Diary of an adviser: Stephen Hendry

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Diary of an adviser: Stephen Hendry

Friday

Just to be different, our working week starts on a Friday. First, we get lattes from our local Costa and my assistant prepares some weekly management information. Our staff meeting follows, and we have a quick look back at last week and plan for the coming week. It will be a busy one, so we need to be ready. The afternoon is spent doing admin and catching up with emails. My wild weekend starts with school bingo – raising money for the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association.

Monday

With our week set out, we dive straight in with a review meeting at our offices, spending most of our time together updating the client’s cashflow plan. We have had some decent growth in recent months, which improves the outlook – with the normal caveats surrounding forecasts. The client is content, especially when the Chocolate Uglies are brought out, the ones they have in first class on Virgin trains.

I have another review meeting over the phone, and a new prospect to speak to who found us via VouchedFor. After a long day at the office, there is nothing better than donning a uniform and taking my six-year old son to Beaver Scouts, where I am an assistant leader. 

Tuesday

To get a little bit of exercise in I try and park away from the office and take a stroll in a couple of times a week. I feel so much better after a walk. The lease on our office runs out mid-2018, so today we are looking at an old bank branch as our potential new home. It’s huge, with a lot of history. However, I am not sure we need the two massive strong rooms with corresponding safe doors. The search continues. 

The afternoon is spent at an Invesco Perpetual (IP) investment intelligence seminar. I like the IP sessions, they are local, and do not have any product content – purely market commentary and opinion. It’s also a good chance to catch-up with some colleagues I have not seen for a while. A final client review at the office, then home.

Wednesday

I recently decided to get fitter, and hired a personal trainer. She is a task master, and I feel battered and bruised by 9.30am. But, I know that it is good for me, and that I need to get stronger to complete the Yorkshire Three Peak challenge in May for the Autistic Society. I am in the office for 10.15am and feel surprisingly full of energy. A quick banana and a cup of tea and I jump into my other project – adviser recruitment.

I always start by asking myself “am I being too picky?” I remind myself that any advisers joining us will be ambassadors for the firm, and I must be picky. My primary plan is to recruit from within, and we are supporting my assistant with exams and attending the NextGen Foundation Course – delivered by Adam Owen, one of the few men I have met who is taller than me. Wednesday is an early-ish finish for me, as I take the kids off to Grandma’s for tea.

Thursday

Most of today is spent in a monthly Sense Network event. These are great for structured continuing professional development, as well as having a catch-up with other advisers.  

Then it is a train ride to Birmingham to meet a client who has been offered a job with one of the companies he consults for and wants to discuss his options. It is a real chance to prove our value, and we run through several scenarios using our cashflow modelling. He leaves the meeting much better informed, and we agree to meet again in a couple of weeks to take the conversation forward.

A governors' meeting at my son’s school ends my day. We start the whole thing again tomorrow; maybe I will change things up with an Americano this time?

Stephen Hendry is managing director of Stonegate Wealth Management, based in Staffordshire
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