Nervous about investing for the first time? Ginkgo’s Catriona Bryden explains what really happens in a first meeting – no jargon, no judgement, no pressure.
What it’s actually like when you walk through our door for the first time
I had a lovely conversation last week with someone who’d been thinking about investing for about three years. Three years of meaning to do something, reading the odd article, opening an app, closing it again. When I asked what had finally made her pick up the phone, she said something that stuck with me: “I just got tired of feeling like I should already know how to do this.”
That’s a feeling I hear all the time. And I think it’s worth talking about – because if you’ve ever felt that way, you’re in very good company.
The thing nobody tells you
There’s a new wave of financial apps out there – slick, friendly, very good at marketing. Some of them are built around the idea that people are too embarrassed to talk to a real person about money. One I saw recently lists “I feel judged when talking about money” as the problem it solves. The pitch is basically: talk to our algorithm instead, and nobody will raise an eyebrow.
I get why that’s appealing. But here’s what I’ve found after years of sitting across the table from people in exactly that position: it’s not the absence of a human that makes you feel safe. It’s the presence of the right one.
Nobody who walks through our door for the first time arrives feeling like an expert. Why would they? Most people haven’t been taught about investing. It doesn’t come up at school. It barely comes up at home. You’re expected to just figure it out – and then you feel embarrassed that you haven’t.
So let me be clear about something. We don’t care where you’re starting from. We don’t care if you’ve never invested a penny. We don’t care if you tried something years ago and it went badly. We’re not here to look at what you should have done differently – we’re here to help you work out what to do next.
What actually happens when you come to see us?
I think people imagine walking into a boardroom and being presented with graphs. It’s nothing like that. Our office is on Blackheath Standard, there’s usually a cup of tea involved, and the first meeting is mostly me asking questions and listening.
What’s going on in your life at the moment? What are you worried about? What would you like your money to be doing? Have you thought about this stuff before, or is it all completely new?
That last one matters, because I’d never launch into something without checking what you already know. If you’ve been reading up on ISAs for six months, brilliant – we can skip ahead. If the word “portfolio” makes you glaze over, that’s absolutely fine too. Worth knowing where we’re starting from, that’s all.
The bit that surprises most people is the attitude to risk conversation. I’ll ask you to think about how you’d feel if your investments dropped by 10% in the first year. Not because I’m trying to scare you – but because your honest answer shapes everything we recommend. Someone who’d lose sleep over that needs a different approach from someone who’d shrug and say “it’ll come back.” Neither reaction is wrong. They’re just different, and we plan around them.
“I tried investing once and it put me off”
This one comes up more than you’d think. Someone bought shares in a company they’d heard of, the price tanked, and they decided investing wasn’t for them. Or they spoke to someone at their bank who made them feel rushed and confused and they walked away thinking “that’s not for me.”
I had a conversation recently with someone in exactly that position. She’d been cautious with money her whole life – perfectly sensible savings, bills always paid – but she had a chunk of cash sitting in accounts earning next to nothing, and she could see it shrinking. She’d been burnt in the past, she was wary of markets, and she didn’t trust herself to make the right call.
We didn’t talk about products. We talked about what had happened, why it had put her off, and what she’d need to feel comfortable trying again. We looked at what her money was actually doing in cash versus what it could be doing invested – not in a pushy way, just laying out the numbers so she could see the trade-off for herself. By the end of the conversation she hadn’t committed to anything, but she said she felt like she understood what the options were for the first time. That’s a good first meeting.
What if you care about where your money goes?
Something I’ve noticed more and more – people coming in with really strong views about ethics and values. They don’t want their money funding oil companies. They care about the environment and working conditions. They want to know exactly what they’re paying in fees and why.
Brilliant. That’s not a complication – it’s clarity. You know what matters to you, and that gives us something concrete to work with.
The conversation I’ll have with you is an honest one, though. Ethical and sustainable funds haven’t always performed as well as conventional ones – some years the gap is noticeable. There are trade-offs between how narrow you go on your ethical screen and how diversified your investments end up being. I’ll walk you through the options, explain what each one costs and how it’s performed, and you decide what feels right. No pressure, and no judgement if you land somewhere different from where you expected.
You don’t have to hand over everything and hope for the best
Another thing people assume – that investing means going all in. It really doesn’t.
We’d always make sure you’ve got enough set aside for day-to-day life and emergencies before we talk about investing anything. And you can start with whatever feels comfortable. Some people invest a lump sum, others prefer a regular monthly amount so they’re easing in gradually. Both work. The point is you stay in control – you can adjust, pause, or change direction. It’s your money and your plan.
The new tax year is here – and there’s no rush
If you’ve been meaning to do something with your savings but haven’t quite got round to it, the start of the tax year is a natural moment. Not because there’s a deadline – the opposite, actually. You’ve got a full twelve months of fresh ISA and pension allowances ahead of you. No panic, no last-minute scramble. Just a good window to have a conversation and see where you stand.
And if you’re not ready for that conversation yet, that’s fine too. We run community sessions through our Grow with Ginkgo programme – drop-ins, webinars, guides – where you can learn about this stuff without any commitment at all. It’s not regulated advice, but it’s a way of building your confidence and understanding at your own pace. Because we think everyone deserves access to clear financial information, not just people who are ready for formal advice.
The door’s open
If any of this sounds familiar – the putting it off, the not feeling expert enough, the worry about being judged – I’d love to have a chat. First meetings are free, they’re relaxed, and the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.
Catriona Bryden - Financial Adviser, Ginkgo Financial
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change in the future.
