Testimonials

I have been dealing with Savio Santimano for over 20 years as our family’s financial adviser. I know Savio through my late wife, Sylvia, and close friends, and find him to be honest, reliable and well informed about his job.

As a family, (5 members), we have invested in ISA’s and different types of Funds and I have been contacted by Savio on a regular basis either by meetings or by phone for a follow up. 

Through Savio’s advice, we have done well so far and I would recommend Minerva WealthCare to all my friends.

Dr Ramy Makram, Consultant Anaesthetist, Ealing, West London

I am a busy GP in my forties and have known Savio since I was a house officer, many years ago.

During this time he has guided me through numerous financial dilemmas and I have come to trust his advice based on results as well as enjoying a great personal relationship. We have regular reviews focused on priority setting and current circumstances.

Over the years it has been a great relief to have someone guiding me through all the rules and regulations. Having your finances in order is an enormous weight off your mind and leaves you free to get on with other things you might prefer to be doing.

Dr Duncan Wells, Partner in GP Surgery, Brighton, East Sussex

I am a forty-eight year old married man with one dependant son, still at school. I own and run a small business providing veterinary care to the local community.

I was introduced to Savio Santimano by a work colleague and have now been working with him for more than ten years. The annual reviews have been vital to highlight my changing circumstances and requirements as I have become a homeowner, father and small business owner. At each stage he has provided the necessary advice and support. This was especially helpful when my wife became seriously ill. The critical care package set up by him provided us with financial security at a very vulnerable time.

The advice I have received from Savio (Minerva) and the financial products they have put in place for me over the years have enabled me to grow my business and to provide a secure future for my family.

Ralph Bailey, Business Owner and Practicing Vet, East Barnet, Herts

Savio is like my financial GP. He did my first financial health check some 20 years ago when I emerged from medical school. Over the years he has got to know me and seen my career and family grow. He is always available to provide sound advice in intelligible language.

Dr Riaz Jetha, Partner GP Surgery, Catford, South London

When my partner and I decided that we needed to invest our hard earned money, rather than leaving it languishing in a savings account where it was earning hardly any interest, we decided to speak to Savio Santimano at Minerva.

Savio was extremely helpful, explaining the investment processes, the benefits and pitfalls, as well as the tax liabilities.  As a result of the discovery process, Savio was able to invest our money in a way that was comfortable and worry free for us as first time investors.

If you are thinking of investing your savings, you could do no better than talking to Savio.

Simon Waters, Ware, Herts

We have known Savio Santimano for 20 years and he has guided us through our financial affairs with great patience and effectiveness.

We value the personal service he gives.   We have at least one yearly meeting to state where we are now. He is very accessible for any other enquiries.

Our circumstances have changed from active working people to retired and Savio's advice changes accordingly, mindful of our priorities and needs. We have always found his advice to be sound and accurate.

My request, many years ago, of "we enjoy making the money, you spend it, Savio" was probably one of my better decisions!

Dr Ann Hardman, Partner in GP Surgery, Herts

I originally contacted Minerva for advice on arranging my first mortgage. A friend of mine who was already a client of Savio gave me his details and encouraged me to speak to him.

Savio spent a lot of time explaining what my options were. He made the mortgage process simple and hassle-free. Since then he has helped me with re-mortgages and has patiently explained my options every time.

Our early conversations also revealed that I had an underlying goal to be mortgage-free; this was noted and is now a possibility due to the help Savio has given me with setting an action plan of investing the initially small amount of savings I had. Again, with great care and patience taking me through all the choices.

I will meet with Savio at least once a year for a review of my finances which includes retirement planning as my other goal is to be able to retire early which now also seems to be achievable, and it is always a pleasure, as Savio has become a trusted friend over the years.

I am very grateful for all the help Savio has given me, I know I would not be in as secure a position financially without him. And I am grateful to my friend who insisted I contacted him in the first place.

Dr Katie Fairhead, Wood Green, North London

I have been with Minerva now for nearly 20 years. Starting with a few individual ISAs with Savio’s sound advice and guidance I have now built up a substantial investment portfolio and pension fund.

