Peter Cooper

Peter commenced his career in financial services in 1986 in York with a large financial services company before becoming an Independent Financial Adviser in 1992 with a regional firm of Independent Financial Advisers. In 1998, he was appointed a Director of this firm running the successful Harrogate office. However, Peter had become increasingly convinced that only a fee based approach to financial planning could offer truly independent advice, so in 2002 he established his own fee-based financial planning practice, Cooper Johnston Associates, with a colleague Ian Johnston.

Peter is one of only a small number of people in the country who are both a Chartered Financial Planner through the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) with the Institute of Financial Planning, an internationally recognised qualification and standard.

In 2003, Peter obtained all the examinations that comprise the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate becoming the first person in the United Kingdom to achieve the Fellowship of the Society of Financial Advisers (FSFA) by his selected examination route and only the second person without reliance on exemptions. He is also a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (FPFS).

In 2009, Peter was awarded the Fellowship of the Institute of Financial Planning (FIFP). With only 75 such individuals in the country, Fellowship is recognised as the highest attainment within Financial Planning. 

With a keen eye for detail and the ability to approach issues laterally, Peter specialises in holistic financial planning solutions and pro-active wealth management advice for his clients. This incorporates investment planning and taxation mitigation for post-retired clients and retirement, financial and investment planning for pre-retired clients. He advises a wide range of business owners on Company Financial planning including tax efficient strategies to extract income from their businesses. Peter also works extensively with solicitors in providing investment advice and management to Trustees of a range of different trusts.