Stuart Fowler said he hoped “intelligent” advisers who recognised the shortcomings of the discretionary fund management model might look to Fowler Drew for a more “intergrated approach”, rather than viewing them as a rival.
He said: “What’s important is that financial advisers feel pride in financial planning as an important process in itself, and outsourcing is not to be criticised. But there can be a disconnect between the analysis and what the client needs. The two have to be properly married, but right now the process is chancey, fragile and approximate.
“If we approached intelligent financial advisers who recognised the problems, and we provided a solution that makes them look good and plays to their strengths, we think they’d go for it.” He said it was a question of talking to the right people.
Mr Fowler said he was still trying to figure out how the service could be provided profitably.
He added: “What we offer is investment modelling completely integrated with financial planning tools. It’s a model that determines risk approach to build portfolios and equips IFAs to do planning that ties up with that portfolio solution.”
Adviser view
Adrian Pickersgill, director of Chatfield Private Client, said: “We’re not bowled over with the likes of the top wealth management firms, so how can this outfit provide value when it doesn’t have a patch on the sort of resources that are available to the largest wealth management groups?
“Plus, it’s the adviser’s job to take on financial planning in the main. Otherwise, who is really advising the client? And how much extra cost will be involved?”
When asked about the resourcing issue at Fowler Drew, Mr Fowler replied: “The idea that a firm needs to be large ignores the fact that the vast majority of money spent in DFM activity is wasted. A quantitative process is always going to be much more cost-effective.”
