Invest Blue Directors

Invest Blue is about creating belief that it’s possible to live your best life. We want to challenge people to dream bigger, experience more success, less stress and to enjoy life. Through the support of tailored advice we are able to help people realise their dreams and plans by creating belief that it’s possible.

It’s not just about our clients finances, but about helping them define what they want out of life and helping them achieve it.

Paul has been a financial planner with AMPFP for over 18 years and prior to that gained experience in banking, lending and real estate roles. This has resulted in more than 30 years' experience within the financial services industry.

Paul has been integral in the growth of the Invest Blue business from an insurance and superannuation business in Armidale to one of the leading financial service businesses within Australia.

With an opportunity to establish a Queensland office in 2006, Paul and his family moved from Armidale to Brisbane.

Paul is passionate about the delivery of a consistent client experience through the support of tailored financial advice, systems and processes. He has been actively involved in the development of the Invest Blue brand and believes, living Invest Blues’ culture and core values is what sets Invest Blue apart from their competitors.

Paul is dedicated to community and his children's education. Having three girls attend St Margaret's Anglican Girls School in Brisbane, Paul has held the position of Director of the schools foundation and is actively involved in the schools rowing programme.

Paul enjoys many outdoor and sporting activities. He is an avid Cowboys supporter, having grown up in Far North Queensland playing rugby league for both the Kangaroos football club in Cairns and the Roosters on the Atherton Tablelands.

Paul enjoys spending time with family and friends and also travelling.  He thrives on both personal and team challenges. Challenges include the Tour De Rocks, a mountain bike ride from Armidale to South West Rocks that raises funds to support a cure for Cancer.  Paul is also looking forward to participating in the upcoming AMP Future 2 road bike ride from Melbourne to Adelaide which supports children with cancer and is being held in late 2014.

Areas of specialisation

• Strategic and Business Planning
• Business Development
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Provision and Delivery of Financial Advice
• Lending

Qualifications and Professional Accreditation

• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning)
• Justice of the Peace Commissioner for Declarations Department of Justice QLD

Memberships

• Financial Planning Association of Australia
• AMP Financial Planners Association

David is a Certified Financial Planner® and as Managing Director is responsible for executing the strategic plan of the business (in conjunction with the leadership team) and driving development of strategy with the board.

David joined Invest Blue as a consultant in 2001 and since then has held advising, strategy and management roles within the business. Within these roles he has demonstrated his ability to solve complex problems by thinking outside the box.

In 2009 David was appointed Managing Director, having held the role of Director since 2008.

David is dedicated to community involvement, and along with Steve Sewell has established a group of volunteers in Armidale that provide support to St. Vincent De Paul. These volunteers provide assistance with tasks such as moving house, mowing lawns and taking rubbish away.

David is also a firm believer that community sporting organisations play a large part in bringing a community together and volunteers his time at his local rugby club.

David enjoys spending time with his wife and children and values family, friends and being part of the community. He loves sport, including; Rugby, Rugby and more Rugby! David is a passionate Eels supporter and enjoys watching cricket. He also has a share in a horse syndicate, enjoys listening to music and has an interest in politics.

Areas of specialisation

• Strategic and Business planning
• Business and Financial Management
• Corporate Governance

Only 8% of people reach financial independence. If I can have a much larger percentage of my clients reach financial independence and choose to live the lifestyles they want due to a plan that we have put in place for them, then the clients and I will be happy.

Steve's approach to providing advice to his clients is by first helping them to identify their goals and then putting a plan into place to make this happen. With a background in the real estate industry as a property consultant, Steve’s dream was to grow his own business.  An opportunity to pursue this dream presented itself in 1998 and he has not looked back.

Steve is incredibly proud of the New England region and is passionate about giving back to the region that has given him so much over the years. He has played an active role in local events since establishing Invest Blue, raising over $1 million for various charities and organisations. He was the founding member of the Armidale branch of Can Assist and is now Patron and Life Member. He also works with the Cancer Council. A focus of his contribution to this organization was to provide financial advice to patients diagnosed with terminal illness without cost, leading to recognition from AMP for being a leader in pro bono work in this field.

Steve loves spending time with his beautiful wife Jenni and four sons Tom, Sam, Joe & Jack. He loves supporting their sporting activities and keeping fit by cycling and surfing.

Areas of specialisation

• Wealth creation strategies
• Transition to retirement strategies
• Risk management strategies
• DIY and Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF Advice)

Qualifications and Professional Accreditations

• Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning)
• Justice of the Peace Commissioned for Declarations Department of Justice NSW
• Most Trusted Adviser designation; Beddoes Institute

Memberships

• Member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia

Hear from Steve's clients:

Robust Relationship & Relaxing Retirement

Fiercely independent and feeling safe

Keeping busy with the bees

Pursuing her philanthropic dreams without the worry

Have van will travel

Picture perfect

A decade of direction

Beefing up the Business

Riding along smoothly

A natural fit

Striding ahead

“It’s the scariest thing I have ever done!”

