Firing lineNov 26 2020

Firing Line: 7IM boss on regaining a sense of purpose

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Firing Line: 7IM boss on regaining a sense of purpose

For some, ‘culture’ may be an overused word. However, in the case of Seven Investment Management, having the right culture in place has, it claims, helped make the difference during a challenging 2020.

“Ultimately we are a people business,” says 7IM chief executive Dean Proctor, who had only been in the role for a year before the pandemic hit. “My job as a leader is to get my teammates onboard with the direction outlined. It’s a team sport and we want as many of our teammates to be as engaged and motivated as we are.”

Mr Proctor replaced chief executive and co-founder Tom Sheridan who had held the role for 17 years, and though he respects this history, he is adamant change was needed.

Here, Mr Proctor cites feedback from some long-lasting clients who said they felt the business had “lost a little bit of purpose” in prior years.

He says: “7IM has a great history, but it was led by the same individuals for 18 years with a certain style that was right for that initial startup growth phase, but for me now, as a business with more than 400 people, we wanted to identify a culture.

“That started with asking each employee what they wanted that culture to be.”

New culture

During that time, Mr Proctor sat down and wrote what he wanted the business to be. Although this is not public, this vision has since been shared with all colleagues (and appears on their screensavers).

“Fundamentally, I want 7IM to be a firm that is innovative, enjoyable and a fun place to work that can challenge people,” he says. “We have a nice, family feel here. People help one another.”

It is this team morale that he says has paid dividends during lockdown.

Looking back to March, Mr Proctor reflects on this as a difficult time but is proud of the work done to ensure the organisation stayed operational. 

With laptops and other equipment having to be arranged for nearly all of 7IM’s 400 staff, he recalls the effort made in the hectic weeks of March as “incredible”.

Mr Proctor says: “People transitioned remarkably well and it brought out the best in people’s commitment to the firm.” 

Special efforts were made to keep morale high (including things such as online pub quizzes) but the chief executive points out that, on a day-to-day basis, team members would check in on one another and ensure no one felt isolated. 

“It tests the culture and spirit of the firm,” he adds, revealing that given the government’s latest restrictions and rising infection rates, currently 95 per cent of 7IM’s team are working from home. 

“This means being flexible and understanding, even for things like working around people’s childcare arrangements. Small firms are able to galvanise that culture better. However, we still have to keep revitalising this.”

An acquisition and a new chairman

That said, this year has not simply been about weathering the storm of Covid-19. 

The company has been active, completing its acquisition of £2bn London-based Partners Wealth Management in October and appointing ex-Aegon boss Adrian Grace as chairman the month before.

Mr Proctor, who only got to know Mr Grace during lockdown, says this appointment brings greater industry experience to the board, benefitting both the company and himself.

“It was clear we had found someone who knew the market very well,” he says. 

“Our board composition needed a practitioner in the space with a lot of longevity and track record. 

“Personally, you never stop learning, so it has been very helpful having someone like him on board to work with.”

With the Partners acquisition, at the time Mr Proctor said the company would be focusing on organic growth regardless of the success of the deal. He is unchanged in this view and says he has no ambitions to be a consolidator, adding his post-Covid strategy remains “almost identical” to his pre-Covid strategy.

He says: “There are no major adjustments. The time horizon for us achieving our strategic goals may have just pushed out 12 months as a result of Covid because of the natural impacts on our performance.”

Performance

The pandemic is not the only challenge facing wealth companies, with Brexit now only a few weeks away.

Mr Proctor says: “It is quite astonishing how much Brexit has fallen off the radar for some people. But we did all of our preparation in the second half of 2019. There is still a degree of uncertainty with Brexit, but we’ve heavily diversified.”

7IM, which has a financial year that runs from January to December, went into 2020 in a position of financial strength. 

In the last period assets under management grew 9.2 per cent, with pre-tax profits up 15 per cent to £9.3m. Mr Proctor says the company has held up well during this time, but warns the challenge they face is gaining new prospects in such a different operating environment.

“We have come through the period relatively well in terms of investment performance, and we want to be talking to as many people as possible about this. Prospecting is certainly more difficult in what has become a virtual environment.”

Though it may be difficult, Mr Proctor still wants to capitalise on the opportunities a post-Covid world has created, identifying the efficiency benefits of a remote working world through things such as e-signatures.

“We are about a third of a way through our journey and, with myself being results-focused, there is still plenty we want to get done,” he says.

“We have a very clear roadmap and I will not rest until it’s completed. There is still plenty of opportunity for 7IM to prosper in a pretty fragmented marketplace.”

Jon Yarker is a freelance journalist