Lee Riding Independent Financial Planner

18/08/2026

Well, being nominated as a rising star at nearly 42 years old wasn’t on my bingo card for today!

I’m shocked, surprised but very pleased that my hard work has been noticed and acknowledged.

I’ll happily take the Champagne, as long as no-one finds out I’m more of a Barnsley Bitter man…..

06/07/2026

Great to be back at the PDC Players Championship today, and a good catch up with Alan Warriner-Little from the PDPA and Adrian Grainger from Griffith & Pegg. I think there were a few tired heads from the England match last night too!

Two PDPA partners in Leicester today. Helping the players with any finances. Lee Riding from Fairstone, and Adrian Grainger from Griffiths & Pegg.

21/05/2026

Being accessible and approachable as a Financial Planner is one of the things that I've always tried really hard to do, so it makes me really happy when I get unprompted reviews like this from clients.

In my experience a lot of individuals seeking advice for the first time can find it daunting, which is why it's always so nice when they take the time to go out of their way to recommend you to others.

13/04/2026

Always good to spend a day at the darts!

04/04/2026

Out of pure curiosity I thought that I'd check my own name on Trustpilot (surely we've all googled ourselves occasionally?!) and came across two lovely, unprompted reviews from my clients from earlier this year.

It's really fantastic when you see the feedback and kind words from clients who appreciate the hard work that's been done in getting them towards meeting their objectives!

23/03/2026

A week or so ago I did something that’s quite a bit outside of my comfort zone and I wasn’t too sure as to whether I’d post it, so here goes…….

I’ve been a comedy fan as long as I can remember and might have even written a few sketches that went nowhere in my early twenties, just out of idle curiosity.

My wife flagged a comedy course starting in Wakefield and recommended that I give it a go to try something new, as I’m at that age now where my hobbies tend to just include swinging golf clubs badly and yomping over fields in the countryside on a weekend.

I’ve never been a huge fan of standing up in front of groups and talking, so the theory was that it might give me a bit more confidence. Nothing to lose and all that jazz.

I enrolled on a Comedy Academy at WX (an amazing venue that Wakefield should be proud of) which was put together expertly by Colin Manford and spend six weeks creating a routine with a fantastic group of likeminded people, with help from some great comedians happy to give up their time and offer constructive criticism as to how to tweak the routine and make it funnier.

This culminated in a showcase in front of around 80 people at WX just over a week ago, in which I did about 7 minutes of stand-up comedy in front of a crowd with a full stage set-up, and even got a few laughs.

I’m not sure that I’m funny enough to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, however I can now say with absolute confidence that I’m the funniest person in my household, even if it’s because I’m the only one that’s done a gig in front of a crowd (I’m sure that my good lady Rachel will disagree with this though!).

I think my Mam enjoyed it, however she did ask me after if I need to swear as much….

I’d strongly recommend that if trying your hand at this is of interest, contact Colin as I’m sure that he’d be delighted to tell you about his courses and Plane Comedy!

10/03/2026

My office was a little different yesterday, as I was in the 1873 Suite at the DIY Kitchens Stadium to give a presentation on the basics on investing to the entire first team squad.

I must admit I was a bit nervous presenting to a room full of professionals athletes, especially when I watch them out on the field every week!

It was a great interactive session with some really good questions asked by the players, and I’m looking forward to running another session in a few weeks.

25/02/2026

It’s always a pleasure to attend a PDPA event and catch up with people.

I love my involvement with Darts, having been a huge fan for years!

10/11/2025

Brilliant first Friday event last week with We Are Wakefield at the end of last week for what’s always a great start to the month.

Great to catch up with Trinity CEO Craig Barrass and hear about the exciting plans on and off the pitch.

Lovely to also meet and have a good chat with Laura Yoxall and I’m sure that Rachel Riding really enjoyed her first formal visit after taking the plunge and going self-employed!