Meet the team…
Alan Pickles
Compliance Director
Alan has 30 years’ experience in financial services working with the Financial Conduct Authority and Santander Plc in various regulatory, compliance and operational roles. He is responsible for delivering all regulatory requirements in the business with ongoing oversight to ensure the highest compliance standards are achieved.
Ashleigh Strachan
Financial Planner
Ashleigh joined as a Financial Planner in 2016 and has worked in the Financial Services industry since 2000. Prior to joining Principal & Prosper, Ashleigh worked as a Financial Planner with two Edinburgh based IFAs, following a Sales Consultant position with Aegon. She is a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Personal Finance Society, from which she holds a Diploma in Financial Planning.
Every client is unique in their financial journey and Ashleigh is passionate about developing long-term relationships with her clients and using her knowledge and experience to help clients achieve their personal financial goals.
A true people person, Ashleigh loves spending quality time with family and is always on the go with her little boy. She also loves to travel and socialising with friends.
Brian Knox
Director
Brian is a Director of Principal & Prosper. With more than 25 years in financial services, Brian is a Chartered Financial Planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and a fellow of the Personal Finance Society.
Before working with us, Brian has previous experience working for Clydesdale Bank, and he was a Partner and the Regional Head of Financial Planning at RSM Tenon Financial Management in Scotland.
When he’s not busy at work, his three daughters make sure he is kept busy at home! He does occasionally manage to find time to escape and indulge his favourite pastime – a round of golf.
Chris Purves
Managing Director
Chris is the founder, co-owner and Director of Principal & Prosper. He brings more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector. Prior to setting up the company, Chris worked as an Independent Financial Planning Manager for more than five years with Clydesdale Bank. Before that, Chris spent more than 10 years working with actuarial consulting firms, Watson Wyatt and HSBC Gibbs.
Gail Price
Senior Financial Adviser
Gail joined Principal & Prosper in 2013, keen to be part of our close-knit team with a client-focused ethos. She is a pension specialist, and a chartered financial planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute. She brings over 17 years’ experience in financial services from a number of professional practice introducer firms in the accountancy and legal professions.
Gail operates with honesty and openness and believes in the often-underrated importance of kindness and fairness in dealing with clients, helping them use their wealth and resources to enhance their lives both during their working life and in retirement.
Gavin McCarthy
Financial Planner
Gavin joined Principal & Prosper in 2019 having worked in financial services since 2007. He takes great pride in ensuring all of his clients feel comfortable and assured when reviewing their financial planning needs and objectives. He knows that every client is unique and makes sure they are treated as such.
Gavin believes in delivering an open and personable service, working closely with clients to not only deliver excellent outcomes, but enable them to enjoy their financial planning journey, rather than see it as a chore.
Gillian McDougall
Office Manager, PA to Chris Purves & Stewart Siegel
Gillian joined Principal & Prosper at its very beginnings in 2004, following 19 years at Clydesdale Bank. Being in the company since its foundation has enabled her to garner a wealth of experience as the company has grown and expanded over the years.
Gillian has worked across many areas of the business, starting as the Admin Manager and developing into her current role working directly for the Managing Director. She has strong values centred around professionalism and integrity, always doing what’s right for our clients and staff. She believes it’s vitally important that our clients feel valued and that we’re always on hand for them.
Jayne Prins
Chartered Financial Planner
Jayne joined Principal & Prosper in 2013 as a Chartered Financial Planner with over 25 years’ experience in the industry. She has a wealth of knowledge in a range of financial planning areas such as pensions, investments, protection, tax, and estate planning.
Before becoming a part of Principal & Prosper, Jayne worked as a Private Client Manager with RSM Tenon. She has also held Financial Adviser positions with T3 Financial Solutions, Clydesdale Bank Insurance Brokers and Friends Provident. Jayne operates with honesty and integrity and always has her client’s best interests as a priority.
Jenni Bainbridge
Director
Jenni joined Principal & Prosper in 2013, having worked as an adviser and partner previously for a national accountancy firm. She brings over 25 years of experience to the team, and her philosophy has always been to put the client’s needs and goals at the heart of everything she does.
Jenni is both a Chartered Financial Planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS). She specialises in building financial plans for clients and has a natural gift for connecting with people. Jenni is passionate in supporting clients on their financial journey and takes great pride in being a guide for some of the most important decisions in people’s lives. Outside work, Jenni loves travelling, finding out about the world’s different cultures and sampling their cuisines. However, she’s always at the gym after a trip to keep the excess at bay!
Jennifer Kirk
Chartered Financial Planner
Jennifer joined the company in 2009 as a Senior Technical Support Consultant. She has over 20 years’ experience in financial services, having worked as a Technical Support Analyst at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth and at Aegon Scottish Equitable.
Jennifer holds a Diploma in Financial Planning (DipPFS) and is currently working towards Chartered Financial Planner status. A perfect blend of technical knowledge coupled with an ethical and moral outlook enables Jennifer to deliver the best, honest advice for her client’s circumstances.
Her busy lifestyle doesn’t stop when she leaves work. You can usually find Jennifer providing a taxi service to her two daughters or training for fitness races!
Jon Horsfield
Chief Investment Officer
Jon began his career in financial services in 2006 and joined us in 2016. He is responsible for all the investment services provided to our clients, including their performance, managing investment risks and the ongoing communications and information provided to clients.
Jon holds a degree in Physics with Astrophysics and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. This accreditation, issued by the CFA Institute, takes a minimum of three years to achieve. It’s recognised globally as one of the highest distinctions in the investment management profession.
When he’s not at work, Jon loves to go hiking, mountain biking or for the occasional run, although these days mostly finds himself chasing his son around the house or talking about Pokémon with his daughter.
