Gordon Wilson

The Gold Standard, now in its 19th year, is a benchmark of excellence in the profession. Carbon was one of four firms to win the award in the category Independent Financial Advice (medium to large).

The judges praised Carbon for their chartered status, good use of technology, client portals, sustainable portfolios coaching and mental health support for staff, as well as for their commitment to charitable work.

Questions cover every aspect of a firm’s business, from company structure and data protection to investment research and client care. The application process is lengthy and onerous:

Operations director Shireen Fernie said: “This year’s application was over 8,000 words, covering 40 questions, and was 43 pages long. It took hours to complete and felt like writing a dissertation! But we love it.”

Managing director Gordon Wilson added: “The brilliant thing about the Gold Standard Award is that it challenges us in ways that no other award scheme does. It makes us look into every corner of the business, year on year, reviewing everything we do, how we do it, and whether we could do it better. It’s definitely a driver for our business improvement.

“I’m thrilled that we keep hitting this mark. It’s a tremendous credit to our team and great news for our clients too. They put enormous trust in us and it’s a pleasure to be able to pay that back a little with a glowing third party endorsement. The judges of this Award are among the best financial heads in our industry.”

The judging was chaired by industry expert Rosy Anand, head of corporate pensions marketing at Aviva.