Client contact
For GWM, the first step in advising any client is to understand where they are financially and if they understand what they’ve got to do to achieve their goals.
“Once you have determined where the client is, it is about finding out where they want to be,” he says. “It is financial planning with forethought rather than afterthought.”
This stems, he adds, from having a relationship with the client, rather than the product provider.
“You have be in touch with them, adapt their plan or strategy when required and review it on an annual basis.”
This is particularly important given that each expat presents with their own issues depending on what their assets are and where they are held.
“For example,” Howell says, “trusts do not exist in France, so you can not set up a trust for clients to mitigate tax because France does not recognise them.
“You have to be careful you are not solving one problem but creating another. That’s where we will use experts, such as tax lawyers or audit specialists, to help us resolve any situations that arise.”
RDR legacy
While RDR has been fantastic in the UK from a consumer perspective, it could present problems in the future with some parts of society becoming disenfranchised by the fee-based model, Howell warns.
“There could be an issue from a macro perspective in the UK that more people may be going into retirement not having what they thought they would have and relying on the welfare state.
“People are not saving and are not protecting themselves because the distribution mechanisms for them to buy or be sold investments or protection have disappeared.
“Going back to the days of the Prudential and the Co-operative Bank, people were sold investments and protection, and the ‘Man from the Pru’ knocked on the door to collect the premium. That does not happen today.
“In the UK, from a socio-economic perspective, the middle and higher classes have benefited more from RDR because they can afford to pay for advice.”
This begs the question, Howell believes, about whether or not those unable to pay for advice are being disenfranchised. Another unintended side-effect of RDR has been a shrinking of the UK’s IFA talent pool. Having admitted that the industry “chose me, I didn’t choose it”, the lack of new blood is a concern for Howell.
“It is beginning to change now. There are courses at university where you can study for a degree in financial services and financial planning. It does concern me, however, where the talent of the future is going to come from.”
Career advice
One way in which GWM is supporting the development of the industry, to make it a more appealing career choice, is by instilling a strong culture of professional standards, ethics and qualifications in its staff.
“That applies to back-office staff as well as client-facing advisers. We want people to be qualified to level four (as per RDR) or they have got to get to level four within three months of joining us.”
Despite being busy with the day-to-day running of the business, Howell is keeping one eye on the horizon to see what kind of growth opportunities may present themselves in future.
“You look at where the hot points for expats are, the feasibility, money and resources in opening an office and having a licence in a certain area of territory. But, at the moment, that is just desktop research.”
