Your IndustryJan 31 2014

Advisers turn to fund managers for self-employed clients

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Advisers have been helping clients turn to fund management groups for funding after bank lending dried up, Chilton Taylor has claimed.

The head of capital markets for national tax advisory firm Baker Tilly said that as many individuals found themselves in a position where they became self-employed or small business owners, the availability of finance dried up, meaning they needed more advice on where to go.

Mr Taylor said: “Investment opportunities in the small and mid-cap market are on the rise, and so it is crucial that advisers start to view fund managers as potential investment partners who assist in developing and growing their clients’ business and operations, rather than just as a source of funds.”

He pointed to findings from a poll carried out by Baker Tilly and the Quoted Companies Alliance on small and mid-cap investors, which found that the relationships between fund managers, small business owners and their advisers had grown stronger as the banks’ willingness to lend grew weaker.

Tim Ward, chief executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance, said: “Growth needs the fuel of equity finance. Funds are available and awareness of investors’ needs is crucial for these engines of growth to attract such investment.”

Adviser view

Minesh Patel, adviser for London-based EA Financial Solutions, said: “Once upon a time businesses went to banks for funding and they were often supportive. Nowadays, banks are looked on with some suspicion.

“Fund managers can add expertise and are clear-cut about what they want from the companies they are investing in. There is a consistency of expectation, which is not always the case with banks.”