Keith Relf Biography
Keith founded Pembroke Financial Services (PFS) in 1993 after being given the opportunity to fly solo by a corporate client who wanted him to be their ‘in house’ Employee Benefit Consultant and Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). He ended up dealing with that company’s Group pensions, life assurance, income protection and private healthcare – as well as many of the employee’s personal financial affairs such as investment and mortgage advice – for 18 years and many of the employees have remained loyal clients of Pembroke long after the original corporate entity moved away after several mergers.
You know you’re getting old when you stop to tie your shoes and wonder what else you can do while you’re down there.
– George Burns
Keith says “27 years later, we are still here and PFS has grown from a one-man band to a veritable orchestra of 18…. with more to come hopefully! I am very proud to say that the maxim I began with – ‘treat others as you would like others to treat you’ – served me well for all those 27 years.
Pembroke has grown organically up to this stage, attracting the right type of people, and I like to think that the’ treating clients fairly’ ethos is now totally embedded within the organisation.
I am delighted that the Company I founded and nurtured for over a quarter of a decade has now found a great new home with the inward investment from the private investor, Cow Corner, and that we can combine the organic growth thus far with selective M&A, again attracting people who we like to work with us, rather than for us. I am hugely excited to see the Company into this next phase of its development and am as excited and motivated by my job as much today as I was when I started this thing.”
Keith worked for several major Life Offices throughout his early Financial Services career and says that he owes his start ‘proper’ to a chap who is unfortunately no longer with us – Howard Robinson. “Howard taught me how to always take the long-term view and treat all clients, no matter how much wealth they have, with equal care.”
After 20 years of offering financial advice Keith took the decision that Pembroke was of sufficient scale and stability that he should step away from giving personal regulated independent financial advice and he now concentrates his full-time efforts on making the new PFS an even more effective and visible organisation. Keith says “I am conscious however to maintain the client relationships built over the past 27 years, as these are the foundation of our future growth.”
Keith co-chairs the joint Pembroke / LGT Vestra LLP Investment Committee (on the PFS side) and is oversight of the 3 Better World (Ethical / Sustainable) Prestige portfolios.
Outside of work Keith loves walking, watching cricket and rugby, anything family and entertaining, or being entertained!
- 1993 to present: Pembroke Financial Services Ltd.
- 1980 to 1993: Various Consultant positions with Clerical Medical, Royal Sun Alliance and Norwich Union followed by brief stints as Independent Financial Adviser with W T Fry and Bainton Smith in Worthing.
- 1976 to 1980: Reading University.