Rhiannon Gogh is a chartered financial advisor and a fellow of the Personal Finance Society. She set up PlanIt Future, a company which provides financial advice to the families of those with disabilities, almost a decade ago; in 2024 she founded the UK Alliance for Special Educational Needs and Disability Advisors (SENDA). Rhiannon is an Affiliate Member of STEP.
We sat down with Rhiannon to chat about her experiences as an advocate for vulnerable clients and what happened when she decided to study the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients.
‘My role is exclusively about advising vulnerable clients,’ she says, ‘and it’s something I have done for many years.’
‘I am the mother to a profoundly autistic son, as well. So my passion, and my need to make sure that clients have the right advice at the right time, is the backbone of everything I do.’
‘I was completely blown away’
‘When I saw the syllabus for the course,’ Rhiannon told us, ‘I was completely blown away, because it mirrored the journey of the clients that I advise in so many different aspects. It mirrored what I wanted to be able to help them with, from mental capacity to legacy protection and providing for a young person with special needs.’
‘Reading the syllabus,’ she continued, ‘I saw so many valuable aspects that I could use to enhance my conversations with clients and that, ultimately, I knew would enable me to give them the right advice.’
Networking opportunities
‘There were lots of brilliant things about the qualifications,’ Rhiannon said. ‘One of the first is the networking aspect. I really enjoyed meeting other professionals.’
The mission of SENDA, the organisation that Rhiannon founded in 2024, is to bring together like-minded professionals from different sectors that deal with people with special educational needs or disabilities: legal professionals, financial advisors, people working in the charitable sector, etc.
‘The key to better client outcomes is collaboration,’ Rhiannon said. ‘I met so many brilliant practitioners on the course that I have kept the relationship with.’
‘A masterclass in mental capacity’
Of the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients itself, Rhiannon said, ‘It is a masterclass in mental capacity; there’s no better way to put it.’
‘The framing of mental capacity, the in-depth understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, and how that relates to conversations with clients, I thought was just gold standard.’
‘That really helped me.’
She also praised the aspects of the course that deal with trusts. ‘Some of the technical explanations of the different aspects of the different types of trust was just invaluable, and it was knowledge I was really struggling to find elsewhere.’
‘In my particular niche of work, there are two bookends of advice when it comes to advising the families of those with disabilities. On one side, we’re looking at how to provide and protect for someone who’s vulnerable. So leaving an estate that is protected and has trust built into the Will, for example. You can see why the course was ideal for that.’
‘The other issue I come across a lot is preparation for adulthood, for when a young person turns 18: they are assumed to have mental capacity to make their own decisions, but that’s not always the case. Parents don’t always understand how to navigate that, what legal tools and processes are available to them.
‘The course was incredibly helpful.’
‘The tutor, Caroline, was just outstanding’
We asked Rhiannon if she had any tips for people studying the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients for the first time.
‘Read the syllabus’, she suggested. ‘Look at the depth of knowledge that is contained. Trust the tutor. [Caroline Bielanska] was just outstanding – there was not a question that she couldn’t answer. The way that she explained very complicated aspects of trust law or disability-related expenses, for example.’
‘Be prepared to approach vulnerable clients with a different mindset, because that’s certainly what I’ve taken away from the course. A different way of thinking – so powerful.’