For this adviser it’s a busy week zipping around the country visiting clients before ending the week with a round of crazy golf with his staff
Monday
I leave the house at 7am to make the 2.5 hour journey to my first meeting – making sure to stop for a McDonald’s breakfast. My first client has recently sold his house as part of a divorce, so we discuss possible investments for when the money comes through. I also get the relevant paperwork signed to action his pension switch.
Next up is an annual review with a client to discuss the performance of his portfolio over the past year. We also talk about the best way to start two separate investments for his children.
I will call him in a couple of weeks to see if he wants to go ahead. On the way to my final annual review meeting of the day I call Emma, our blogger, to discuss ideas for next month’s company blog.
Tuesday
I feed my pet chickens and set off for a very busy day with six meetings. The first meeting is to discuss possible investments for a current client’s business before heading down to a care home to see a lady who I am power of attorney for. I see her every two weeks as we are currently preparing for her move back home. I then have an annual review meeting with some clients who I will be seeing later on this evening for my weekly Grumpy Old Men’s Club.
Back at the office I catch up on some compliance before a meeting with a fund manager to discuss the potential of using the first regulated residential property fund in our model portfolios. The last meeting of the day is another review. I book the clients in for another meeting to discuss their wills and potential trusts to protect their assets for their children.
Wednesday
My morning starts with a training and competency meeting with our compliance officer, followed by an admin team training session on reduction in yield. The rest of my morning is filled with suitability report writing while my afternoon consists of three annual review meetings with business owners.
Thursday
Another busy day. The morning is spent meeting with a new prospective client looking for advice on how to start taking drawdown from multiple pension plans. This is followed by an annual review call to a client in Saudi Arabia.
After a quick spot of lunch, I plan my next meeting with a client to support her with the administration of her late husband’s estate.
I manage to arrive at my 6pm meeting in Huntingdon just in time. After completing my final annual review of the day I stop for dinner before making my way through all the diversions back to Norwich, arriving home at around 10pm.
Friday
Today is one day of the year I always look forward to: our company’s Annual Crazy Golf Competition. But before that, I spend the first two hours of the morning with my colleague Bob and the team deciding what changes, if any, need to be made to our model portfolios to match updated asset allocations.
Next on the agenda is a meeting with a life office representative to discuss upcoming changes to one of our most popular funds. At 12.30pm I fit in a personal training session at the gym – my trainer does not like me eating cake and I did not tell him about the biscuits either – before we all leave at 2pm for a round of crazy golf. I come second.
We finish our evening with a meal to celebrate two of our admin teams’ birthdays.
Ralph Hunt is a financial consultant at Face to Face Finance
If you would like to write a week in your life as a financial adviser, please contact: melanie.tringham@ft.com
