Founder and CEO, The Charles Group
Nicholas Charles FCCA is a family prosperity advisor. He created the Four Fundamentals of Family Prosperity© a bespoke programme that helps families to retain their wealth for multiple generations.
Nicholas started his journey in Family Prosperity to create a paradigm shift in family wealth legacy planning. His purpose is to help families understand the business of being a family.
Nicholas grew up learning about the concept of ‘shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves within three generations’, because his own family has experienced this. His great grandfather was a multi-millionaire in his own right yet by the time his father was only eight years old the wealth had gone. Nicholas’s father came to the UK as a student with no money and worked hard to create his own successful business and property portfolio. Instead of living a life as third-generation wealth he restarted the process and became first generation wealth. Armed with the history of his family Nicholas was determined not to fail financially like his predecessors and began the process of understanding and eventually becoming an expert in family wealth.
Nicholas started his career working for Chantrey Vellacott DFK (now Moore Stephens). After gaining his required experience he left and joined his father’s practice and worked his way to becoming the director of the company. In 2009 he was recognised as a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant. Nicholas specialises in family prosperity advice, tax planning, asset protection and property consultancy.
After working with hundreds of family businesses and property investors Nicholas was shocked to discover that despite helping them to save millions in tax, they still managed to lose the wealth. It was at this point that Nicholas realised that Family Prosperity was not just a personal aspiration but something that was needed by all wealthy families. Combined with his personal story, Nicholas became inspired to create a Family Prosperity programme that would help families across the world to retain and grow their wealth for multiple generations.
He strongly believes that if every family focused on themselves collectively the world would be a much better place to live it.
He is currently CEO of the Charles Group an organisation that bridges the gap between High Net Worth Families and their advisors. Whilst working with families to help them establish and build the Four Fundamentals© he focuses on the one key area and the foundation for family prosperity – enhanced, effective communication both within the family and externally with their advisors.
Author of the Amazon number 1 best-selling book The Four Fundamentals of Family Prosperity which was released in December 2018.
He runs his own successful accountancy practice specialising in property tax and looks after a portfolio of high net worth property investors and developers.
Nicholas also runs a multi-million-pound property portfolio. He took over the family portfolio when it had a market value of £4m. Today that value has quadrupled in asset value along with the rental income.
He is currently involved in creating a digital platform that can be accessed globally which will help individuals pass down their human and intellectual capital for multiple generations and to create their own digital legacy.
"I met Nicholas Charles at the end of 2012 and immediately realised that his values and the values of the Charles Group were aligned to ours. Nicholas appreciates the value of offering Heritage planning as a service to his high net worth families and that it is essential to ensure the continuation of the wealth and legacy over multiple generations. He has experienced firsthand the damaging effect money can have on the well-being and unity of a family and wants to ensure that this does not happen to his clients. The Charles Group were an obvious choice to become ambassadors for Assay Heritage and we look forward to working closely together over many years.”
I have known Nicholas now for many years, and send all my clients to him for tax expertise and advice – brilliant”
"I have worked with Nicholas for 2 years on some very exciting projects and his ability to listen, provide objective advice and support my goals and ambitions has been a tremendous asset to me and my businesses. Nicholas cares deeply about those he works with and seeks to ensure great outcomes for all.”
Nicholas has been an active supporter of our charity and the Charles Group have sponsored our last three Summer parties. He understands family businesses like ours but more importantly the need to give back to the local community and the life changing differences that can be brought about by charities. He appreciates that having a purpose greater than the individual needs of members can bring a family closer together as well as inspire the next generation. We admire Nicholas’ authentic approach towards Family Prosperity.
"After working with Nicholas Charles for a year, we brought him on to join our board advisory team for BankToTheFuture.com because of his unique combination of financial tax advice, commercial understanding and ability to introduce the right connections at the right time. Nicholas has provided tax advice to our investors, facilitated introductions to investors as well as help us to implement controls and procedures to get the right balance of compliance, responsible procedures and good business practices. If you want somebody that understands the commercials of business and deal making combined with the technical skills of finance, tax and increasing shareholder value, Nicholas Charles is your man.”
