Back in the summer of 1972, David Fyfe, our founder, left university with a First Class Honours Degree in mathematics expecting to pursue a career as an Actuary. However, he soon found himself working on the sales force of a large insurance company, which he was much more suited to as it included dealing with real people.

In November 1986, David took the plunge and moved from a secure job with an insurance company to become an independent financial planner, enjoying the freedom that this new role provided.

You do need a bit of luck in life, and for David, that happened, ironically, when the company he worked for failed and he was made redundant. David was encouraged to set up his own company and was put in touch with Mike Robertson, the principal of Parkway Insurance Services. He formed David Fyfe, Independent Financial Adviser with his wife, Jean.

David’s eldest son, Stephen, graduated with a degree in finance from Manchester University and decided to join the firm and study to become a financial planner.

In 2002, we formed a limited company, Fyfe Financial, and one year later, David’s younger son, Richard, joined us after gaining a degree in mathematics from Manchester University. Both he and Stephen qualified as Chartered financial planners and were made directors.

David stopped advising clients in December 2012 to focus on the management of the business. To this day, he acts as a consultant for the firm.

Mike Robertson retired in March, and Fyfe Financial became directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Over the years, David and Jean have raised £1.2 million for the Children’s Hospital Charity. In recognition of their remarkable 34-year fundraising effort, we hosted a celebratory lunch at Inox Dine in Sheffield.