She reflects back: "I think we were quite unique when we started at that time, eight years ago, because most businesses, if they start with two people, it's two advisers, whereas Jenny was very much operations or back office and I'm very much front-of-house advice.
"So it meant we had completely different roles and could concentrate on those bits of the business.
"We could just focus on our strengths. So we sort of almost hit the ground running when we started, and it was a good way to start a business."
Wellington now has two advisers and a trainee adviser, looking after 186 clients with a total of £130mn invested.
Wellington Wealth's target client is between 45 and 55 years old and pre-retirement, because that's where "we can make the biggest difference," says Jenny.
The client base
But being a female-led business does not mean they automatically get more female clients.
"In some ways it's the opposite. We do get a lot of what one might call 'alpha males', which I think is because they don't want to clash with another alpha male adviser," says Jenny.
"Also, with a female adviser, I think they are more open to asking if they don't know something, and certainly we would encourage that."
The firm offers three tiers of service: Dream, Plan, and Enjoy.
- Dream is online-only and designed for clients who are taking their first steps in the world of saving and investing, such as family of existing clients, whom Wellington likes to target.
- Plan is for those with more advanced needs, needing a clear strategy or financial plan
- Enjoy caters to wealthy individuals who have reached their retirement and now want to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Every client gets access to a client portal built by Moneyinfo, which allows them to track their investments, store documents and communicate via a secure messaging service.
The pair have had a keen focus on technology from the start, especially when it comes to optimising processes.
Prospective clients are greeted by an online questionnaire even before they attend their first meeting.
"Even before we've met somebody, we've already got quite a bit of information about them, which makes that first initial meeting really useful for both parties," says Nicola.
Jenny adds: "We try to take them on a journey so that we provide a bit of information, they provide a bit of information, and it's not too much at once because, you know, sitting filling out a fact-find is extremely boring."
A home from home
Wellington Wealth's office is different, and deliberately so.
The walls are painted dark blue, and the sofas are blue, green and purple velvet. There's a homely kitchen area with neon signs on the wall, and plants dotted all around the room. It feels like a cosy, modern, open-plan living room.
It's "a home away from home", they say. The pair wanted to "develop a space that was much more client friendly, that we could use for client events, that wasn't a normal office."