I have always been impressed by the care and attention to detail paid to our annual reviews where investment needs are prioritised and opportunities fine-tuned to their maximum potential.

Minerva have also worked tirelessly in helping me secure a recent remortgage.

I would highly recommend Minerva to anyone.

Dr Sarah Lean, Consultant Doctor, Central London

We discovered Savio Santimano through another GP colleague many years ago and we are so delighted that we did.

First of all, he helped us through a difficult time at my husband, Andrew's, previous GP practice and has continued as a vital support to us over several years.

My mother had left me a portfolio of shares when she died. The City stockbroker who had been looking after her affairs had done little unless chased by my accountant brother-in-law. Hence, my share of my mother's original holding remained static, despite times of growth generally. The gains for the stockbroker were obviously not worth the effort he would have had to have put in, or so it seemed to us.

Savio at Minerva took this portfolio over and we have seen consistent growth ever since.

My husband needed advice over pensions and investments. We didn't understand anything about such things and Savio really has "held our hands" incredibly patiently through the years. He regularly contacts us to check if we have any concerns and our annual reviews help us to have confidence that our investments are moving in the right direction. He saves us money in charges and fees if he can and we know he is looking after our best interests.

We know that Savio’s work is always thorough, and that he keeps his knowledge up-to-date, but it is the kindness and patience he has shown that makes such a difference. He is endlessly patient in explaining things to us until we understand, which we appreciate very much.

Veronica Pride, Stroud, Gloucester

My wife and I are retired:  we have property in England, Italy and Norway. I have the State pension, an employer’s pension and a private pension; my wife has the State pension and is contributing to a private pension scheme. 

Savio at Minerva arranged both our private pensions, together with ISA’s. Financially we are managing well.

We were introduced to Savio by our son, who was working as an orthopaedic surgeon in Norwich. Our first impression of Savio was that he was friendly and trustworthy: a young man with ambition and integrity. After knowing him for so many years, those early impressions have remained unchanged.

We appreciate Savio’s scientific approach of listening, asking questions, confirming the answers and then proposing various options with low, medium and high risk.  He takes a personal interest in improving and maintaining our financial situation. The investment portfolio is regularly updated and is available to us online.  Our pension programmes have been successfully looked after and over the years competently steered through the ups and downs of the financial market.  I am delighted with my private pension which is now providing a much needed income in retirement.

I can contact Savio anytime in addition to the regular review meetings he organises to ensure that we are satisfied with the progress of our investments.

We have an excellent relationship with Savio.

Dr Riaz Khan, Sonning, Reading

I am a whole-time consultant anaesthetist with some private practice.  I did not have any specific financial worries, relying on my NHS and private pension to fund a comfortable retirement.  I never had any financial advice prior to engaging with Minerva. My private pension fund was managed by a firm recommended by a friend but I had no real idea of how well it was doing as the firm never communicated regularly or gave any advice.

 I got to know Minerva through a consultant colleague.  They were prepared to meet me when it was mutually convenient either at work or at home. 

The discovery meeting was very enlightening and helpful. It made me aware that I should take more of an active interest in the state of my finances, pensions, assets, incomes and expenditures. I was also made aware of the importance of having financial targets over the coming years.  Minerva analysed and documented my financial situation thoroughly.  They looked into my private pension fund and have made recommendations on switching funds periodically to optimise growth.  I am pleased with the results as the fund has done very well under their advice. 

They also gave good advice on the management of my pension funds in light of the introduction of maximum limits especially with regard to my NHS pension pot.   They gave advice on maximising tax relief on my private pension funds which was very helpful.  Having followed their advice, I am in a better position than I would have been previously.  This will make a considerable difference when I retire. 

Savio keeps in touch regularly and communicates when switching of funds is advisable. In addition, he re-assesses my financial circumstances on a regular basis and makes recommendations which I have found to be useful.  I have also been able to contact Savio outside routine hours, eg at the weekend, if I had an urgent issue to discuss.

I have had a long and trustworthy relationship with Minerva and will continue to do so and would certainly recommend them for financial planning and pensions advice.

Dr Prasun Sengupta, Consultant Anaesthetist, Herts

My wife and I have seen our relationship with Minerva develop in parallel with our family growing and busy medical careers blossoming.

