Each month Financial Planner interviews leading planners, asking them to share best practice and the story of their firm's growth. This month we speak to Adrian Pickersgill CFP^CM from Chatfield Private Client in Birmingham.

Financial Planner: Congratulations on being recognised as an Accredited Financial Planning Firm, why did you want to join the register?
Adrian Pickersgill CFP^CM: We wanted to demonstrate our belief and commitment to genuine Financial Planning as the only true way to help clients achieve their goals.

FP: How was your first Accredited Financial Planning Firms conference?
AP: After a last-minute dash across London, due to our late train, we had little time for any networking before the conference started. Of course we made up for our late start in the breaks! This is where these conferences are really valuable in that you are able to talk with likeminded individuals as well as share and compare ideas and experiences.
What was very evident was how much how much energy and pride Financial Planners put into their businesses and how they constantly strive to make improvement

FP: How did you first get into Financial Planning and what attracted you to the profession?
AP: My move towards Financial Planning was an evolution fro starting as an administrator then a financial adviser (in the days of FIMBRA). What really accelerated the change in my thought processes was attending one of Paul Etheridge's financial master class programmes in 1998. As a result I joined the IFP in order to gain understanding and knowledge. Not long after this I met Paul Armson and the rest, as they say, is history.

FP: How has yourteam/company changed since the launch and what has the journey been like? How many clients do you have and what's the annual turnover?
AP: Chatfield Private Client was set up in July 2010 and when it was in the planning stages we were very clear on how we want the business to look and feel. Financial Planning was to be the heart of the operation and focussed totally on the client without any outside influence.
I will be honest and say the journey has been challenging as Chatfield started with only one client and a limited budget for marketing (or anything else for that matter!). However as each month passed we won more client accounts and built our monthly fee income. By keeping our business overheads low we were able within a short period to cover the office day to day costs and move to a point that we could start taking an income. Currently we have 34 client accounts and have targeted to have no more than 50 clients during this stage of the businesses development.

FP: What type of Financial Planning do you offer to clients and what are your fees/charges?
AP: We provide a full Financial Planning service tailored to suit the individual needs of the client. For example not all of our clients believe in pensions, others have retired and many are aggressively building their businesses. As a result, a one size fits all service would not work.
By being a 'boutique' operation with a select number of clients we are able to be flexible and accommodate what our clients want. For a number of clients this results in Chatfield providing a combined coaching and Financial Planning service, but interestingly we don't manage any of their investments. For preparing financial plans we charge between £750 and £2,500. Ongoing fees start from £150 per month and we cap the maximum monthly fee at £600. Importantly, we don't charge asset-based fees.

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?
AP: That really was the big issue when we started Chatfield as with only one client we knew we had to find new clients quickly. Initially we went to any and all business networking events as well as becoming more proactive within our own personal networks.
What we found was our own networks were by far a better way to meet new clients and early morning business networks were just an expensive way of getting breakfast! I am sure these network meetings work for some people, but not for us. These days Phil [Challinor, director] does his networking on the golf course and I continue to network through my property contacts. By focussing on these sources we have achieved our business goals as well as having fun.

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 to ensure everything runs smoothly?
AP: For cashflow planning we use Truth, although we have tried other alternatives we always come back to Truth. For back office record keeping and providing clients with online access to valuations and so on we use True Potential. In reality there is no perfect back office system, especially for Financial Planners as we feel that system providers are too focussed on products rather than the advice process. Therefore we have created our own Excel spreadsheets of processes and checklists to ensure consistency in the delivery of our service. Fortunately this approach works well as we are not working for hundreds of clients where scalable systems are critical.
Importantly, apart from Truth, our whole system is cloud based with Rackspace providing us with our virtual server. By going this route we have reduced our IT costs dramatically and have yet to suffer any downtime in over two years. It's made a lot of sense.

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FP: As well as your work at Chatfield Private Client, you give sessions on wealth creation and property development. How did you get into this and what do you speak about?
AP: I blame my wife! Property investing is a real passion of my wife's and hence I would get dragged along to various property network meets all over the country. What became clear from talking to people was that many people invest in property because they don't trust or understand equity style investments or how pensions work. It also became evident that not all investors fully evaluate the risks of property investments and underestimate the potential for a positively cashflowing portfolio to become a negative cashflowing liability.
So one thing led to another and I ended up giving talks to groups of property investors about how to create sustainable wealth through property and other investments. The one principle property investors understand best is cashflow, so cashflow planning, the importance of liquidity, the need to diversify is generally well received.

FP: What has been your greatest source of achievement in running your business and what are you proudest of?
AP: The greatest achievement has to be starting a new business with only one client and with my colleague, Philip Challinor, building the income while remaining true to our vision. The result is a financially sound and sustainable business that is fun to work in and on. Of course Chatfield achieving Accredited Financial Planning Firm status was a great achievement as well. Overall we are proud of our clients' feedback, which is the real test of our service and shows through in our Vouchedfor reviews.

FP: Now we are in the post-RDR world, what is the next step for the firm and do you think RDR has changed very much?
AP: RDR made little difference to Chatfield's objectives and operations. We already operated on a post-RDR basis. Also RDR, along with regulation, is all about product sales. Chatfield is about client advice and ongoing service.
What we have seen is a rise in enquiries from clients of other advisers who are being asked to sign one per cent per annum fee agreements. Not surprisingly people are now starting to question the value they are receiving for the fees they are being asked to pay.

FP: Do you think there is a danger the term Financial Planner is becoming overused?
AP: I believe the term 'Financial Planner' should only be allowed to be used by CFP^CM professionals and Accredited Firms. The term has been hijacked by all and sundry and it's not until it's too late that the public know the difference. No one admits to being an IFA anymore and wealth manager is an overused phrase so people are just calling themselves Financial Planners.
Financial Planners need to be CFP^CM professionals and do the six-stage process but how can you prove this; people could just take the exam and then go back to their way before. I don't see what can be done about it unless the IFP brings in a law which would be impressive! Doing CFP certification means you can apply what you know to a real-life situation and if you want to know how to do Financial Planning properly then do the CFP qualification.

FP: What do you like doing in your spare time outside of work?
AP: First off I don't believe in spare time. We help our clients create a lifestyle and a lifestyle is not what you do 'after work'. A lifestyle is how you live your life. As such I enjoy my 'work' just as much as my hobbies so I ensure I make time for both.
Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I will decide not to go to the office, but head off for a country walk. Why? Because I can as I won't be passing this way again, if you know what I mean. My real passion is in restoring old Land Rovers and I can normally be found in the garage.