THE new managing director at Rossborough Financial Planning said the company could help clients to negotiate the island’s threatening pensions crisis. David Telfer agreed with the public recognition that a combination of uncertain investment markets, increasing longevity and shorter working careers could turn into a crisis, but, he said, the company was eager to discuss solutions.

‘The dilemma people face is that they need to work longer. But with employers’ focus on younger staff, the emphasis is on people to make their own retirement provisions to give them an alternative source of income.

‘We can help in terms of quantifying the problem and offering solutions from the financial group through impartial advice on various pension solutions and providers.’

Mr Telfer has 25 years of international experience in financial advice, having learnt fluent French, gained an MBA and worked in Europe, the UK and the Channel Islands. His subsidiary of the Rossborough group offers pensions, investment advice and life insurance brokering.

‘In the past we’ve perhaps not been recognised sufficiently in these areas and we aim to focus our efforts on this much more. In an evolving financial services market, we intend to be at the cutting edge of financial services advice. We have the advantage of being able to bring the resources of a major local group to the market and we intend to harness these in a more focused manner.’

This is a challenge he said he was delighted to accept as part of his new position within the company.

‘We have exciting times ahead within the evolving financial services market. We accept that what has been the model in the past is not so much for the future.’

He added that the increasingly regulatory nature of the markets was less of a threat for Rossborough and more of a competitive advantage.