Bedri Sainovski the other founding partner is a Risk Management specialist who is now heading up our Melbourne office.

Bedri also commenced as a life agent with Legal and General in 1991. The genesis of JV Partners was the joining of his agency with Anthony’s in 1995. He has continued in that vein ever since, forging relationships and networks that benefit clients from all walks of life. He has served the board of the ACT Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was a co-founder of the Young Business Network. Specializing in life insurance and income protection Bedri is committed to ensuring that JV clients have the best possible contract to suit their needs.

Andrew, a former Olympic hockey player, started out as an agent with Friends Provident nearly 15 years ago. His typical client is a business owner or professional. All of these people have a financial or business plan with one common assumption… that everyone turns up on Monday morning. Sadly injury, illness or death can destroy those plans. Andrew likens his role to a project manager who puts together his insurance recommendations with the advice of legal and accounting experts, to form a safety net for these busy people.

Debra Learmonth is a fully qualified Financial Planner who joined as a director of JV Partners in 2005.

During a 25 year career in financial services Debra had roles in insurance, legal, securities and lending before finding her true calling as a financial planner in 1996. She holds a Diploma of Financial Planning and a Certificate in Accounting. A total professional, in 2004 her dedication and commitment to clients was rewarded with Advice Quality accreditation and the title of NSW Financial Planner of the Year for the NAB. Debra specialises in wealth creation through gearing, retirement planning and maximising retirement income including access to CentreLink benefits.

Tony Wynd is our General Manager. He has been advising Canberrans on investment matters since 1982 and has held senior financial planning roles at ANZ, NAB and in private practice. Over the years he has been deeply involved with every step of the financial planning process and has served on a number of national industry boards and projects. These days he is more focused on overall investment strategies for clients. In his role as General Manager, he aims to harness the skills of the group to provide a seamless, holistic service to both new and existing customers. When he is not in the office steering the JV ship you might find him toiling in the vineyard, judging or writing on wine, teaching his sales and marketing course in PNG or speaking at a conference somewhere on behalf of beyondblue.

David is a director of JV Mortgages and the person responsible for the extraordinary growth of that business over recent years. He held almost every position in retail banking, including manager of Barton branch, during his years at the Commonwealth Bank. For the last 8 years he has been a fully accredited mortgage broker who loves the freedom to choose from hundreds of loan options to find one that really suits the customer’s needs. Away from the office he is most often spotted in Accident and Emergency or the physio’s waiting room as he continues to deny that he is too old to be playing football for the Gungahlin Jets.

This former interior designer is now helping to design financial plans. Helen gave up interior design to have baby Nikita. Their loss is our gain. As Debra’s financial planning assistant she has quickly become an invaluable asset. For her part she loves the family friendly atmosphere and flexible working hours at JV.

On the weekend you’ll find Travis on the Aussie Rules field or on the back of a motorbike. Well that’s where we found him. He previously worked as a finance consultant helping people to purchase motorcycles. These days he still rides and races bikes but helping people to buy their dream home or investment property is what gets his motor running. His attention to detail in the JV Mortgages back office ensures that the ride from loan application to settlement is a smooth one.

How quickly thing can change. It’s fair to say that JV General started life as a sideline and a way of filling a gap in our offering to clients. With the recruitment of one person, Shelby Rainey, all that changed. One of Australia’s leading experts in the areas of Public and Professional Liability, and Worker’s Compensation, Shelby has taken JV General to centre stage. His professionalism, work ethic, industry contacts and access to excellent premium rates mean he will play a major role in the future of our business and also we hope, in yours.

After 15 years as a nanny Mary was looking for a change and a move into office based work. We saw this as a clear case of the glass being half-full. Rather than the office skills she lacked we saw a strong track record of responsibility, trustworthiness, working unsupervised and dealing with difficult clients. That turned out to be a brilliant decision as Mary has been promoted twice in 12 months and now is embarking on a valuable and rewarding career as our paraplanner. Her support and attention to detail is vital to the provision of insurance and financial planning advice to our clients.

Simone has added a wealth of experience and accounting fire-power to our Financial Planning team. After graduating from RMIT with a Bachelor of Business in Accounting she worked with organizations like ICI, Goodman Fielder and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and held positions including Management Accountant and Financial Controller. In 2001 she started her own premium accounting and bookkeeping business dedicated to contributing to the financial success of clients. Now she brings that passion and desire to financial planning. Her emphasis on financial coaching and advice rather than product sales make her a perfect fit with the JV philosophy.

Anyone reading these bio’s should get the impression that we like staff with life and people skills. Technical detail and industry jargon can be acquired on the job. We want to see clients succeed and achieve there goals. So where better to look for like-minded staff than the results-driven goal-oriented world of personal training? As well as honing her office skills over 3 years in the general office of Myer in the Canberra Centre, Claire has been honing other people as a swimming instructor, fitness instructor and personal trainer. Now for her biggest challenge … improving Debra’s work life balance! Good luck.