Fifty years and counting: I reflect on lessons from financial services so far
23rd June 2023
From door-to-door sales to the boardroom, to non-exec roles and acquisitions. What follows are my reflections on everything I have learnt along the way, what has changed (mostly for the better) and the challenges that remain.
A week after leaving school on 12 July 1973 and wanting a holiday job to put money aside before going to university in the autumn, I landed a role with a life insurance company.
After three days “training” (learning a script by two actors called Ray and Vince), I was dropped off at 5pm in Hounslow West by my field manager, who told me which roads were mine for the night to knock on doors and that he would pick me up at 10pm.
That was my introduction to the world of life insurance and investment. I never did go to university.
I continued to study right up until my 60th birthday, when I passed the Institute of Directors chartered director exams
I learnt two important lessons from the months I spent door knocking. The first was resilience. You must be focused and persistent to succeed, but not to the point of being perceived as aggressive. The second was about people. Everyone is different and one size certainly does not fit all.
I subsequently joined Barclays Bank’s in-house insurance broking subsidiary, where I stayed for 10 years.
An additional skill I learnt was influencing. The route to meeting customers was via bank staff and this required patience.
I also realised it was worthwhile for me to develop specialist knowledge and qualifications, as well as to enhance them. So I studied for my Associateship of the Chartered Insurance Institute and continued to study right up until my 60th birthday, when I passed the Institute of Directors chartered director exams.
Most of my fellow partners ran a mile from prospecting for clients. My resilience was a valuable commodity
In 1988, I went to work for an accountancy firm, where I became a partner. There were, again, two aspects which enhanced my skills and held me in good stead in my later career.
The first was working on a fee, not commission, basis – being able to justify one’s worth to clients based on knowledge and ability, not how good a salesperson I was.
The second was to develop my marketing skills. Most of my fellow partners ran a mile from prospecting for clients. My resilience was a valuable commodity, and I learnt the benefits that come from developing deep knowledge of industry sectors to gain new clients.
I then worked for MercuryAsset Management (that eventually became BlackRock) and my time there taught me to be more patient.
I went to my line manager after the first month and said we needed to make wholesale changes. I had fallen into the trap of not seeking first to understand both the business and the culture and was nearly sacked but for a good HR manager who stood up for me.
A fast-growing business needs to adapt rapidly and not all employees can develop at the same pace, meaning some need to depart
It turned out well in the end, and my three years there also gave me a valuable insight into fund construction and the interaction with life companies.
I was then headhunted (for the first and only time in my working life) as group financial services director of Bradford and Bingley.
My role was the oversight of the sourcing and supply of products, as well as the provision of technical support for the 1,000 strong mortgage and financial planning sales forces. I honed my people and critical thinking skills… or so I like to think!
My final role in corporate life was with Thinc, the predecessor to Succession, where I worked with the late Simon Chamberlain as his chief operating officer and latterly his group corporate director, before becoming responsible for the compliance and risk function following the acquisition of the business by Axa.
What did I learn there? First, that a fast-growing business needs to adapt rapidly and not all members of the team can develop and grow at the same pace, meaning some need to depart and others with different skill sets be recruited.
An unresolved challenge remains the degree of regulation needed and how it is best applied. Active debate will continue!
The other lesson was that buying businesses is easy if you have the money but doing so with the right processes and, in particular, an effective process for integration is much harder.
Since 2008, I have consulted, held a series of non-executive and committee chair roles, and more recently my focus has principally been in mergers and acquisitions.
The main lesson from becoming a consultant has been to develop more refined influencing skills. To be effective, I need to persuade business owners to make changes. I could not compel them to.
My non-exec roles have involved learning how to challenge and encourage without crossing the line into managing the business.
Over the last 50 years, there has been a huge amount of regulatory change: the Financial Services Act 1986, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Financial Services Authority, Treating Customers Fairly, RDR, the Financial Conduct Authority, a continuous flow of papers and now Consumer Duty to list just a few.
What I have learnt from regulatory oversight is that change is continuous and regulators will react to what happens in markets.
Good compliance and risk management is built on having the right culture, mindset and resources in place, as well as anticipating change, not reacting to it, or waiting until it is too late to act or ignoring it completely.
So, what has changed for the better in the last 50 years? In my view, professionalism and technology. Most clients obtain better quality advice and service, but there is always room for improvement.
I was nearly sacked but for a good HR manager who stood up for me
An unresolved challenge remains the degree of regulation needed and how it is best applied. Active debate will continue!
What has not changed is the need people have for advice to help them manage their financial affairs effectively, and technology is an enhancer, not a substitute.
The role of the financial planner is here to stay and continues to provide wonderful career opportunities and accompanying job satisfaction. In turn, planners will be more effective if they continue to listen to what their clients are telling them and are open to change.
This article was first published on Money Marketing