Discussing caseloads (and the footie), financial opportunities for clients and team training sessions are part of the weekly menu
Monday
My daily routine begins with a jaunt to Manchester City Centre, where we’re based –a door-to-door journey of about 1.5 hours. This gives me plenty of time to think ahead about the day’s activities, and it isn’t actually too bad of a journey.
Monday morning starts with a brief call to the advice team about upcoming cases or work that needs doing. This usually takes 20-30 minutes.
Some of this time is spent discussing the weekend’s football as well, when I pretend to know what I’m talking about. We create a plan of priorities and discuss the caseloads, and anything new or interesting that came up in the financial press. I wonder: will this diary be the hot topic of next week’s call?
We then carry out and distribute any tasks to be completed and get going on the week’s work.
Tuesday
Today we have several new cases to get stuck in to and plenty of annual reviews to complete. We also spend some time looking at the new tax year and any planning opportunities for clients, starting early rather than leaving it to the last minute.
The enjoyable part of this job is that no two clients’ circumstances are ever the same and there are opportunities to make a huge difference in their overall financial position.
We manage to get a few reports completed and sent out, which is a perfect start to the week.
Wednesday
I have an interesting journey in this morning. The train conductor plays a rendition of ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ over the speaker system as we pull in, which is effective in bringing a smile to even the most hardened commuters.
Wednesdays are usually the day for internal training or meetings and today is no different. There are a few scheduled, but thankfully, nothing too onerous.
During the meetings there is a chance to review some of the investment funds we use. We have a specific query about exposure to plastics and I investigate where there might be some primary involvement in the proliferation of plastic pollution.
Thursday
A breakfast training session is scheduled to discuss an interesting and relatively complex case with the team. It involves several areas: lifetime allowance and tapered annual allowance, among other things.
It is a great chance to share ideas, discuss the normal financial planning topics and also discuss what investments we might employ to not only meet the client’s circumstances and risk appetite but also their ethical values. This is something that I might add, it is certainly possible to achieve.
Friday
Fridays are a great time to finish off any loose ends, get reports and analysis completed and complete some continuing professional development. It usually starts with someone doing the breakfast run, which is an added sweetener, of course.
The day usually ends with a quick catch-up with the team to see where we’re at and what we have got done before we all head off into the sunset for the weekend.
Matthew Coppin is manager, financial advice at Castlefield
