Lean had been an adviser since 1988, and has lived in Karlovy Vary, in the Czech Republic, for the last 10 years. Most recently he was a consultant with Square Mile Financial Services, of Prague.
OpesFidelio means “wealth” and “loyalty” in Latin, and is the overseas network arm of Aisa, a Wiltshire, England-based advisory firm.
Aisa, which goes by the name of Aisa Professional in the UK, was founded in 1998 by James Caldwell, a Chartered Financial Planner (CII) and Certified Financial Planner (IFP) who also holds the Investment Management Certificate and G60 pension qualifications.
Aisa currently employs 15 people.
It launched the OpesFidelio operation in October 2013, and says it is currently in discussion with 10 Europe-based advisers, to establish itself across the Continent. Lean is its second hire, and a third will be announced soon, the company said.
Caldwell says that he set up OpesFidelio in order to provide wealth management expertise to expats and other individuals from Europe-based IFAs who share his vision of a best-practice financial planning model. Like him, such advisers would be keen to avoid indemnified, or so-called “front-end-loaded” products, which, he said, OpesFidelio, like Aisa in the UK, will not be handling.
At OpesFidelio, Lean will be responsible for G60 pension transfer advice and cross-border trust work. As an OpesFidelio adviser, he will be able to make use of the organisation’s research and technical back-up, as well as its centralised admin and compliance facilities.
Originally from the UK, Lean is an associate of the Personal Finance Society and was previously an examiner with the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Prior to joining Square Mile almost three years ago, Lean's previous roles included a stint with an IFA division of the UHY Hacker Young chartered accountants in Wrexham, and Sedgwick Noble Lowndes, an employee benefits consultancy, in Manchester.
