Zipwires, PiYo and company rebranding are all in a week's work for an experienced financial planner.
Monday
It is back to work after a great week off in Wales. I survived Europe’s fastest zipwire and show everyone the video from my headcam.
As part of our success in attaining chartered status we are rebranding the business, so the morning is spent reviewing our new website and discussing a new client login area with the designer. We have taken some time to consider company values and our client experience and we discuss how this can be represented online.
We also want to show that financial planning is anything but boring.
In the afternoon I hold a virtual meeting with a client to discuss his financial forecast and we look at the impact on his lifestyle if he retires in two years’ time, age 56. Introducing online meeting software has made it possible to have these discussions remotely while still being able to show him the impact.
Another day, another client. This time it is a gentleman who is finishing work in a few weeks’ time and has got lost in the jargon of pensions and retirement.He provides some great feedback on the use of the software and the cash flow modelling tool as well. We love it when clients really get involved in the process and help us to develop it further.
In the evening I meet my fellow trustees of a local community group to discuss the community garden project we are working on, having acquired some funding from the Lincolnshire Co-op.
Tuesday
The morning is spent out of the office with clients and their solicitor discussing how to benefit from years of hard work building up their business, as well as discussing, in detail, succession planning.
The newest member of our team, Cole Mills, has his three-month review in the afternoon. This is a great opportunity to find out how he feels he has settled into a well-established team here at FM Manning.
His views on the use of technology and connecting with younger people are very useful, particularly as we have been doing a number of things the same way for many years and have been stuck in the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mindset.
Every Tuesday evening is spent at a local PiYo class. A good workout is a great time to switch off from the world and after a week off; it is just what the doctor ordered.
Wednesday
Another day, another client. This time it is a gentleman who is finishing work in a few weeks’ time and has got lost in the jargon of pensions and retirement. We discuss the options available to him and his plans for retirement.
The rest of the day is spent preparing for upcoming annual reviews.
Thursday
There is little time to celebrate my 21 years with the business today as the morning is spent in a meeting with a relatively new client. He is another local business owner with an ambitious goal for himself and his business.
I started working with him to develop a financial plan and we are now discussing everything from Costa coffee to shop layouts.
A follow-up contact with the solicitor I met on Tuesday leads us to arranging to meet over lunch in a few weeks to discuss open architecture banking and the use of platforms for clients with lasting powers of attorney.
Friday
The morning starts with a local networking breakfast. My ‘60 seconds’ looks at the similarities between climbing a Welsh mountain and preparing for retirement, and gets some great feedback.
This turns out to be a quieter Friday than usual with the office phone lines down. It does not stop getting any work done though – thank goodness for mobiles phones.
To end the week I go wine tasting in Lincoln, with my husband and some friends.
Claire Markham is a chartered financial planner at FH Manning Financial Services
If you would like to write a week in your life as a financial adviser, please contact: melanie.tringham@ft.com
