Craig is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and a board member of the Institute of Financial Planning.
Craig is a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Wealth Manager and the Managing Director of Penguin.
On a personal note, Craig has always lived in Cardiff and considers himself lucky and blessed to be happily married, with 2 children, 3 step children and 5 grandchildren.
Craig believes in the ‘One Life, Live it Well’ philosophy of Penguin and that is why he shares as much time as he can with his family, and takes 8-12 weeks holiday a year whilst managing the Penguin Businesses.
Craig started in Financial Services in 2000 and considers himself extremely fortunate that he’s found his vocation. Hard work and constant study has resulted in Craig reaching Certified Financial Planner Status, a level of qualification that only 1% of the worlds Financial Services Community reach. Craig was recently voted as the top Financial Planner in Cardiff by VouchedFor.co.uk – an independent website where clients can review their Financial Planner.
Craig is also a member of the Million Dollar Round Table. Membership is recognised internationally as the standard of excellence in the Life Insurance and Financial Services business.
Craig is an international speaker after taking the stage at the 2015 & 2017 Million Dollar Round Table conference in New Orleans. Craig really enjoys presenting at seminars as he is passionate about sharing the benefits of good Financial Planning. This is evidenced further by Craig authoring a book featured on Amazon – ‘The Wealth Secret: Create, Build and Protect your future the Penguin way.
Craig’s Statement of Professional Standing
Olly has been a Financial Planner for over 20 years and considers working as a Financial Planner a privilege. His expertise lies in advising Legal professionals (both Solicitors and Barristers) and small business owners.
He believes the essence of good financial planning is starting with the end in mind and that a good financial planner should patiently help clients identify what they want and how to plan their financial affairs to support these plans.
Olly is also proud to have co-authored a book featured on Amazon, ‘The Wealth Secret: Create, Build and Protect your future the Penguin way’.
Outside of work, Olly is Married to Nia and they have 2 children Isabella and James. His favourite pastime Is playing golf (when time permits) trying to recapture his skills as an international golfer in his youth.
Having reached Diploma status, Gavin joined Penguin as a Financial Planner in 2012 and is now a Partner at Penguin.
Gavin was born and bred in Cardiff and has been part of the Penguin Team since Jan 2012, and a Partner since 2015.
Family is a major part of his life. He is married to Stacey (the Original Gavin and Stacey) and they are blessed with their Son – Morgan.
Gavin lives our belief of ‘One Life, Live it Well’ by spending as much time as possible not just with his immediate family, but also with his friends. He is always planning trips away with his family well in advance in order to strike the right balance for his lifestyle.
As well as his Family and Penguin, Gavin has a love of rugby and playing golf (badly).
Gavin started his career in financial services as a Financial Adviser within the Co-operative Group. Prior to this, he worked within the corporate world of BT within the operations and financial sector.
Gavin states that ‘adding value’ to his clients stems from building and maintaining client relationships. He particularly enjoys supporting business clients through their personal and business journeys from the initial stages right through to the exit.
He is a firm believer that good Financial Planning will help to enhance a client’s life.
Liza is the Business Manager here at Penguin. She ensures the business runs smoothly on a daily basis – from managing the finances and Xero accounts to the general management of the office. She’s actively involved throughout the business and always on hand to offer support both to our clients and the rest of the Penguin Team. Some might say she’s the ‘go-to’ person for our Team.
Liza has over 10 years’ experience in the industry and is passionate about what we do here at Penguin. We help our clients achieve their goals and dreams and ensure that their families and loved ones are protected. It really is a great feeling to be a part of that journey.
When Liza’s not busy juggling the many tasks that keep the business running effectively and efficiently, she enjoys her time away from the office travelling with her husband whenever possible. She absolutely loves cooking and sampling new recipes and cuisines, just as much as her husband enjoys eating them (well, at least that’s what he has to say for a peaceful life).
Lisa has worked in Financial Services for over 20 years & started working for Craig Palfrey as a fully qualified Paraplanner in 2004, so has been with Penguin from the very beginning, even helping to name it!
Her role as Technical Manager here at Penguin involves completing a lot of behind the scenes tasks that make the business tick. She is responsible for much of the setup and design work for client Wealth Management Plans and client reports, analysing and assembling these to a personalised high standard for our clients.
Lisa is extremely focused, driven and meticulous to a high standard; you can always rely on her to get the job done and get it done right.
