A Year In Review – Life at boosst in 2025 – boosst financial

A Year in Review: Life at boosst in 2025

We’re starting our year by taking a moment to reflect on our favourite highlights in 2025…

January | Setting the tone

We began the year with a new tradition… rather than publishing a bold prediction for markets in 2025, we did the opposite. Our honest (and deliberately broad) outlook poked fun at the annual ritual of forecasts and headlines, and instead reinforced something we care deeply about: nobody knows what markets will do next year, but time, patience and discipline matter far more than predictions ever will. This is an eternal message which will not be changed by time, so you can expect an identical ‘prediction’ from us every year in the future.

Alongside this, we published a detailed white paper exploring the rise of artificial intelligence and how it may affect your financial plan. From digital inclusion and fraud risk to longevity, estate planning and changing assumptions, it was less about the AI hype we were all reading and more about practical preparation. We hope you found it helpful – and if you haven’t seen it yet, you can read it here.

Each year in January we take part in Financial Planning Week – a national initiative which provides access to outstanding independent financial planners for the general public. Gabby, Tom and Josh all hosted 60 minute sessions in 2025.

January also marked the arrival of ‘Ryan T’, who joined us as a trainee financial planner on our bright to boosst development pathway. The time last year he was just beginning his transition from professional golf to financial planning – and watching his journey unfold over the year has been a real highlight. He recently shared his story, which you can read here.

February | Life is for living

To kick off February, Josh and Gabby headed to Destinations: The Travel & Travel Show in London. They returned full of ideas, not just the obvious destinations, but plenty of unusual ones too. The trips that spark curiosity. The kind that remind us why we plan in the first place. Travel continues to be one of the most powerful ways our clients bring their plans to life, and this was a timely injection of inspiration.

March | Sharing our craft

March was a month of education and clarity. Keith delivered his spring Masterclass sessions once more for 99 early-stage financial planners across two long Saturday morning webinars, sharing how thoughtful, client-centred financial planning can be delivered properly. These sessions once more provided some wonderful feedback, highlighting the lasting benefits Keith was able to deliver for attendees. Tickets are free, as this is our opportunity to enhance the profession for the benefit of families we will never meet, and Keith is about to host his 2026 masterclass sessions too.

We also tackled a question we found ourselves being asked regularly: is gold a good investment? Our conclusion was clear. Gold is speculative, produces no income and relies entirely on what someone else might pay for it in future. It can be a lovey accessory but it isn’t something we include in client portfolios.

The Spring Statement followed shortly after, giving us another opportunity to help clients look past the headlines and focus on what actually matters.

April | Giving back

April saw Gabby host her first Money Matters 101 financial education webinar, with ticket proceeds donated to Willen Hospice. Practical education, open conversation and support for a local charity that has helped many of our clients through difficult times, all rolled into one. Exactly the sort of work we want to be doing more of. This is now an annual feature and if you’re feeling that you, or someone you know, has missed out… fear not! Tickets are available for her next live education session on April 14th, secure yours now.

The weeks either side of the tax year are always particularly busy for our support team. Some tasks, no matter how well we plan in advance, must either be done at the end of the tax year once all other variables are known, or immediately after the beginning of the next tax year. To celebrate another very smooth tax year end, we all gathered at our local restaurant, The Swan, for a well earned team meal.

May | Quiet support

In May, we had the opportunity to help the Managing Director of another financial planning firm, sharing some ideas and perspective as he navigated a period of transformation following the sad loss of his business partner to ill health. Having the opportunity to help shape the next phase of a great business was a privilege for Josh and Jennie, and we were a little heavier by June thanks to the many snacks delivered as a thank-you! We really do mean it when we say that we care about our wider profession, or at least the client-centric independent firms anyway!

May also signals our annual portfolio rebalance for our individual clients. As it had been another excellent period for equities, it’s important that we rebalance portfolios to ensure that the asset allocation does not drift and investors do not find themselves holding a more volatile portfolio than intended. The rebalance is just one of many things that we do behind the scenes for clients.

June | Defining ‘a good life’

Our writing took a deeper turn with heavy hitters: Forget happiness, we’re aiming for fulfilment and Your Life’s Greatest Hits. Together, they explored the idea that a good life is less about chasing constant happiness and more about recognising meaning, contribution and what has already been achieved.

June also saw us bring in a training and development specialist on a one-year contract. The focus has been on supporting the leadership team, developing our wider team and finding those incremental 1% gains. Workshops, structured reflections and new training initiatives are already taking shape, with plenty more to come.

June also brought the Midnight Moo charity walk, completed by Jennie, Gabby and Dawn, as well as a whole team day out at Race Across London, where three teams followed clues through iconic landmarks and hidden corners of the city, each taking a different route to the same destination. Both events brought lots of smiles and some serious step counts!

