Murphy marks anniversary with growth plans
Scottish IFA Murphy Financial is expanding and rebranding as it marks is 35th anniversary, but associate partner Adrian Murphy has said the firm will remain a “boutique” business.
Rather than hiring more advisers to its four-strong IFA team, the Ayrshire-based firm is boosting its support staff by hiring a paraplanner and additional administrators.
Since 2006 Murphy Financial has been gearing up for the retail distribution review, which Mr Murphy said has brought with it “huge” amounts of back-office work. This means hiring more support staff has become more important than having an army of advisers.
Mr Murphy said: “There is a lot more work going on behind the scenes that clients don’t see so I don’t envisage growing adviser numbers.
“Having too many advisers it top-heavy and not sustainable. I would imagine by the end of 2012 we will have at least two additional support staff and we are taking on a paraplanner immediately.
“I want to get to a stage where the financial planners just see the clients, with the clients backed up by the whole team.”
As well as taking on staff, Murphy Financial is rebranding its logo and eyeing up acquisitions.
Mr Murphy is is currently in discussions with one firm run by a young IFA who doesn’t want to leave the industry, but needs the backing of a bigger company in order to be sustainable.
He said: “He just can’t do it on his own and needs our expertise. He spends his time chasing his tail and dealing with unprofitable clients. Many one-man bands will find it particularly difficult to do the job after RDR.”
However, Mr Murphy said: “There are and will be plenty of firms out there, but it’s down to quality and that is tricky.”
“We want scale in the market, but I don’t want a huge firm, I want a nice small boutique business that professional partners value.”
Mr Murphy added: “In the past four years we have made huge changes in the firm, moved to a financial planning model and really focussed on our professional connections.”
The company, which was founded by Mr Murphy’s father, Brian Murphy, in 1977, opened an office in Glasgow in March because of the number of accountants and lawyers it works with in the City. In fact, 90 per cent of the firm’s business comes from professional introducers.
Mr Murphy said: “I remember years ago my dad telling me it would never be necessary to open a Glasgow office, but you look at demographics in Ayre and growth is tricky because there is not new wealth being generated. The only way to go is to be in Glasgow and we will take it from there.”