Then, with any shadows of the weekend firmly erased, I feel suitably prepared for work and raring to go – so, without further delay I head into the office.
First task is addressing the weekend's emails, who needs what, what jobs are to be added to my ‘to do’ list and what is my plan this week in terms of client meetings and prospecting.
First meeting is an existing client, she wishes to review her Sipp and wants to sense check the underlying investment performance and strategy.
She is 63 years old, divorced and always been comfortable taking financial advice. We get on very well which always makes the job easier. She has an external discretionary portfolio with a competitor, so I ask the relevant questions: "Has this been reviewed?", "What fund are you invested in?" and "Are you happy there?" "Tell me about the service they provide you?" She is happy just now, but we held a good conversation about how I could help her in future.
The second client of the day has general queries about his desire and plans to move abroad and become non-UK resident. I helped him out with most of the answers he posed, but had to check and revert to him with others – overall, he was happy.
Tuesday
Exercise repeat.
I have a client home visit in Epsom this morning.
After tea and pleasantries, he tells me of a sizable gain within his share portfolio and we discuss tax led investments. I suggest working for him to source a suitable enterprise investment scheme (EIS). ‘What’s that?’ he asks, and his curiosity leads me to providing him with a scope of intended work, since then we have subsequently agreed to work together.
I drive away with a task, a commitment but in the knowledge I can add genuine value to my client’s finances. This is why I love this job, it is what I enjoy, and it is also why I joined Tilney very recently.
For the first time in my career I can feel the stretch of providers and services I have access to, which means I am able to find invaluable solutions for clients that genuinely make a difference to them and their financial future.
Wednesday
We are mixing up Wednesdays with 45 minutes hard boiled cross trainer and weights. By midweek, I often think "I’m getting too old for this".
The working day starts with some administrative tasks including client call backs, prospecting, some delegation of paperwork required for future meetings, some support work I need to do for my boss.
