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who we help

Lives that need more than a spreadsheet.

We work with a small number of households navigating real complexity across careers, into retirement, after inheritance, and between tax systems through bespoke financial planning. If that's you, you're in the right place.

Where the N2 approach fits

Five common situations where the way we work makes the biggest difference. If something here sounds like your life, the section below explains what working with us looks like for someone in your position.

Situations we often handle

Approaching retirement

The question is no longer how much you can save.

You've spent decades building what you have. The salary, the pension, the investments — each decision made sense at the time, even if they were never really joined up. Now the question is shifting. It's no longer about accumulation. It's about whether what you've built is actually enough, how you take an income from it without running it down too quickly, and what you want the next chapter to look like. That takes more than a drawdown strategy and a number on a spreadsheet.

How we approach this

We start with what you want the next chapter to actually look like. A holiday home, more time with grandchildren, work on your own terms, a phased exit from the day job. The plan flows from that, not from a generic asset allocation. Most of the time, the financial questions become easier once the life questions are answered.

Then the technical work. Detailed cash flow modelling out to age 100. Stress-testing against poor market years early in retirement, which is when sequence-of-returns risk matters most. A tax-aware drawdown sequence across pensions, ISAs and general investment accounts. Coordination with your accountant on annual tax planning.

Reviews that adapt to life as it actually unfolds. Markets shift. Health changes. Children move overseas. The plan needs to keep pace, not sit in a drawer.

The questions you might be asking

When can I actually stop working?

Will what I've built last as long as I do?

How do I take an income without watching the pot shrink faster than I'd like?

What happens to my partner if I die first?

Three pensions from three employers. What do I actually do with them?

A real story like yours

"Alex has been thoroughly professional and thorough in reviewing my needs and making suggestions for my financial planning. Financial investments and pension pots are always regularly reviewed and Alexander his team proactively make suggestions where change is needed. I feel I get the best out of my finances given my attitude to risk which is always assessed first."

Verified client, West Sussex · VouchedFor

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Diane Barrett

director

Diane began her financial career working for a firm of accountants in Surrey and was introduced into the world of investment in 2001 working for Ashmore Investment Management in London. 


Diane continued her career by moving into the hedge fund industry, working for various boutique companies and progressing to Sloane Robinson, until she moved to an IFA firm specialising in pension advice and transfers progressing to Associate Director.

Alex Norwood

director, financial planner

Over the years, Alex has been recognised within the profession for his technical knowledge and client-focused approach, including being named among the UK’s top financial advisers under 35 earlier in his career. He has also regularly featured in financial publications and provided commentary on areas ranging from pensions and tax planning to complex cross-border financial issues.

Much of the firm’s work involves helping individuals and families with increasingly international financial lives, including overseas pensions, residency and tax considerations, and planning where assets, income, or future goals span multiple jurisdictions. Alex has also become a point of reference for other professionals — both within financial services and related industries — seeking guidance on technical and overseas planning matters.

The focus at N2 has remained the same throughout: understand the client’s life first, build the planning around it second, and only then decide which products or structures best support it.

Outside of work, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife, Georgia, and their son, Jenson, along with travelling, football, and the occasional attempt to switch off from the world of financial planning.