Savio's personal attention to our needs and challenges has helped us get on the housing ladder and subsequently move us on as and when our family needs required it.  He has talked us through the minefield of pension planning and seeing a way of providing for a good income in retirement. 

Currently we are seeking help to ensure our savings grow and that some of life's unforeseen twists do not turn our world completely on its head.

The availability of advice outside of our busy schedules allows us to manage our finances as an ongoing project. The prompts, guidance and assistance is of high quality and we feel is second to none.

Dr Rahman Chowdhury, Consultant, Ipswich

I got to know of Minerva WealthCare through my late husband.

Last year, I needed financial advice to secure some of my investments for the future. I got in touch with Savio Santimano.  At our initial meeting, Savio asked questions in order to gain a picture of my financial situation: where I was and where I aspired to be.  The feedback I received was well thought and professionally presented by someone who knows what they are talking about.

I like the services offered as Savio has given me clear understanding and guidance in selecting the right financial products for investment. Having an annual review is beneficial as you are up-to-date with what is happening to your investments. I have no hesitation in recommending his services.

Ahouva Cats

My wife and I are both GPs. We needed general financial advice when we got married and were considering a family.  We were recommended Savio by an existing GP partner in the practice I joined. We had initial meetings with Savio to basically go through our financial status and to identify what our general professional and financial plans were for the next period of our working lives. 

Savio was able to sit down with us informally and in a friendly discussion, make some general recommendations about how to go about planning for our financial future, bearing in mind we intended to start a family and remain working in General Practice.

As our circumstances have evolved we have been able to meet up with Savio on a regular basis, usually annually, or if ever a financial query has arisen, and to review the status of our financial situation. We now have a family (our oldest child has left for university), we have moved house, we have had 2 sabbatical breaks from work over 20 years as GPs, and are orientating ourselves towards a planned retirement in due course.

The best thing about the relationship we developed with Savio over the years is that we have grown to know each other well, even on a personal basis, and we know we can rely on friendly, informal, detailed but clear professional financial advice whenever we need it. For us, as busy doctors, this removes most of the headache we would inevitably otherwise feel!

Drs Levin David & Julia Miller, Whetstone, North London

I am a full time, employed veterinary surgeon with not a great deal of spare time to manage my finances by myself. The main concerns that I had were a medium term goal of buying a property and being mortgage free by the age of 45, while having a longer term aim of securing an adequate retirement fund.

Previous investments in the pension funds were displaying static or very little growth and with Savio's advice five years ago, I switched to a new fund that has grown by more than 40%, even after using a low risk to balanced strategy.

Also by changing my ISA investments at the same, I have seen substantial growth in these funds. This has enabled me to achieve my medium term goal in November of last year when I purchased a property without requiring a mortgage and still have some funds left in reserve.

I prefer to take a more cautious approach with my investments and Savio always provides a range of risk factors, in a friendly well explained manner using language that is easy for me to understand (with pictorial diagrams and tables & projections). He also always informs me of his fees.

My previous experience with other financial professionals has left me confused and feeling that I have been pushed towards a particular investment that might not been what I wanted or needed.

Having the reassurance and confidence that my financial situation is being monitored and managed by Savio and Minerva WealthCare Consultancy allows me to spend my free time doing the things I want to do rather than worry about stock markets, share indexes and interest rates.

Susan McCann, Veterinarian, Clacton, Essex

I met Savio some 30 years ago.  Five years later I started my Company, and with Savio’s advice, set up my first pension plan.  When I needed a mortgage for my home and work combined together, Savio managed to arrange this even though my bank could not assist. Savio also arranged private medical insurance for my staff and family together with a company pension scheme for my staff.  I then moved to bigger premises and Savio managed for my pension policy to buy my present commercial premises.

Savio has arranged all my SIPP’s etc, and on each occasion his advice has been second to none.

One of the qualities Savio possesses is his willingness to provide a first class service and his ability to listen to exactly what you require, not like many other advisers who are driven by a quick buck. This is one of the reasons that on every occasion I have trusted his financial judgement implicitly.

John Coates, Business Owner, Hatfield, Herts