Many companies are being judged on how their leaders and senior managers have responded to the coronavirus pandemic that has turned the majority of people’s lives upside down over the past few weeks.
The financial advice sector is no different, and Ian Mattioli, chief executive of wealth management and employee benefits business Mattioli Woods, was one of the first to announce, on March 27, that he would reduce his basic salary to zero until June 30.
The board directors have also agreed to halve their basic salaries or fees over the same period.
Mr Mattioli, who set up the company with Bob Woods in 1991, says he quickly concluded that “not drawing a salary was an appropriate response at this time of crisis”.
We’re hoping we can get through all of this coronavirus issue without using a penny of government aid.He adds: “At the same time, I felt that would settle clients, some of whose businesses were falling off cliffs.
“And settle our staff because they and their families were scared – this is a situation which is really complex.”
He points to the financial strength of Mattioli Woods and says if there are businesses that can afford not to use the government’s resources “in this really desperate time of need”, they should avoid doing so.
“At Mattioli Woods, we’re hoping we can get through all of this coronavirus issue – because we will come out of it at some stage – without using a penny of government aid.
“Of course, reducing my salary, reducing the board’s salary, just cements the sustainability of the business,” he says.
Mr Mattioli acknowledges that the circumstances are “totally unprecedented”, but the way in which “particular leaders behave and influencers behave” is really important.
“The core thing we do is we look after other people’s money. Therefore, there is total expectation of clients that we should be able to look after our own money as well,” he adds.
Open for business
In the same announcement in March, Mr Mattioli said staff had been told that no bonuses were likely to be paid in the current financial year, “providing additional resources to address the impact of Covid-19”.
But the company has been able to continue paying its more than 600 employees.
“Those people come to work because that’s how they live.
“And we also needed to show them that they were protected because we needed them to carry on working, so that we could create good outcomes for our clients in the most complex of circumstances,” he explains.
“Not only did we reduce our salaries, but we gave them a promise that basic salaries would be paid at full levels to the period to June 30.”
Mattioli Woods has remained fully operational so far throughout the lockdown period, with staff able to work from home straight away.
“Being operational and open is really important during a crisis,” he adds, noting that clients have sought lots of advice and that staff have already spoken to 95 per cent of clients one-to-one.
“We hadn’t planned for a coronavirus-style event, but we just didn’t pay lip service to disaster recovery – we had an operational plan, that we knew exactly what works.”
Recent team conference calls conducted remotely have highlighted a generational difference, according to Mr Mattioli.
“The youngsters, unbelievably, are the people probably most affected by working from home.
“They actually really do enjoy the engagement of working in an office environment.”
On the other hand, he finds it “very peaceful” working from home.
“Everyone is different and... when you’ve spent a lot of money in developing your business for the future, you need to keep up with your people, so flexible working is just one of those things.”
On the trail
The company has completed a number of deals recently, with the purchase of The Turris Partnership in December 2019 for £1.6m and then Hurley Partners in March this year for £25.6m.
Mr Mattioli says that while the business continues to grow strongly organically, there are times when they want to add to the group stable.
“Equally, there are some good quality businesses who really want to join us,” he notes.
“That’s because those people know we will look after their clients, we will honour the relationship with the client because the client is at the core of everything we do, and long term we will be respectful and honour their commitment to their staff and people.”
Mr Mattioli adds: “We’ve not put acquisitions on hold but we’re probably not going to do any in the next few weeks.”
Our people
Mr Mattioli credits one of his first bosses, founder of Pointon York, Geoffrey Pointon, who passed away earlier this month after contracting coronavirus, for being an inspiration to many businesses.
“He was really visionary around integrated financial services businesses”, adding that Mattioli Woods “facilitates pretty much everything a client needs to run their financial affairs”.
“We’re an adviser, we’re an administrator, we’re a platform, we’re an asset allocator and we create and develop our own products,” he explains.
Mr Mattioli says if the company withholds employee bonuses this year, it will be the first time in 30 years.
But he also points out that staff understand the actions that the business is having to take in order to secure its future.
It is also important to him that the company operates in a “caring environment”.
He adds: “At Mattioli Woods we use this phrase ‘our people’. Clearly, it means our employees, but actually it means our clients and it also means our shareholders, because we’re a listed business, and it means our suppliers.
Ellie Duncan is a freelance journalist
