Each month Financial Planner asks a leading Financial Planner to share his or her best practice from their business and tell the story of their company. This issue we talk to Chris Bowmer CFP^CM of Accredited Financial Planning Firm Fortitude Financial Planning in Northamptonshire.

Financial Planner: Fortitude was one of the first Accredited Financial Planning Firms^TM, why were you so keen to apply for the recognition?

Chris Bowmer: There needs to be some method of differentiation for firms that always do proper Financial Planning. The Accredited Firms register is something that we have wanted to see in place for a number of years. We believe it will become the benchmark for real Financial Planning excellence in future.

FP: Have you noticed any benefits yet from the accreditation and how do you intend to maximise the hard work put into achieving the accreditation?

CB: In our experience working with like-minded professionals always results in best practice benefits and highlights opportunities for business development. I was unable to attend the first Accredited Financial Planning Firms conference but my fellow director Neil Bailey reported back that the group represented all that he had hoped for in terms of the knowledge and experience that a great support group can bring. We are confident that the marketing initiatives around the brand will attract new clients who are ready to be impressed by what proper Financial Planning can deliver.

FP: How did you get into Financial Planning and what attracted you to the profession?

CB: When I left university I had no clear idea of what I wanted to do. This was in the early 80s, the high level of unemployment meant that there was little choice so you took what you could get. I was able to join a management training scheme with a building society and this provided my introduction to financial services. I eventually became an employed IFA in 1994. A chance meeting with Neil in 2005 lead to me becoming involved with the IFP and discovering what professional Financial Planning is all about. I went on to qualify as a CFP professional in February 2006.

FP: How has your company changed over the past few years and what has the journey been like? Can you also tell us how many clients you have and your annual turnover?

CB: The original Fortitude was started in 2002 when three of us left Mazars to set it up. Even then it was clear to us that the commission model was broken and we wanted to start a real service- orientated business. The journey has not been easy; one of the original directors left the business in 2006, which was really painful for all concerned. We merged with Neil Bailey’s Sensible Financial Planning Company on 1 September 2008. The merger project involved the development of a robust business development plan. Our first year provided a challenging test for that plan, nevertheless we were able to design and implement the systems and processes necessary to allow us to expand. We now have three CFP professionals (Tim Davison joined in May 2011) as well as a client support team of five. We have 149 private clients and our forecast turnover for 2011/12 is £450,000.

FP: What type of Financial Planning do you offer to clients and what are your fees/charges?

CB: Financial Planning is our core service. We use a structured process to establish our clients’ goals and objectives and then create a Financial Plan to help them to achieve them. Each client has a bespoke Lifetime Cashflow Model, which enables them to visualise the impact of different decisions. Once the financial plan has been agreed, we help the client implement our recommendations. We provide ongoing service and support and at agreed intervals we review the Lifetime Cash Flow and update the plan, making changes as required. Our fee for the preparation and presentation of a Financial Plan is from £1,979. Our fee for implementing our recommendations is agreed on an individual basis dependent on the complexity of the action required. This is typically a fixed fee, calculated based on our hourly rates or as a percentage of monies being invested. Our fee for ongoing service is 0.75 per cent of the funds under advice, with a minimum of £2,106 per annum.

FP: How do you find new clients and what have been some of your best practices in terms of sourcing new clients? Please give examples of what works most effectively for you?

CB: Historically we have always worked on referrals. Tim spends several days each week in the offices of our professional connections. We have established a niche advising solicitors who act as deputy to personal injury clients and expect to generate a number of new clients each year in this way. We are currently developing our proposition for clients who have sold their business or inherited significant sums.

FP: What makes Fortitude Financial Planning different to other Financial Planning firms?

CB: From what we can see there is a great deal of consistency in the standards of the Accredited Financial Planning Firms. While this is good news for the consumer, there are still only a relatively small number of these firms. We believe that we are very different from the more traditional IFA firm, who continue to operate on a transactional basis focussed on the sale of products rather than using the Financial Planning process to provide a framework for high quality advice. We approach everything as a fiduciary, we must see that we add value to a client, after fees, in order to work with them and we always act in the clients’ best interests.

FP: In terms of running your business, what software applications do you use (particularly in reference to Financial Planning and back office software) and what sort of internal processes do you run in brief to ensure everything runs smoothly? Do you have a weekly practice meeting, for example?

CB: We use Truth for lifetime cashflows, Finametrica for risk tolerance and Quay’s Client Care Desktop for back office. Our processes are documented, which means they can be monitored and modified if appropriate. We have monthly staff meetings and I have a weekly meeting with the admin team to ensure no client-related work is missed. My co-director Mark White is responsible for business operations and ensures that the business runs smoothly, which leaves the planners free to focus on clients.

FP: What has been your greatest achievement in running your business and what are you proudest of?

CB: One of our goals is that we will have a business that employees are proud to work for. This requires them to be happy with everything we do as a business. I always thought this was ambitious, but I am confident that to date we have achieved this. Part of success is that we target not only our clients’ goals and objectives but we also care about those of our employees; we will always try to fit what our colleagues need into our business planning.

FP: Are you ready for the RDR and what effect do you think it will have on the industry?

CB: Our advisers are all Chartered or CFP^CM professionals or both. I am pleased to have done the Calibrand gap fill exams earlier in the year and my SPS is in place. Neil and Tim have few gaps to fill but they will both have their SPS by the end of July. Clients all agree fees in advance and in writing so this is not a concern to us. There is still work to be done to understand what we have to do to evidence “independence”. We have been working on this project with a peer group (including Tim Page CFP^CM of Page Russell who has done most of the leg work and therefore deserves most of the credit). We are confident that the processes and documentation will be in place well before the deadline.

FP: Many planners are concerned about the rising cost of regulation and other threats to their businesses. What do you see as the main threats to your business?

CB: Regulation costs are frustrating because, while we operate professionally, we have to pick up the pieces left by those who do not. I don’t believe it is a threat to our business; but it is annoying because, ultimately, it is our clients who have to shoulder the burden. A bigger challenge is finding staff. It is difficult to find advisers with the level of knowledge and experience we require. The same applies to recruiting for our client support team. Few candidates have experience working in a real Financial Planning firm, which means that we have to put a great deal of resource into training them.

FP: You are the IFP branch chairman for the Northern Home Counties, how long have you been doing this and what benefits do you see from attending branch meetings?

CB: We believe the IFP shares our values and I was struck by the openness and welcome I received when I first joined. When the branch chairmanship became vacant in 2009 I felt that it was important to maintain this local link. My IFP membership has helped me enormously in improving my business, my professionalism and how I see what I do. Without that support the world would be a much lonelier place and my business would be less successful. I cannot see how you can run a Financial Planning business without being a member of your local branch.

FP: If you could change anything about the Financial Planning profession what would you choose?

CB: I would choose education, not just for potential clients (who do not really understand the value of Financial Planning until they have been through the process) but also those large, seemingly immovable, objects in the industry – the life companies and banks who do not “get” Financial Planning. I suspect that they don’t want to because their pricing power disappears when a professional Financial Planner occupies the space of the client’s “trusted adviser”.

FP: What do you like doing in your spare time outside of work?

CB: I am a cricket obsessive. I play whenever I can and I will watch it if I can’t play. Test cricket everywhere is a joy. During the English season I play for the village side as well as being secretary and groundsman.