Guardian Wealth Management (GWM) chief executive David Howell has been in financial services as “man and boy”, having joined more than 30 years ago “by accident, more than planning”.
After an early bid to join the army fell through, Howell started at Provident Mutual in Leeds, England, as a trainee. “It just kind of developed from there,” he says.
After he qualified, Howell got a taste of the international market working in Perth, Australia, before returning home.
In 1994, he set up GWM in the UK, which Howell runs with joint chief executive John Hansberry, expanding the business overseas initially to Europe and then to the Far and Middle East.
"You find out what the client wants to achieve, how they are going to achieve it, and you identify the risks to the plan and how to mitigate them."
“John and I complement each other in terms of running the company. So, if I’m knocked down by the number 10 bus, John is there, and vice versa. We’ve got that continuity in the business.”
Overseas opportunities
GWM’s UK office is currently in the process of applying for chartered status, something Howell is confident it will achieve this year.
The company’s expansion overseas has been driven by client demand, says Howell. The changing habits of expat workers in the Middle East is a recent example. The fact that many are opting to remain in the region long term, as opposed to returning home, presented GWM with an opportunity, he explains.
In addition to the UK, GWM has offices in Geneva, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and operates in Hong Kong as Guardian Life Management. Following a strategic review, the company is winding down its Qatar operations with staff relocating in the group.
New licence
At the start of the year, GWM became the first company for nearly eight years to be granted an Insurance Authority (IA) licence in the UAE. The company also holds, and will continue to hold, an Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA) licence.
The new licence allows the company to expand its client offering, enabling it to deal with companies regulated by the IA: namely Friends Provident, Zurich and Generali.
“It is another string to our bow in the Middle East. You want as many solutions within your plan as possible and to not be restricted in what you can offer clients.”
Howell says it is not just Abu Dhabi or the UAE that have growth potential but the entire region, “subject to the economic and political situation, because you never know in the Middle East”.
“You are always mindful of the fact it could go wrong,” he says. “But the region has always been that way.”
Alphabet soup
A key challenge facing advice firms in the region, according to Howell, is the number of regulatory bodies.
“In the UAE it’s a bit of an alphabet soup. You have now got four different regulators: the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA); ESCA; IA; and the new one in Abu Dhabi, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).”
Having two regulators in two free zones and two federal regulators will make implementing any retail distribution review-style (RDR) changes more difficult.
Howell says: “There is some writing on the wall, but how long that will take to transpire is anyone’s guess. I can’t see it at the moment, but maybe in five, seven or 10 years.”
The recent collapse in the oil price is a prime example of the potential volatility in the region and Howell says some investments have been affected.
“But that is where financial planning comes into its own. You find out what the client wants to achieve, how they are going to achieve it, and you identify the risks to the plan and how to mitigate them.
“That comes down to having a good, well diversified strategy. If your assumptions are changing, such as growth or inflation, then you adjust your plan accordingly.”
