In financial services we are facing up to an existential shift. As portfolios and pensions become increasingly commoditised, client-adviser relationships move centre-stage. Special relationships have - in and of themselves - become the product that clients will value and pay for.
Emotional Finance brings expertise from the intersection of psychotherapy and financial services to help financial professionals and firms move beyond relational good intentions to strategic mastery.
Emotional Finance. Special Relationships. Thriving Businesses.
What we offer
At Emotional Finance, we believe the emotional and relational dimensions of financial advice deserve the same rigour, intentionality and visibility as the technical excellence the profession demands.
We support financial professionals, firms and providers through:
Training
Whether you are looking for a comprehensive training programme, an introductory workshop, or an instructive webinar we offer a proven framework for understanding what differentiated client-adviser relationships look like, and crucially how to build them.
Training
Whether you are looking for a comprehensive training programme, an introductory workshop, or an instructive webinar we offer a proven framework for understanding what differentiated client-adviser relationships look like, and crucially how to build them.
Coaching, Mentoring & Supervision
One-to-One sessions or group formats to help financial professionals and firms think through complexity, unearth blind spots and approach their dilemmas and challenges with a fresh perspective.
Keynotes
In financial services, relationships themselves are becoming the product clients buy. Emma's keynotes make the case for moving from informal, instinctive and implicit relationship building towards a framework which prioritises rigour, cultivation and visibility.
Consultancy
Bespoke Project based or retained consultancy to strengthen your systems, culture and outcomes.
Expert, relationally informed insight, guidance and implementation to strengthen your systems, culture and outcomes
Project-based or retained consultancy for firms and organisations.
Speaking & Workshops
Inspiring and thought-provoking key note talks and experiential workshops for conferences, client events and leadership gatherings
A warm welcome from Emma
Founder of Emotional Finance
As seen in Money Marketing…
Emma is financial services’ first agony aunt, answering your questions each month in Money Marketing’s column The Adviser’s Dilemma.
Got a question?
Share the human dilemmas behind your work - the relationships, conversations and situations no exam ever prepared you for.
What would relationally intelligent financial advice look like?
Most financial advice training focuses on the technical.
But what about the human sitting across from you? The one who's anxious about retirement, grieving a loss, or stuck in a pattern they can't quite name?
The Emotional Finance A-Z is your guide to the other half of advice work.
26 entries on the relational practices, skills and insights that make technical advice actually land
Who we work with
Whether you’re an individual adviser, a growing firm or a large organisation supporting adviser communities, our work meets you where you are at; and helps you build the relational insight and capability to move forward with clarity and impact.
Here’s how we work across the industry:
Individuals
For financial professionals who want to reach their full potential.
Join an open cohort of the Emotional Finance Programme, become part of the Emotional Finance Peer Collective, or enjoy 1:1 coaching, mentoring or supervision.
Firms
For advice businesses ready to embed emotional literacy and relational intelligence in their firm.
We offer bespoke 1:1 and group training, coaching, supervision and consultancy.
Networks, Platforms and Providers
For organisations supporting adviser communities.
Together, we co-create initiatives that demonstrate your pioneering leadership in bringing emotional and relational intelligence to the heart of financial advice.
Trusted by:
I’m Emma Boardwell, Founder of Emotional Finance
I’m a psychotherapist by training - and also a DipFA qualified and Wise Monkey certified financial coach.
Before founding Emotional Finance, I spent years working as a therapist, trainer, and facilitator, helping people navigate change, understand themselves, and build stronger relationships.
Now I bring that experience into financial services; occupying a sweet spot where I translate the skills, insights and practices of psychotherapy to help financial professionals and firms notice more, understand more and do more with the human side of advice.
I help advisers and firms develop the emotional and relational skills that build trust, loyalty, and meaningful connection - the kind that ensure better client outcomes and commercial success.
This isn’t about box ticking, surface level communication skills or learning scripts. And it’s not woo woo either. But it does feel different.
“Working with Emma is like putting on a new lens. She challenges assumptions, fosters empathy, and equips advisers with the tools to have more meaningful conversations… conversations that lead to better outcomes and stronger client relationships.
Emma’s work is changing the game in financial planning. If you’re serious about becoming a more emotionally aware and human-centred professional, I can’t recommend her highly enough”
- Dan Haylett, TFP Financial Planning, Host of The Humans v Retirement Podcast
What do we mean when we say, ‘soft skills’?
At Emotional Finance, we use the term soft skills because it’s familiar — but let’s be clear: soft doesn’t mean easy. And soft skills aren’t ‘less than’.
We see softness as strength. In client work, that means flexibility over defensiveness, curiosity over assumption, and presence over avoidance - the qualities that build trust and connection and lead to better outcomes
As Brené Brown says: “If you want to call these soft skills after you’ve tried putting them into practice — go for it. I dare you.”
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
