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I’m a Gordonvale local and have been since I was about three years old. I was originally born in Camperdown NSW, but my family decided it would be better to trade the city life for the beautiful sun of Far North Queensland.
After graduating from Gordonvale High School in 2014, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with myself, but in 2015 I started my career with Commonwealth Bank in Cairns and never looked back. I moved around the Cairns area working in multiple branches, until I decided I wanted a little bit more adventure and moved to Manchester, UK, for two years with my partner Sam.
I had an absolute ball leaving Australia for the first time in my life and travelling to 18 different countries in Europe, despite my last year there ending abruptly because of the pandemic. While living in the UK I worked at HSBC UK as a Universal Banker and a Business Loan Processor for Covid-19 relief funds. I loved my time there, but I am glad to be back in the tropics near family, friends, and my dog Moxxi.
I was finally able to return home in December 2020 and found that I wanted something more than working in a bank. I am very excited to be working with Astute, a local business with a genuine care for our customers and helping them reach their financial goals.
Gus was incredibly helpful and went above and beyond his job requirements. My partner and I were blown away with the high level of customer service and extra assistance he gave us throughout the process making the purchase of our first home a lot less stressful. Gus was prompt, professional yet down to earth and always contactable. Dan and I have already recommended his services to friends and can’t speak highly enough of Gus.
We have been using John since we bought our first house in 2008 and taken sound advice from him in all our finance dealing ever since; which has included, opening a business, building our second house and now purchasing an investment property. We trust the advice given to us and not understanding the finance world hugely rely on the knowledge given to us in making decisions. We thank Verena very much with her patience throughout each deal and her simple way of explaining the overwhelming fluff that the banks put on paper. Johns stickmen and drawings helped us immensely 🙂 We really feel like we have actually made some good friends when dealing with Astute.
I was very impressed with the quality of service and support. Jasmin really went beyond to ensure my equipment loan went as smooth and quickly as possible which took a great deal of stress out of setting up my new business. I would highly recommend Astute’s EF team Donnie, Morene and Jasmin for any car or equipment loans.
Prompt efficient service from the 1st phone call to make an appointment through to the loan contract. Excellent service all round. Well informed and kept up to date throughout the process . Highly recommended. Thank you.
My husband and I went to Astute today, firstly met with Shae at the front reception and had a chat with her. It was lovely to chat with such a friendly happy lady who made us feel welcome.
We went upstairs and met with John Watts for some financial advice. We have known John Watts for over 10 years now, and truly admire his honesty and ‘no beating around the bush business eiquette’. We would highly recommend anyone requiring financial advice and/or a financial bank loan to not look any further than that of the ASTUTE team. J Thanks Astute….
We were recommended from friends to see Fei Chan to discuss buying investment property. He was very polite, friendly, sincere and honest. But most importantly, he has made it clearer for us on how to build our property portfolio for a better future. For that, I too highly recommend his service to others.
John and the team looked after us on many fronts from mortgage, superannuation and even life insurance. We even compared rates on our new vehicle lease and Astute came through better than any bank.
These guys definitely have the XFactor