She also works to ensure our AIS Portfolios are invested correctly and she helps deal with any queries and questions our clients may have, whilst always supporting the Advisers and ensuring recommendations given to our clients are correctly carried out.
On a personal note, Lisa always strives to achieve a work/life balance. She is married with three young sons and loves spending her time away from the office enjoying quality family time with them. She also loves spending time with her Mum, walks on the beach, reading, & Joe Wicks workouts!
Rhianydd is a caring and approachable ‘people person’ who spends her days putting our Clients’ Needs First. She is friendly but professional and makes Clients feel welcome, valued, understood and supported.
Some of her achievements to date include a 2.1 BA Hons degree, Grade 8 in Musical Theatre and Grade 5 in Piano. These experiences have helped to develop Rhianydd into a confident and sparkling person.
These attributes make her shine in her role as Penguin’s Business Integrator. ‘Integrator’ is COO, it’s Head of Operations, it’s running the business day-to-day. Rhianydd takes the Penguin vision and turns it into a reality.
Rhianydd fully embraces the ‘One Life, Live It Well’ motto. In her free time, she enjoys going to the Theatre, Singing, playing Netball, watching Rugby and is a season ticket holder for the Ospreys. She also loves going on holidays with her family or friends when she gets the chance.
You will always find Rhianydd with a smile on her face – she is all about the ‘Penguin Positivity’.
After achieving his Degree in Finance and investment, Tom Joined the Penguin Team in April 2016. Since achieving his Level 4 Diploma in Investment Advice Tom has joined our growing advice team and is now on his way to becoming a Chartered Financial Adviser.
As part of the Penguin team, Tom helps advise our clients while also supporting the other advisers with report writing and cash flow modelling. Tom’s favourite part of the job is showing people that they can afford to retire long before they ever thought possible.
Outside of the office, Tom is a life-long Chelsea supporter and also enjoys keeping fit and travelling the world whenever he gets the chance
Mike joined the Penguin team in January 2019 following the launch of Penguin Mortgages. With over 14 years’ experience in the Mortgage Industry, Mike has always had a passion to help people get on the property ladder. He loves to assist people in buying their dream homes and making sure that their families and loved ones are fully protected.
In recognising his passion (and being in line with Our Core Values), we knew that Mike was the right person to join the Penguin Team.
Outside of the office, Mike and his partner Nicola have a young son, who he loves spending time with. He’s a huge football fan (playing or watching), loves watching the Boxing when he gets a chance out of his busy schedule, and knows a good fillet steak when he sees one. Mike enjoys to travel citing Las Vegas as the best place he’s ever been.
Rhys became a qualified Mortgage and Protection Adviser in 2019 to help individuals and families at an important point in their lives.
Rhys enjoys helping first time buyers secure their first home, assisting home movers and helping clients remortgage. His passion for helping people is a perfect fit within the Penguin Team.
Before his move into the industry, Rhys was a professional rugby player. Rhys still plays semi-professional rugby for Merthyr RFC which allows him to continue playing the sport he loves whilst focusing on his new career in the Mortgage world.
When Rhys is not helping clients or on the rugby field, he is spending quality time with his wife Hannah and their two children Mia and Harry. Rhys says, “ being a father and husband is the best but hardest job in the world”.
Lucia grew up in Fortaleza, North-East of Brazil. It was here that she graduated in Accounting and Brazilian Tax Law.
In 2016, Lucia decided it was time for a change. Looking for new experiences, she decided on a 6 month exchange in the UK. It was during this time that she met her future husband and they married in the Spring of 2018.
Lucia supports the Business Manager and Team on an ongoing basis to ensure that the business runs effectively and efficiently.
Outside of the office, she loves to travel, is an avid movie fan and enjoys spending time with friends. She has a podcast with Brazilian friends who live in the Netherlands, and they share experiences about different cultures and ways of living in Europe.
Ruby has always had a passion for the Arts and Languages, she relishes learning about and educating herself about different cultures and languages.
Before heading to University to study Set Design, at 18 Ruby travelled across Central America with a charity organisation helping villages with education facilities, water, sanitation, and hygiene. During her time at University, she assisted on several BBC Productions including Luther, Casualty, and Dr. Who. But, as much as she enjoyed the creativity of the industry, she wanted a role with more flexibility for time with family and friends.
Whilst in University, Ruby took a role in Retail as a Customer Service Assistant, it was during this time she realised her enthusiasm and love for working face to face with clients and being part of a bigger team. She then went on to work in a bustling call centre where she was able to hone her skills speaking with a myriad of clients and understanding what it takes to cater to their wants, needs, and how best to help.
