Jon Van Leer

Spear’s Review

An appointed representative of St. James’s Place, Farrier Rose managing director Jon Van Leer told Spear’s that the needs of the HNW families and business owners he supports have undergone a fundamental shift over the past 15 years. 

As the UK’s tax regime has become less generous, many have placed an increasing importance on inheritance tax planning and reviewing family trust structures. At the same time, he has seen a greater appetite in clients to engage earlier with their heirs around family strategy. 

An advocate of the importance of ‘wealth stewardship’, Van Leer said that the consequences of ill-thought-out advice can be detrimental. ‘It does feel like a real privilege, in terms of the responsibilities you assume when you take on a client’s financial strategy management. If you get it wrong, the outcomes can be really poor,’ he said.

Adviser Profile

Jon Van Leer is the founder of Farrier Rose Wealth Management, a Principal Partner Practice at St. James’s Place. He is a Chartered Financial Planner, a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society, and a wealth management veteran with over 30 years’ experience in advising City-based and entrepreneurial HNW clients.

“The part of my job that is truly rewarding is getting under the skin of what our clients wish to achieve with their wealth, and, just as importantly, the emotional and behavioural drivers acting on this, or the ‘why’. Only when this is fully understood can strategies be constructed to deliver successful outcomes.”

Jon and his skilled and dedicated team work closely with client families across a wide spectrum of needs, including asset management, tax planning and protecting family wealth from unforeseen threats, such as from changing tax policy or family dynamics.

Jon understands that this is never more key than when planning around significant realisation events for founders on exit, or for directors with large equity participation in FTSE100 or S&P 500 companies. The professionalism and discretion that Jon acts with is best evidenced by the fact that many of the families that he works with have three or four generations under his care.

Jon is a big believer in the need to adapt and to be innovative. He uses sophisticated analysis tools and industry-leading fintech to construct detailed financial plans that are data-driven, realistic and regularly monitored.

He advises on onshore and offshore investment, and related trust and estate planning structures, on property lending and finance, and access to first-class private banking, law and accountancy firms for matters such as the writing of tax-efficient wills.

Away from work, Jon is an accomplished session musician, a proud husband, father and dog-walker, and an over-optimistic supporter of Charlton Athletic.