Conversations
On Advice
Citywire in association with PIMCO have been virtually travelling the UK to bring together financial advisers and fund managers to explore what it means to talk to clients today. We listen to their stories and how they navigate the crisis, the stronger role of technology when it comes to engaging with old and new client and whether there is a solution to the advice gap. One conclusion of this journey is clear: financial advice is not and will never be just about business and planning ahead.
Discover how advice and investment professionals nurture their relationships with their clients and how the future of their work might look like.
Midlands
On changing perspective on advice and keeping trust as a fundament of clients’ relationships
Scotland
On keeping up communication in difficult times and learning how to talk about money
South East
On building financial advice relationships as friendships and how Zoom is not that bad after all
South West
On the need for financial education and advice reaching the professional status
North
On first impressions, retaining clients and the impact of their investments
Our fourth stop is the South West
The Article
The need for more financial education
Financial education should be an essential subject in schools, financial professionals argue, as the emergency for financial literacy becomes more pronounced during the crisis.
The Video
‘How can I help?’: overcoming the obstacles in financial planning
Financial advice is still trying to reach the professional status as that of lawyers or accountants despite its immense importance. What are advisers in the South West doing to make this clearer?
The best from the South West
As part of our NMA regional Top 20s, we selected 20 firms in the South West that we think are doing great work building bonds with clients and driving the advice profession forward, both in terms of growth and best practice.
The Panellists
Kieran Rai
ACCOUNT MANAGER, PIMCO
Mr. Rai is an account manager on the global wealth management team in the London office, responsible for developing PIMCO’s business across U.K. and South Africa wealth managers, multimanagers, and financial advisers. Previously, he was a portfolio compliance analyst and joined PIMCO in 2014. He has five years of investment experience and holds an undergraduate degree in economics with finance from the University of Hertfordshire. He is currently a CFA Level III candidate.
Ed Grobler
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BREWIN DOLPHIN
I’ve been in financial services since 2001, so slowly approaching 20 years. Having started off as a phone-based business development manager within the mortgage industry, I then progressed to a face to face, fieldbased role via an internal relocation. Covering a significant territory, I then relocated again, back to the south west. I did this role up until 2010, when I then made the jump from being a mortgage BDM, to sitting all my exams and becoming a financial adviser. I commenced my advisory career in a niche role, specialising in advising owner-mangers of small to medium sized businesses on both their needs, and the needs of their business(es). I then moved into a more traditional advisory role in 2013.
Isabel Sinclair
DIRECTOR, PFM ASSOCIATES
Initially trained as a tax specialist in accountancy and developed an expertise in partnerships and trusts. Aligned to personal tax came pension planning and IHT planning and I became a Director of an associated financial planning firm with my accountancy firm. In 1999, went into partnership in financial planning and investments and after my partner retired in 2005 , I merged the business with PFM Associates Ltd where the company has developed the investment business to the extent that we now run model portfolios under discretionary permissions and look after c.£500,000,000. Became a Chartered Financial Planner in 2013 and moved the firm to Chartered status too. Dedicated to developing the next generation of financial planners.
Keith Edwards
CEO, CASTERBRIDGE WEALTH
Keith leads the investment process at Casterbridge Wealth. He has many years of experience at director level, both in the dynamic independent sector and the institutional market through working at BWD Rensburg, Church House Investments and latterly, Quilter Cheviot. Titled ‘Captain Cautious’ by his peers, Keith aims to provide a steady rate of return for your portfolio with a combination of capital appreciation and income. Because of this, he expects to slightly underperform in rapidly rising markets – aiming to capture the majority of the upside but significantly outperform in troubled times by protecting capital when markets fall. Keith believes that by avoiding the sharp falls he will be able to deliver long term stable returns for your investments.
Diane Weitz
DIRECTOR, ASHLEA FP
Diane founded Ashlea Financial Planning Ltd a fee based practice in 2005. She is an advocate of lifestyle financial planning and aims to provide an excellent service to clients using the six step financial planning process. She is a Chartered Financial Planner and holder of the Certified Financial Planner license. Ashlea Financial Planning is an Accredited firm with the CISI and also has corporate Chartered Financial Planning Status with the PFS. The company won the David Norton Award from the CISI in 2017 and Diane was awarded the Tony Seldon Good Egg award in 2018.