WKM WealthInvestment Management Partner of the Year & Excellence in Financial PlanningUK 2026

WKM Wealth is an independent, Chartered firm of financial planners and investment managers based in Leicestershire, working with clients across the UK. It brings financial planning and discretionary investment management together under one roof, so the people who build a client's financial plan and the people who manage their money sit in the same team.

Its service is designed for individuals and families with larger and more complex affairs, typically those with £1m or more in pensions, investments, and cash.

The firm was founded in April 2020 led by Adrian Mee, Neil Wattam, Ben Wattam, Tim Kirby and Dan Partridge, friends who set out to build an independent business with a modern, personal approach to financial planning. There is no corporate machine in the background: the directors make the decisions, devise the plans, and see them through.

Planning and investment, joined up

Few financial planning firms of this size manage their clients' money themselves, but WKM Wealth does. Its own investment team builds and manages portfolios, with no external investment manager, so what a client pays covers both planning and investment management. The plan sets out what a client wants their money to do, whether that is:

• retiring early
• selling a business
• helping family
• passing wealth on
• mitigating tax

The portfolio is then run to serve that plan.

Financial planning covers retirement and pension strategy, cashflow modelling, and estate planning. That includes helping families mitigate inheritance tax as unused pension funds are brought into estates from April 2027.

Investment Director Ben Wattam leads investment management, chairs the firm's Investment Committee, and previously led a UK-wide team managing more than £1.5 billion. Portfolios are run on a discretionary basis, so the team can act on a client's behalf as markets change without losing sight of the plan.

A small team, by design

WKM Wealth keeps its client-to-adviser ratio low and builds long-term relationships rather than one-off transactions. The team has more than 100 years of combined experience in financial planning and investment management. Clients can see what they hold and what they pay through the WKM Wealth app, and cashflow forecasts are revisited at regular review meetings. The firm also provides trustee and consultancy services.

Find out more at wkmwealth.co.uk.