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Karen’s story

How Karen stepped into semi-retirement earlier than expected and gained the freedom to focus on what matters most.

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Financial planning for life’s next chapter

After a successful corporate career, Karen knew she had built a strong financial foundation, but she wanted to make the most of it. With little time to focus on her own finances and uncertainty about the best decisions to make, she turned to trusted financial advice to help her plan for the future. Through a long-term relationship built on trust, Karen gained the confidence to step into semi-retirement earlier than expected and embrace a new chapter of life.

Read her story below.

I have had a long corporate career and fairly recently moved into semi-retirement. I think the biggest driver for me at the very beginning was that I was completely consumed by my career. I was very fortunate to be earning a good income, and my overall corporate package was very attractive.

However, I wasn’t doing anything with my financial situation to really maximise it. I think there were a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, you simply don’t have the time to fully understand and learn how to think about building an investment portfolio. Secondly, I think there is a fear of making the wrong decisions.

That’s why there’s no better expertise than working with a company like Progeny. They live and breathe this world every day, so they really take the time to get to know you. Over the years, it becomes a very personal relationship. They provide great advice, but it’s also incredibly reassuring to know that you’re in good hands.

It’s incredible, really. It’s so freeing to realise that you can have a different life. Even though you’ve entrusted someone else to help manage your financial future, you’re not focused on it day to day. Without that support, you don’t necessarily know what choices are available to you, or you can become frightened of making those choices.

Having the freedom to think about doing something different, making a significant change in your life, and stepping back from what you’ve been doing for thirty years is transformational. It truly is. I was able to do it earlier than I thought I would because I’ve been working with Victoria to think through what that future could look like and what it could enable me to do. It was brilliant.

Victoria is essential in my life, to be frank. She has a great personality, and I genuinely enjoy spending time with her. I deeply respect her knowledge, and I trust her completely. Most importantly, she truly listens. Over the years, she has built what is almost a friendship. She understands me and my motivations, and she can immediately tell if I’m holding something back. She asks the right questions and probes in the right way to uncover what’s really going on in my mind.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either Progeny or Victoria. As I say, she has been with me through both the good times and the challenging times. I think of her as my partner in crime, someone who is there to help me make the right decisions for my life. At the same time, she’ll ask the questions I may be avoiding and encourage me to face them.

We all need someone in our lives who can do that. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her, and I hope others gain as much from that relationship as I have. I will forever be grateful.