Diary of an IFA
Monday
The day starts at 5:30am in the form of a human alarm call
from baby Sophie. Although she’s only a
month and a bit old, her sleep patterns are settling down and 5:30am is a bit
of a luxury. Once the morning feed is
done, and breakfast and a nice strong coffee are consumed, it’s off to the
office for client Research and checking emails.
Then it’s off to the first meeting at 11am with a new client. The lady in question runs a training business
and received some investment advice from one of the banks. The investment had been running for 6 years
and had made a loss. There had been no
annual reviews and the client had now been told the bank in question no longer
provides advice. I found this
disappointing, but ultimately not surprising. Then it’s back to the office for some client research,
checking emails and meeting preparation.
Tuesday
The day starts with a call from the head of a prominent
local chamber of commerce. We are
currently working together to ensure that the businesses who are members of the
chamber are prepared for Auto Enrolment.
We discuss the fact that the auto enrolment date has been put back for
most SME’s and how they will react to this news. Chamber head believes that many businesses
may decide to defer making provisions for an additional year, I hope they use
the additional year to prepare for auto enrolment more gradually.
Later on in the day, I received a call from an existing
client. His private medical cover is up
for renewal and he wants to make sure he is receiving a decent deal on the
renewal. We speak and he emails the
documents over for me to take a look at.
More research for existing clients followed by a trip to the
local gym. My 8 year old, Charlotte practices
Jujitsu whilst I have the first circuit training session of the New Year. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to ache in the
morning!
Wednesday
It’s another early start this morning as the baby decides to
wake at 5:00am. I’m feeling the impact
of the training session, but I’m hoping it’ll get better next week! After breakfast and a strong coffee I’m ready
for my 9:00am meeting with a new potential introducer to the business.
Most of our work comes from working with
fellow professionals and cross referrals in business. The meeting goes well and we agree to meet up
in a month to see how we can move our relationship forward.
A call comes through from a fellow financial planner who
wants to work on a case with us. I’ve
known her for years but have renewed the relationship through connecting via
social media.
Thursday
The day starts early with a networking meeting at a pub in
Theydon Bois, Essex. I enjoy my first
post new year fried breakfast, however I might have to worth extra hard in the
gym to burn it off!
Then it’s on to a meeting with one of our solicitor
introducers. They are professional
trustees on behalf of a number of clients and when they feel appropriate
approaches us to provide investment advice on behalf of the client.
We agree to the fee structure for the initial
report and they ask me to conduct the work required on behalf of the
client. Another meeting follows with another solicitor and a life
coach who specialises in helping the newly retired. We meet in a little village pub in rural
Essex and discuss how we may be help each other move our businesses
forward. We share some great ideas and
go our separate ways.
Friday
The first meeting of the day is with one of our main
introducers. I talk about getting used
to having a new born in the house again and lack of sleep. He tells me about his Christmas trip to
Dubai. The meeting went well, however I
did feel slightly envious of his January tan.
Then it’s on the train to sunny Essex for my last two meetings
of the week. I make this meeting with 2
minutes to spare with a HR consultant introducer. During our conversation, he tells me about
his client he wants me to contact as they need advice on how to prepare for
auto enrolment.
Then it’s on to meeting number 3, where I meet with a
commercial insurance broker to see how we may be able to help his clients. As its 5pm on a Friday, the meeting is held
over a pint. I’m happy with the week’s
activity, with new business opportunities coming to fruition and some
productive longer term relationships which are starting to develop. I’m doing Sophie’s overnight feed tonight
though, wish me luck!
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