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Donna Buffham
Donna Buffham
About
Donna is a Partner at The Private Office, working in London and covering areas such as Winchester, Dover and Cambridge. As a highly-qualified Chartered Financial Planner, she works with her clients to assist them with their financial needs, developing strategies to support long-term goals and making sure that plans evolve as circumstances change. She believes that it is vital to work in partnership with her clients and their families to create financial plans that suit their lifestyles. She has looked after some of her clients for over twenty years.
Donna’s experience covers financial planning for later life, long term care, retirement and inheritance tax. She is also one of our leading equity release specialists within the firm and has supported families across the country to use their property wealth to meet their financial needs.
Donna has developed high levels of technical knowledge and has specialist qualifications for later life planning, including the Accreditation of Training Excellence for Later Life Advisers by the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA).
Due to the valued support she provides to her clients, Donna has been a VouchedFor top rated adviser for the past few consecutive years. She was a finalist for ‘Woman of the Year – Retirement Planning’ four years in a row at the Professional Adviser Women in Financial Advice Awards (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), which is testament to her expertise and experience.
When she is not assisting her clients with wealth planning, Donna enjoys spending time with her family and going on holidays where they can see animals living in the wild.
Areas Of Expertise
- Later life planning
- Equity release
- Long-term care solutions
- Retirement planning
- Inheritance tax planning
- Succession planning
Qualifications
- Chartered Financial Planner
- Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning
- Diploma in Financial Planning
- Accreditation of Training Excellence for Later Life Advisers by the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA)
- SOLLA Retirement Advice Standard
- The STEP Certificate for Financial Services (Trusts & Estate Planning)
- Certificate in Equity Release
- Certificate in Life & Pensions
- Certificate in Financial Planning & Lifetime Mortgage Activities
- Certificate in Financial Planning & Long Term Care Insurance
- Certificate in Mortgage Advice
- Award in Long Term Care Insurance
- Award in Financial Administration (Pensions)
- Award in Pensions Update
- Financial Planning Certificate
Locations covered
You can meet us face-to-face in our offices, over a video call or in the comfort of your own home. Donna works from our office in central London and has clients in areas such as:
Donna Buffham locations
Donna Buffham map
- Hassocks
- Whitstable
- Nuneaton
- Marlborough
- Trowbridge
- Dover
- Southampton
- Cambridge
- Southend-on-Sea
- Eastbourne
- Salcombe
- Bristol
At a glance
- Specialist in equity release
- Chartered Financial Planner
- Working in financial services for over thirty years
- SOLLA accredited
For many years Donna has been our main contact at TPO. Her advice and recommendations have been particularly beneficial to my wife and I over the last eight or nine years, in the run up to our retirements. Understanding how to best use our savings to finance early retirement meant we could both retire early. Since then she has provided invaluable advice on how to invest inheritance monies. More recently a long term plan was put in place to illustrate our financial security for many years to come as we aged, hopefully disgracefully!
June 2025
So far my impression of Donna has been overwhelmingly positive. It is early in the process but I have been very impressed by the speed with which she has acted. Donna is clearly very knowledgeable which is, of course, reassuring when dealing with financial matters. Finally, Donna is blessed in being able to combine a professional attitude with a friendly and helpful approach.
June 2025
The FCA regulates and oversees the conduct of more than 50,000 firms in the UK, which provide financial advice, products and services to retail clients and private investors.
You can view Donna's personal listing in the Adviser Directory by visiting the link below, which confirms they are authorised and qualified to advise you.
All the Advisers at TPO undergo a rigorous in-house training and approval process in accordance with the FCAs guidelines. We are regularly re-assessed and checked to ensure our competence and conduct is of the highest standard for looking after our clients.
You can check their qualifications and credentials by visiting the Personal Finance Society.
Donna is a Chartered Financial Planner, which is a highly-sought after and respected qualification for Financial Advisers. It symbolises technical proficiency and high standards of professionalism.
The Private Office is also a Chartered Financial planning firm, publicly committed to a customer-first approach and values that align with a professional Code of Ethics. We’ll provide solutions relevant to your needs, maintaining our knowledge through qualifications and ongoing professional development.
This sets us apart from other financial advisory firms and demonstrates our commitment to the industry and our vision and values - to protect and grow our clients’ wealth through a service built on the foundations of integrity, confidence and partnership.
Awards
Shortlisted for Woman of the Year – Retirement Planning at the Professional Adviser Women in Financial Advice Awards 2024
Finalist for Woman of the Year – Retirement Planning at the Professional Adviser Women in Financial Advice Awards 2021 - 2024
Meet our expert team
Our team members have extensive experience in the UK financial and investment industries and our in-house specialists can help with matters such as safeguarded benefit pension transfers, long-term care or equity release. From specialists to support members, The Private Office is home to some of the finest Chartered independent financial advisers in the UK.