CompaniesFeb 10 2016

Diary of an adviser: Gretchen Betts

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Monday

This is now our third week in our new office, and our teething problems with the phones have settled down a little. We start with a general office update meeting and ‘to do’ review. I spend the latter part of the morning writing an email to clients about the turbulent markets – along the lines of ‘stay on the rollercoaster’. I speak to a few registrars about direct stock holdings for a client and review a cashflow forecast that my paraplanner has completed on Prestwood for a new client.

Tuesday

I am off to the IFP/CISI regional meeting, which I find of great value and it ticks some CPD requirements. The session by 12th Man Consulting was of particular interest and gave me some ideas that we could adopt in my business. Thanks to the typical Welsh weather I get soaked on the way back to the office.

I finished a letter to a new client covering gifting and inheritance tax and I spend some time reviewing the numbers for a seminar we are holding and thinking about how we could promote this a little more. I go line dancing on a Tuesday at the local community centre.

Wednesday

I spend the morning looking at our templates. We are in the latter stages of sign-off and have eventually got the software to generate the financial plan template we want – with the right tables, charts and data. I then help out a client with completing our online risk profiler and review some meeting packs ready for my meetings on Friday.

I speak to a reporter about the new L&G Tracker funds that have been launched this week and provide some comment about the benefits and attractions to clients.

I finish on time to go and visit a friend for dinner and a glass of wine.

Thursday

After the usual social media update, I start the day meeting with a client to review their cashflow forecast and agree the next steps and way forward, which includes transferring some assets to an investment platform, utilising Isa allowances and setting up Jisas for his three grandchildren.

Later on, I spend some time looking at the more complex cases we have in the pipeline, which include a potential enterprise investment scheme case, pension lifetime allowance advice and a portfolio we need to rebalance that is complicated by significant capital gains.

I then finalise our Isa mailer for clients who have not yet fully utilised their allowance.

Friday

Meetings in Cardiff today, the first with a potential new client referred by an existing client to talk about some money they have inherited. We agree to proceed with a personalised cashflow forecast as the first step. After this I meet a client who lost his wife last year and has just spent the first Christmas without her. It was an emotional meeting, but all goes well and we come away with the agreed actions for the coming year for him.

It is an early finish today as I am off to Wiltshire to visit my family.

Gretchen Betts is a chartered wealth manager in the Bridgend office of Broadway Financial Planning