Kelly Smith
Chartered Financial Planner
Kelly joined Principal & Prosper in 2017 having been an adviser for more than 20 years and worked within financial services for 25 years. She brings considerable experience of advising clients on all aspects of financial planning.
Kelly knows that the culture and ethos at Principal & Prosper is to put the client at the heart of everything we do – a value she personally holds in high regard. Such values of honesty, integrity and professionalism have been fundamental to Kelly’s longevity as an adviser.
Laurie Hogan
Chartered Financial Planner
Laurie has been working in financial services since 2012, graduating in Finance, Investment and Risk. He has worked across a number of blue-chip companies, including Morgan Stanley and Barclays & Abrdn’s financial advisory business 1825.
Laurie is a Chartered Financial Planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS) and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI). He is also an affiliate member of STEP, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Outside of work, Laurie lives to eat, enjoys keeping fit in the gym and hacking his way round the central belt golf courses.
Lawrence Mann
Financial Planner
Lawrence joined us from university in 2014, bringing over nine years of experience in financial services and a degree in Business and Accounting. He also holds a Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and a Certificate in Discretionary Investment Management.
Linzi Reed
Head of Investment Operations
Linzi has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Principal & Prosper in 2019, she worked for Standard Life and two Independent Financial Advisor firms. She has extensive experience in administration, sales support and client relationship manager roles.
Linzi is driven by values of respect, responsibility and positivity. By staying true to these values every day, she excels delivering fantastic service for our clients. Outside of work, she relishes spending as much quality time with the family as possible, as well as travelling, visiting new places and socialising with friends.
Mark Owen
Head of Discretionary Investment Management
Mark joined Principal & Prosper in 2013. His primary responsibility is managing the discretionary portfolios and leading the macro strategy that underpins the discretionary range. Prior to joining us, Mark worked for a boutique asset management firm as an Equity Investment Analyst for the UK smaller companies market.
Mark holds a degree in Mathematics and is a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). These accreditations are recognised globally as the highest distinctions in the investment management profession.
When he’s not busy at work, Mark’s son makes sure he is kept busy at home! He does occasionally manage to find time to indulge his favourite pastimes including cycling, a round of golf, or diving into a great book
Nigel Cannon
Chartered Financial Planner
Prior to joining Principal & Prosper, Nigel worked with Standard Life as a Private Client Manager, having joined straight from university. He is a Chartered Financial Planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute.
After almost 30 years of advising, he has developed a broad depth of knowledge and experience. He was attracted to Principal & Prosper due to it being a smaller, reputable firm that aligned with his values. For Nigel, delivering a bespoke, personalised service isn’t just important – it’s a passion that defines his approach.
Rebeccah Kennedy
Mortgage Adviser
Rebeccah joined Principal & Prosper in 2017, attracted to our professional, forward-thinking approach. As a qualified mortgage and equity release adviser, her role is to ensure our clients have access to the best value mortgage products in the market. For Rebeccah, fairness and integrity are crucial within a professional financial services role, building security and trust.
Rebeccah is knowledgeable about our products and committed to finding the best solution for her clients to make their finances work for them. She provides a high level of service, providing clients with the knowledge to make informed decisions around their mortgage needs now and for the future, bringing them security and stability.
Ryan Brown
Director
Ryan has almost 30 years of experience in financial services. Before joining Principal & Prosper in 2012, he was a Private Client Manager with Standard Life after holding positions as a Senior Consultant with Friends Provident and Scottish Widows. Ryan is both a Chartered Financial Planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS).
Ryan holds a strong belief that transparency and integrity are key in building and maintaining the long-term trusted relationships he has with his clients over the years. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys playing or watching any and every sport whenever he’s not ferrying his two daughters back and forth to ballet dancing.
Scott Siegel
Financial Planner
Scott joined Principal and Prosper in 2018 following his time at University. He holds a Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning with the Chartered Insurance Institute, and a Certificate in both Discretionary Investment Management and Securities Advice and Dealing. He is currently working towards Chartered Financial Planner status. Scott believes that our ethos of transparency and professionalism are paramount in providing our clients with the best outcome for each of their individual circumstances.
Steph Price
Administration Manager
Steph joined the Principal & Prosper team in 2014 bringing 17 years’ experience in the financial services sector. Her aim was to broaden her knowledge and experience of financial services by working in an advisory firm. Steph’s specialisms include people management and coaching plus the training and development of our teams.
She believes that Principal & Prosper’s culture makes it a great place to work and develop, because people are at the heart of every decision we make, treating clients and staff with respect and seeing everyone as equal.
Stephen Burt
Senior Financial Planner
Stephen joined Principal & Prosper in 2013, keen to make a difference in a regional Independent Financial Adviser firm, where your voice can be heard. Having been an adviser for more than 30 years, he brings considerable experience in all aspects of financial planning.
The culture and ethos of the firm resonated with Stephen’s own values of always putting the client’s needs first, above all else. Stephen has operated with honesty, integrity and professionalism since the day he began his career in the industry. It’s for this reason he has had such longevity as an advisor and it remains key to the service he provides for his clients every day.
Stewart Siegel
Director
Stewart has worked in financial services for more than 40 years. He is both a Chartered Financial Planner with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS).
Stewart is a Director of Principal & Prosper. Prior to joining, Stewart was the Principal for Punter Southall Financial Management in Edinburgh for years, with previous experience at Clydesdale Bank, HSBC Gibbs and Standard Life.
After 40 years, he still has great enthusiasm for the business and the industry. He continues to engage and advise clients as he always has, with compassion and honesty.
Victoria Macrae
Financial Planner
Victoria recently joined Principal & Prosper in November 2023. Before joining P&P, Victoria worked at 1825 as a Financial Adviser.