating from university, Rayna began her career with HSBC, initially working in mortgage advice before moving into wealth planning and broader financial advice.

Even early on, she realised she was drawn less to transactional conversations and more to the human side of the role. “I enjoyed getting to know people properly and understanding what mattered to them,” she explains. “You’re not just discussing products or numbers. You’re helping someone work towards goals that are important to their life.”

Over time, she developed specialist expertise across pensions, investments and long-term financial planning, achieving Chartered Financial Planner status in 2022. But despite the technical side of the profession, she has always believed the best financial advice should feel approachable and understandable. “I never want clients to feel intimidated,” she says. “Financial planning can seem complicated enough already. My job is to make things clearer, not more confusing.”

That became even more important to her when she moved into independent advice. Rayna felt restricted advice could sometimes limit the scope of conversations she wanted to have with clients. Independence gave her the freedom to look more broadly at clients’ circumstances and focus entirely on what was right for them. “It allows you to have much wider conversations,” she says. “You can look at someone’s whole situation properly and build advice around their actual goals and priorities.”

Ask Rayna how she approaches the first meeting with a potential client and she’ll say she starts by listening. Not by talking about investments or financial products. “I want clients to feel comfortable talking openly about their goals and concerns,” she says. “Financial planning works best when there’s trust and clear communication.”

Her meetings are intentionally relaxed and conversational, with a strong emphasis on plain English rather than technical language. “My role is to understand what has brought someone in, what they’re trying to achieve and what matters most to them,” she explains.

That approach shapes much of her work today. Whether someone is preparing for retirement, navigating a major life change or trying to make sense of a complex financial position, Rayna believes financial planning works best when clients feel genuinely understood. “I think clients value clarity,” she says. “It’s important they understand what their plan means for them and the steps involved.”

Rayna also believes consistency and reliability are important in building long-term relationships. She wants clients to feel they have ongoing support as circumstances change and financial priorities evolve over time.

Much of Rayna’s work involves supporting clients through significant life stages. These are often where financial decisions can feel more personal and immediate, and where a trusted partner at your side make a huge difference.

She finds it particularly rewarding to work with people approaching retirement, as well as those navigating changes such as redundancy, divorce or career transitions. “These are often important turning points in people’s lives,” she says. “Clients want greater clarity around the decisions they’re making and the options available to them.”

She has also noticed that clients are increasingly thinking earlier about later-life planning and long-term financial security. “People are more aware of the importance of planning ahead,” she says. “There are often questions around retirement, supporting dependants, long-term care and building flexibility into financial plans.”

Since Covid, Rayna believes many clients have become more focused on financial resilience and understanding how their plans can adapt over time.

One client in particular stands out for Rayna.

The client, in their 50s, had seen their earnings increase significantly through salary growth, bonuses and share schemes while working in the social media industry. Although they had built up substantial savings and investments over time, the volatility of the sector and the possibility of redundancy had left them feeling uncertain about whether they were on solid ground to achieve their long-term retirement goals.

“They wanted reassurance that if their circumstances changed unexpectedly, they would still be in a strong position financially,” Rayna says.

Working closely with the client, Rayna used cash flow modelling to explore different scenarios, including the potential impact of redundancy, future spending needs, and longer-term retirement planning. “We looked at how their existing savings, investments and share schemes could support them over time and what different outcomes could look like,” she says.

The modelling demonstrated they were in a far stronger position than they’d realised and that their long-term goals remained achievable, even if their employment circumstances changed. “The numbers backed up the plan,” Rayna says. “That gave them much more confidence and clarity about their future.”

Rayna believes one of the most important parts of her role is helping clients stay focused on their long-term goals during periods of uncertainty. Whether discussing market changes, inflation or wider economic uncertainty, she focuses on helping clients understand how short-term events fit within their broader financial plans and what action, if any, they should take.

Part of this is helping clients to separate short-term fear from long-term planning. “When markets become volatile, people naturally feel anxious,” she says. “But reacting emotionally can sometimes damage long-term goals. I try to bring clients back to their wider plan and remind them what we’re working towards.”

She has also noticed clients becoming far more engaged in understanding why recommendations are being made. “People want to feel educated and involved,” she says. “They don’t just want to be told what to do.”

That desire for clarity is something she welcomes. “I think good advice should empower people,” she says. “If clients leave understanding things more clearly than when they came in, that’s important to me.”

Outside financial planning, Rayna spends time mentoring young adults, helping prepare them for the workplace through interview support, career guidance and confidence-building. The work includes helping young people understand qualifications and career options, prepare for interviews and navigate the often intimidating process of finding employment for the first time.

For Rayna, the connection between mentoring and financial planning feels natural. “A lot of it comes back to confidence,” she says. “Helping people understand their options and feel more prepared can make a real difference.”

She is particularly passionate about supporting young people who might not have access to guidance or professional networks around them. “Not everyone grows up knowing how these systems work,” she says. “Sometimes small pieces of support or advice can make a huge difference to someone’s future.”

The same patience and empathy that shape her client relationships are clearly present in her mentoring work too. Whether she’s helping a client prepare for retirement or a young adult prepare for an interview, the underlying motivation remains remarkably similar: helping people feel more capable, more informed and more confident about what comes next.

Outside work, Rayna also enjoys travelling and spending quality time with her daughter, valuing the opportunity to explore new places together and make the most of family time away from busy day-to-day life.

Ask Rayna what success ultimately looks like for her clients, and her answer has little to do with technical performance or financial jargon. Instead, she talks about peace of mind. “I want clients to feel secure and confident about their future,” she says. “I want them to understand their plan, know why they’re doing things and feel able to enjoy life rather than constantly worrying about money.

“The best outcome,” she says, “is when someone leaves feeling clearer, calmer and reassured that they’re on the right path.”