Winning has meant losing for Bernadene

"Invest Blue is a passionate and progressive company that is driven by its desire to help people live their dreams. As an employer, Invest Blue is supportive, flexible and has a fantastic culture - we consider ourselves one big family rather than colleagues, which makes going to work an enjoyable experience.”

Jennifer commenced her career in financial services in 2000. Jennifer completed a Graduate Program in Financial Planning for a bank, through which she held roles as a Paraplanner and Financial Planner prior to joining Invest Blue in 2008.  Jennifer has held various roles in Invest Blue; now the Manager of Advice, Risk & Governance.  Jennifer has a passion for operations, compliance and governance and enjoys assisting the business and its people to achieve their goals.

As Manager of Advice, Risk and Governance, Jennifer’s accountability is to deliver the company’s strategic objectives in the area of advice delivery for clients.  Her personal goal is to ensure that Invest Blue is at the forefront of the financial planning industry providing valuable and comprehensive advice to clients. Jennifer is also a Director and Company Secretary.

Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 children, as well as cooking and crocheting.

Areas of specialisation

• Corporate Governance
• Business Planning & Development
• Operational Excellence
• Compliance
• Advice Delivery
• Client Experience
• Systems & Process Design

Qualifications and Professional Accreditations

• Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Planning & Commercial Law)
• Affiliate of the Governance Institute of Australia

Todd has been a financial adviser for over 25 years.  In 1997 Todd and his wife Natalie founded Strategic Financial Planning and at the time of merging with Invest Blue in June 2021, Strategic Financial Planning had grown to one of Hobart’s premier financial planning firms with 8 financial advisers supported by a team of 22, all committed to helping our clients live their best possible life.  Seeing the value in holding the highest qualifications, Todd was one of the first advisers in Tasmania to achieve the Certified Financial Planner® designation. Todd takes great pride in helping clients understand what is important to them and then through our immersive financial coaching process, helping them to achieve their dreams and goals. 

Outside of work, Todd enjoys bike riding, going to the gym and camping. He also enjoys following his beloved Brisbane Lions and spending time with his wife, Natalie and two daughters, Emily and Sophie.

Qualifications and Professional Accreditations

• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• GAID
• Most Trusted Adviser 2023

Chris Wrightson joined the Invest Blue Board of Directors in 2019 as a representative of Ironbark, an investor in Invest Blue. With more than 30 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry, including various management roles in major financial institutions, Chris has an in-depth understanding of adviser to client engagement models, business models and growth drivers for advisory businesses.  Over the last 20 years, Chris has spent a lot of his time involved with Mergers and Acquisitions in the Financial Advice sector. This depth of experience, and Chris’ dedication to strategic growth and governance, is a great contribution to our Board as Invest Blue continues on its vision to help more Australian families live their best possible life.

Chris loves all things outdoors, music and food! He and his wife Kristin have three children and they all love sport, the beach and snow skiing.   

Dennis Perry joined the financial services profession in 1986 and enjoyed an 18 year corporate career which included executive roles in Australia and the challenging yet rewarding role of Director of Distribution for AMP Japan based in Tokyo.

In 2004 Dennis co-founded Advice First, a Gold Coast based financial advisory firm that would develop an unrivalled reputation for quality client-centric advice and education.   Always seeking ways to improve business sustainability and enhance the client offering, in 2021 Dennis and his leadership team merged Advice First with Invest Blue – well known and respected industry peers and one of Australia’s fastest growing and most trusted (by independent survey) financial advisory firms.

As part of the merger, Dennis joined the Executive Team at Invest Blue and also joined the Board of Directors. In 2023, Invest Blue merged with Ironbark to form one of the largest diversified financial services businesses in Australia, with over $64 Billion dollars in Funds Under Management.

Dennis has always held a genuine passion for assisting people (family, friends, colleagues, clients, fellow business owners) to succeed in their pursuit of life goals and to live their best possible life … which is exactly what he is doing these days – living his best possible life, being semi-retired on the beautiful Gold Coast.

Qualifications and Professional Accreditations

• Diploma of Financial Markets (Securities Institute of Australia)
• Diploma of Life Insurance (Australian Insurance Institute)
• Justice of the Peace

Memberships

• Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Financial Services Institute of Australasia
• Financial Planning Association of Australia

I am an enthusiastic business leader with extensive experience in sales, marketing, operations, finance and risk management across superannuation, financial advice and wealth management. Having worked in larger organisations and smaller start-up projects in Australia and the UK, I have demonstrated success in leading teams through impactful change, complex stakeholder management, operational and program delivery and inspiring a curiosity for collaborative improvement.