Sanjay Avtar: Helping clients plan for their future with confidence

After graduating in the top 5% of his Business Management and Finance course at Kingston University, Sanjay was awarded a scholarship to study in California. While the experience strengthened his financial knowledge, it also exposed him to a different culture and way of thinking.

Studying in the US challenged him in ways he hadn’t expected. The course placed far greater emphasis on presentations, communication and building relationships than he’d experienced in the UK, helping him develop the confidence and interpersonal skills that have shaped his approach ever since.

“The technical side was important, but what really stayed with me was the emphasis on communication and building relationships,” he says. “The experience pushed me outside my comfort zone and taught me how important it is to understand people as individuals.”

After joining SFIA (now part of Amber River) in 2020, Sanjay began in the administration team before moving into technical support, where he analysed pensions and investments and worked alongside experienced advisers. Working across different areas of the business gave him a detailed understanding of every stage of the advice process before becoming an Independent Financial Planner.

Now working towards Chartered Financial Planner status, he combines that technical expertise with a naturally approachable style that helps clients feel comfortable discussing some of the most personal aspects of their finances.

“People aren’t just telling you about their pensions,” says Sanjay. “They’re talking about retirement, family, health, relationships and what they want life to look like. The more comfortable people feel, the better the advice we can give.”

Although financial planning often centres on numbers, Sanjay believes the best advice starts with listening. Instead of following a rigid meeting structure, he prefers conversations that give clients the time and space to explain what’s happening in their lives.

Although Sanjay works with clients at every stage of life, he admits he particularly enjoys helping people approaching retirement.

“It’s often the biggest financial transition they’ll ever make,” he says. “For 30 or 40 years people have focused on earning and saving. Suddenly they’re expected to stop working and start spending. That’s a huge mindset shift.”

It’s also where he believes cashflow modelling delivers its greatest value.

One client approached him planning to retire at 62 with several workplace pensions spread across different providers. After analysing each pension, consolidating them and modelling different retirement scenarios, it became clear that delaying retirement by a relatively short period would dramatically improve the sustainability of their income throughout retirement.

In other cases, the opposite is true. Some clients have discovered they could retire earlier than expected because the modelling showed they were already in a stronger financial position than they realised.

“People often think retirement is simply about the size of their pension pot,” says Sanjay. “But it’s about understanding how long that money needs to last, how much tax you’ll pay, what income you’ll need and what lifestyle you want. Seeing all of that together changes the conversation completely.”

While Sanjay feels he can often make the biggest difference to clients approaching retirement, he’s equally passionate about helping younger people build strong financial foundations.

Many of his younger clients are the sons and daughters of existing clients, giving him the opportunity to support families across generations. At this stage, the focus is often less about retirement and more about developing good financial habits, understanding how investments work and appreciating the value of long-term planning.

“The first few years are often about education,” he explains. “Helping people understand how investments work, how markets move and why staying invested over the long-term matters. If you can help someone build those habits early, it can make a huge difference later in life.”

Inheritance tax is one topic that’s coming up in conversations far more often than it used to.

The forthcoming changes that will bring unused pension funds into many estates for inheritance tax purposes are prompting many people to take another look at plans they may have been comfortable with for years. For some, it’s about understanding how the new rules could affect the wealth they hope to pass on. For others, it’s an opportunity to think more broadly about how and when they want to share that wealth with future generations.

Sanjay has found that while every client’s circumstances are different, their priorities often fall into one of three camps.

“People generally fall into three groups,” he explains. “Some want to enjoy every penny themselves. Others want to strike a balance between enjoying retirement and leaving something for their children. Then there are those who want to do everything they can to avoid HMRC receiving any more than necessary. None of those approaches is right or wrong. Our role is to understand what matters to each client and build a plan around that.”

Rather than recommending a single approach, Sanjay uses cashflow modelling to help clients understand the trade-offs. Whether they’re considering gifting money during their lifetime, spending more in retirement or preserving wealth for future generations, modelling different scenarios helps them make decisions with greater confidence.

Away from work, Sanjay enjoys cricket and football, but it’s travel that really satisfies his sense of adventure. A recent trip to Guatemala saw him tackle the challenging hike up Volcán de Fuego, one of Central America’s most active volcanoes. For Sanjay, experiences like these are about more than reaching the top – they’re an opportunity to explore different cultures, embrace new challenges and see the world from a different perspective.

Whether he’s helping someone take their first steps into investing or showing a client what retirement could look like, helping people see the bigger picture is what keeps him motivated.

“Everyone’s financial future looks different,” he says. “The most rewarding part of my job is helping clients understand what’s possible and giving them confidence to make decisions that are right for them.”