July | Looking outward

July was busy, energising and outward-facing. Keith spoke internationally to financial planners in Sydney and Brisbane, and we welcomed a group of 12 from Keith’s February Masterclasses to the boosst office for an Open Day, opening the doors and sharing how things work behind the scenes.

We opened our doors once more to welcome our group of local professionals – an important network we maintain so that we can always connect our clients with trusted professionals, as and when required. We presented on the complications caused by recent pension changes and how to watch out for trip-hazards in the legislation, as well as an anonymised client case study and a preview of our Retirement Playbook resource.

In July we also published two more of our Uncommon Sense essays, with the total number of essays reaching 43 by the end of 2025. We added topics like ‘You’re Retiring From More Than A Salary’, ‘Smart Investors Prepare for Bad Times During Good Times’, ‘What’s The Money For?’ and ‘Your Investment Journey Doesn’t End When You Retire. Clients can access our latest and historic essays through the link in our newsletters, which we send roughly every other month.

August | Trust and assurance

We completed our recertification to our British Standards once more for 2026. This involved two weeks of detailed assessments putting us through our paces to ensure that excellence is at the heart of our business and compliance processes. As much as we enjoy the process, we do really hope that as a client, knowing this level of due diligence on boosst takes place (far beyond what you could reasonably assess yourself!) helps to maintain your faith in boosst.

As well as giving ourselves a thorough test, we think these badges can be a powerful source of confidence for clients old and new. After all, it’s important that you know we are a well run ship, but you would hardly want to give up two weeks each year of your own good time to be sure!

We are pleased to report that we passed all Standards with flying colours once more – and have a fresh suite of certificates… which is timely as our entrance area make-over was completed in August too, adding new shelving for awards and certifications! The excellent Salcey Cabinet Makers took all of our ideas onboard and custom built furniture which immediately looked like it had always been there – which we think is about the highest compliment! An ace job indeed.

Josh and Gabby then had some jolly good fun at a client wedding at Sopwell House, a reminder of the long-term relationships that sit at the heart of financial planning. Being invited into moments like that is never taken lightly.

September | Bringing ideas to life

We hosted an in-person event to launch our Retirement Playbook, welcoming around 55 clients and guests. The feedback was hugely encouraging, and it was rewarding to see an idea that had been carefully developed finally shared in the room. We also responded playfully to renewed budget speculation with Hannibal at the Gates… or Just Another Headline?, helping clients stay grounded amid the noise.

We also had a huge personal milestone: Riah passed her Certified Financial Planner (CFP) qualification. Equivalent to a Masters, it’s a significant achievement, and one the whole team were proud to see. She worked unbelievably hard to achieve it and joins an illustrious group of just over 1,000 CFP’s in the UK, of which 6 are at boosst!

October | A moment to celebrate

October was our standout month of the year.

Keith and Tom were both invited to speak at the UK Financial Planning Conference in Windsor, with Tom delivering a breakout session and Keith closing out the main stage on day 1. But the moment that called for champagne (pink of course) was our professional body awarding us the title of UK Financial Planning Firm of the Year 2025. This is the second time we’ve received this recognition, and it means a great deal to the whole team.

Later in the month, we also marked our first anniversary as an employee-owned business. One year on, employee ownership feels less like a milestone and more like a foundation. It’s shaping decisions, conversations and culture in ways that feel deeply aligned with who we are.

November | Reflection and ownership

In November, Josh attended the Employee Ownership Association conference for the first time, continuing our learning journey as an employee-owned firm. He brought back pages of notes and learnings from employee-owned businesses, representing just about every sector of UK businesses.

Keith, Tom, Nick, Josh, Gabby, Riah and Ryan S all attended the Humans under Management conference in London – it’s a conference that aligns very closely with our values and focuses on bettering the human side of our relationships with our clients.

To celebrate the recent anniversary of our transition to EO, we hosted a virtual client event, a fireside chat between Josh and Keith, reflecting on the journey to employee ownership from their ‘founders perspective’ and talking in more detail about how the business structure supports our ambitions going forward.

The Autumn Budget eventually arrived too, on just about the last possible date it could be, giving us another opportunity to find creative solutions and adjust clients financial plans to make the most of the announcements.

December | Closing the year

We started the final month of the year by being included in Citywire’s ‘Top 100 UK Firms‘ shortlist for an eighth consecutive year, a great team achievement.

We always like to divide the final month of the year neatly into two halves. The first half is always devoted to any final client work for the year, followed by time together as a team before closing the office for the festive period. We spend that time together reflecting on the past 12 months and planning for the year ahead. It probably isn’t a surprise to hear that your financial ‘planners’ like to plan ahead for the upcoming year – and this is when we set our projects, goals and milestones for the new year.

We also hosted our Christmas professionals event, followed by our own team Christmas party – a day in London for brought the team and their partners together for a great meal and the unapologetic fun of an adult pantomime. A fitting way to close the year indeed.