Monday
The week starts with a meeting with my assistant at 8.45am in the office, who is back after a holiday in Mexico.
Beginning with an update on what has been happening while she has been away, we run through today’s workload and the priorities for the week.
The end of tax year has been particularly busy, with a few last-minute Isa and pension contributions. All went smoothly and our preferred platform provider delivered a first class service to us again. The next focus is to look at non-Isa to Isa switches that we will be implementing early in the tax year, to give our clients the maximum tax advantages. I wrap up at 6.30pm and arrive home just in time to put my three-year-old daughter to bed.
Tuesday
Today I am working on a retirement planning case, and with all the changes in last month’s Budget and the new tax year our report template has had to be updated. We know that our reports are very client-focused, but also very detailed with Fos in mind.
I then meet with a new client who seeks pension advice, but does not understand he will have to pay fees. There seem to be more and more people fishing for ‘free advice’ than ever before and I give this person short shrift. It is a rather late finish at 7.30pm.
Wednesday
I am working from home today to focus on a new financial planning case and devise a strategy involving investment, retirement, life protection and trusts. This client does not have huge assets, but has a healthy income and will be able to accumulate assets rapidly over the next 15 to 20 years. I wrap up at 5pm and spend time playing with my daughter.
Thursday
I have an early meeting with a tied adviser who specialises in auto-enrolment. I was keen to find out how this is going, what they charge and how they are dealing with disclosure. It is very interesting.
Next I work with our in-house fund analyst on the quarterly reviews of our risk-rated model portfolios, which include unit trusts, Oeics and investment trusts. Considerable time has already been spent to ensure all holdings remain suitable. However, a couple of funds now have very strong competitors. A call to the managing director of River & Mercantile answers several questions. This will lead to communication with relevant clients.
In the afternoon I meet with my co-director to discuss his findings after attending the FCA’s BRAW workshop in Newport yesterday, which was not as involved as we thought it would have been.
Friday
We re-cap the week’s achievements and plan for next week. Among other things, it includes two important client meetings in West Wales. I then call a couple of recruitment companies to discuss our requirements for a new paraplanner. The candidates so far have been weak. The key skills we look for are excellent use of English and being able to produce well written and structured reports. How is it there seem few people out there these days with these talents? The rest of the day is spent speaking to existing clients who want to make small additional investments to a reasonably sized portfolio, which throws up significant additional work for little return.
Peter Davies is a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner at Newport-based Create Wealth Management
