Monday
I am not an early morning person, but I manage to pull myself out of bed and go to the gym before work. I get into the office around 8.15am for breakfast before sitting down to start the day at 8.30am.
Monday mornings are generally kept free to plan for the week ahead which includes three annual client meetings, a first meeting with a prospective client and an ad-hoc meeting with a client to discuss their business.
For the client meetings, I review the meeting pack prepared for me by the client manager. After lunch, it is the adviser team meeting and following an update on the team’s progress year-to-date, we discuss potential financial planning case studies which prospective clients might find useful to refer to.
My first client today is recently retired and we spend the first half hour catching up on his travels. I then give him an update on his investments and we review his cash flow plan.
After a quick Piri-Piri wrap my second meeting is with a couple wanting to discuss gifts for their children. It is the perfect opportunity to use Voyant, the cash flow software, to incorporate care costs, increased expenditure, regular or lump sum gifts. I am keen to explain that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to inheritance tax and intergenerational planning.
My final meeting is with a client who has sold a rental property and wants to make further contributions to his portfolio. On days like this I realise why I enjoy my work.
Wednesday
This morning’s meeting is with a client to tie together their plans to wind down their business over the next few years with their personal financial plan. I have suggested their accountant attend our meetings to consider how we might combine an income and pension strategy with their ongoing intergenerational plan.
After lunch we have our investment committee meeting, attended by the firm’s advisers and our sister firm Equilibrium Investment Management (EIM). The EIM team provide an update on the economic environment and market outlook.
Following recent market volatility, we review the trades we have made and the agreed trigger levels for further changes. It is then off to seven-a-side football with my work colleagues.
Thursday
I give the gym a miss this morning as last night’s efforts on the football pitch are quite enough.
I get into the office around 8.30am and spend the morning preparing for an inheritance tax meeting. Notably, it is National Pizza Day and 60 pizzas are to be delivered. It is a great opportunity for everyone to come together for lunch and I do my part to ensure nothing goes to waste.
In the afternoon I have a first meeting with a prospective client who has been referred by his brother-in-law, an existing client of mine. He wants to invest cash in his self-invested personal pension, but following our discussion it becomes clear that he really wants to develop a sustainable and tax-efficient income strategy.
Friday
I try to keep Friday mornings clear to review the client meetings from the previous week and check in with the client manager team on any agreed actions.
The afternoon is spent writing a blog on the importance of lasting powers of attorney for the website before heading home, most likely for a takeaway on the sofa with my fiancée.
Ben Rogers is a chartered financial planner at Equilibrium Asset Management
