Adjusting to life out of London, doing 10k runs, researching Salesforce, and meeting fellow clients are the order of the week for this Exeter-based IFA.
Monday
I’m in Exeter today. The Met Office Weather Service has confirmed that Devon is the wettest county in March, and is the fourth wettest on record. Thankfully it’s dry today because I’ve offered my parking space to Time4Advice’s owner and sales and marketing director Roland Rawicz-Szczerbo.
We’ve spent a year researching alternatives to Salesforce, but despite pretty dashboards and portals, the alternatives have come up short. Thankfully we’re impressed with Time4Advice and our administration team are excited by the potential.
After I finish work I head down to Exeter Quay for an evening run. I’ve recently completed a Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course and I’m leading my first group. We do 10km and I find some hills.
Tuesday
I’m driving to meet clients whose house backs onto the Thames. We were supposed to meet in London, but broken bones require a change of plan. They were referred by their son who we’ve advised. We told him to go away, stop paying fees, save more, spend less and return when things change. Impressed with our candour, he referred us to his parents.
I enjoy the time in the car. The phone and radio are off, so there are no major distractions and I can think. I don’t understand the need to be ‘plugged in’ all the time and I often try to disconnect.
Wednesday
I’m on the way to London for two days. I usually get an early train to be at my desk by 9.30am or I will fly and be there an hour earlier. Yellowtail started in London 12 years ago and our clients are mostly south-east based. I enjoy my weekly sojourn in the City.
I’m seeing a client who is also from out of town. We review his financial plan and head out for dinner at 34 Mayfair. It’s a relatively cheap evening because we’re avoiding alcohol for Lent! Stone-cold sober I walk back to my hotel, read a book and then crash.
Thursday
I walk along the Southbank toward London Bridge. It’s 6.30am and the City is wide awake. I grab breakfast en route and realise – not for the first time – that this is what I miss about London. Exeter has its upsides, but it keeps office hours.
I’ve one meeting today to hand over one of my HNW clients to my former paraplanner. He’s moving into an adviser role and taking responsibility for a third of my clients, including some of our HNW clients who I think he is better suited to.
I catch the train arriving in Exeter just after 7pm. My wife picks me up in her lime green Smart Car and I leap into the driving seat. Unless it’s snowing, I think I prefer her car to my 4X4.
Friday
I get into the office by 8am to catch up with the team. They have lots of things for me to do before I’m debriefed by my PA. I’m the bottleneck in the business so she has her work cut out. She’s new and I’m adjusting, but It’s early days and signs are promising.
I have a meeting with a mortgage IFA over lunch. He’s in my running group and we may have some work to put his way. I’m slowly making forays into the Exeter business community, but it takes time.
It’s 4pm, so home time. Tonight I’m fending for myself as my wife is in London for her piano lesson. Just before I go to bed I check the weather for tomorrow’s Park Run.
Dennis Hall is chief executive officer at Yellowtail Financial Planning