Miriam Hale
Founding adviser · Chartered Financial Planner
Leads comprehensive planning and director engagements. Twenty years advising English private clients on pensions and investment wrappers.
The firm
Advice written like a coastal ledger — precise, calm, and accountable
North Quay Financial Counsel grew from private-client work in English regional firms where clients were tired of product-led meetings. We keep a small caseload so every engagement still feels like counsel, not a pipeline.
Origin
The practice began when founding adviser Miriam Hale left a national network that rewarded fund switches over client outcomes. She set up North Quay to serve households and closely held companies who needed regulated UK financial advice without a sales script.
Our England office remains deliberately modest. We meet clients by appointment, keep paper files where they prefer them, and coordinate with accountants and solicitors rather than competing with them.
Working approach
Every client receives a letter of engagement stating fee, scope, and what we will not do. Fact-finds are thorough but paced; we pause when statements are incomplete rather than guessing. Recommendations are written so a spouse or trustee can follow them without sitting in the original meeting.
We do not accept trail commission from investment products we recommend. Where a referral to a mortgage broker or tax specialist is needed, we say so plainly.
People
Counsel you can sit across from
James Okonkwo
Retirement & drawdown specialist
Focuses on income sustainability, annuity comparisons, and state pension timing for clients leaving employment or selling businesses.
Sophie Brennan
Protection & client liaison
Runs protection audits and keeps engagement paperwork tidy so advisers can stay on the substance of your decisions.
Values that show up in the file
- Clarity over volume — fewer clients, fuller notes.
- Independence of recommendation — fees disclosed; no trail from advised products.
- Respect for adjacent professionals — we write for accountants and solicitors, not around them.
- England-rooted practice — advice framed for UK tax wrappers, state benefits, and FCA expectations.