Ruby’s positive attitude, love for helping people, and friendly approachable nature puts her in the perfect position to assist the Client Relationship team here at Penguin.
Matthew has 15 years’ experience working within the financial industry. After two years working for a FTSE-100 company, he is excited to be back working within an industry he is passionate about.
Matthew is our Protection Specialist, helping our clients in all stages of the application process, ensuring our clients receive the best available terms & service.
His role here at Penguin is to support the Advisers by undertaking research to identify suitable solutions to meet our client’s individual needs, as well as dealing with the implementation of any recommendations.
In his free time, he likes spending time with his family – going on long walks and being outdoors. When he gets a chance to relax, he likes watching films and meeting with friends.
Matthew is a keen supporter of raising awareness for Autism, as this is something very close to his heart.
David joined Penguin in 2014, initially on work experience whilst he completed his BSc Finance & Investment Degree at the University of South Wales. Following an impressive 6 weeks on work experience, he was offered a part-time role at Penguin, which he balanced alongside his studies. Upon successfully completing his Degree, David joined the Penguin Team on a full-time basis in 2017 as a member of our Technical Team and has since become our Ethical Investment Specialist.
The studying has not stopped and since joining Penguin and he has been working hard to acquire his professional exams to become a qualified Financial Adviser which he is extremely close to achieving.
Outside of Penguin, David has recently been elected to become the next President of Novus. Novus is the Insurance Institute of Cardiff’s young professionals’ group and specifically looks after the needs and interests of newer members working in Finance & Insurance.
His biggest passions away from work are football & music, in particular, Newcastle United & the Arctic Monkeys. So much so, he was recently able to convince his girlfriend to name their new puppy Helders – after the Arctic Monkeys drummer!
After completing his University degree in MSc Finance and Investment, Nathan joined the Penguin team with aspirations of becoming a Financial Adviser. Currently Nathan has passed the RO1 (Regulation), RO4 (Pensions & Retirement Planning & RO5 (Protection) and is looking to complete the remaining exams on the diploma in the next 12-18 months.
His role at Penguin is to support the advisers by undertaking research to identify suitable solutions to meet our clients individual needs, as well as assisting with the implementation of any recommendations.
In his free time, Nathan enjoys running, cycling and sporadically visiting the gym and socialising with his friends in the many pubs of Swansea
Vivek has already completed his Master’s degree in Accounting & Finance. He joined Penguin in 2020Currently and is pursuing his Certified Financial Planner certification (CFP).
Vivek’s ability to absorb information and apply new concepts with minimal oversight means that he always maintains a high level of professional integrity. As a member of the Technical Support team, Vivek works closely with Penguin’s Technical team making sure that clients always receive the absolute best when it comes to their Plans.
In his spare time Vivek loves to travel, visiting new places and capturing the nature and its beauty. You’ll often find him with a camera in his hand during the weekends taking photos and perfecting his photography skills. He is also fan of Cricket and enjoys playing and watching it regularly.
Hetvi is dedicated, motivated and detailed oriented, she believes in teamwork which is why she’s the perfect person to assist the Technical Team as Technical Support.
Before joining Penguin in 2019 Hetvi completed her Masters Degree in Accounting and Finance and is currently pursuing a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) status.
Hetvi is a keen traveller who loves to watch movies, read books, and explore, she spends most of her free time with family and friends.
Raheim is fresh out of education and has come to work for Penguin. He hopes to put his knowledge to good use, as he endeavours to find a lifelong career, hopefully here at Penguin. His main objective is gain as much experience as possible, so he can grow professionally and be an asset to any company he works for.
During his time completing his GCSEs and A-Levels, he held a part time job in the hospitality sector where he was able to build skills such as customer service. A perfect trait for a Client Relationship Assistant. Within this role, he wants to build on those skills so that he can always provide that ‘WOW’ Experience, by practising one of our core values to always put the client first.
His passion for success ensures that he is driven to be a hardworking individual, an attribute that will help when a part of an ever-expanding company such as Penguin.
Raheim’s only goal isn’t just to secure a good future, but to also live in the moment. Spending as much time with family and friends is key to having a good work/life balance. Like many others here at Penguin, Raheim appreciates the Penguin motto of ‘One Life, Live It Well’, as it allows him to prioritise the things most important to him.