Each month Financial Planner asks a leading Financial Planner to share best practice from their business and the story of how they - and their colleagues - built the company. This issue we talk to Kevin Deamer CFP^CM of KMD who recently received the prestigious IFP David Norton Award on behalf of his company.

Financial Planner Magazine: Kevin, KMD recently won the David Norton Award at the IFP Annual Conference. How did it feel to receive the award and what does it mean to you and your company?
KMD: I felt very proud walking up to the stage at the conference because for me I felt the award was in recognition of the journey KMD has been on for the last few years.
Each time we received a message to say we had passed the latest round of assessments our confidence grew. Not in terms of being in with a chance of winning but to have been given the thumbs up that what we were doing at KMD was considered to be of a high standard. That in itself was hugely rewarding and even before we had reached the final shortlist of three the process to that point had been very worthwhile.
We were absolutely chuffed to have won the award. It has been a great boost for all the team back in the office and it has given us a new confidence. This has encouraged us to continue to be innovative and take bolder steps in the growth of our business.

FP: What was the entry process like and what tips would you pass on to other planners perhaps considering entering the award? What are the prizes?
KMD: I think the initial entry took an hour or two to prepare and input on-line. You do need to be motivated to enter as your business thinking and future plans are challenged at this very first stage along with your ability to articulate your current proposition and present historic data.
As we progressed through each stage the demand for information and scrutiny increased. For us this was the first time we had ever received a form of external grading of our business and so we were keen to get a steer on how we compared to other firms. We committed a lot of time preparing our responses and even from the outset the process had a knack of making you challenge your own current thinking on future plans. This was an unexpected but healthy bi-product of the process.
I do not hesitate in recommending firms enter for the David Norton award. It will be a very rewarding and a strategically thought provoking experience.

FP: How did you get into Financial Planning and what attracted you to the profession?
KMD: I began by acquiring 4 small one man band businesses between 2003 and 2006. Unsurprisingly, the 80/20 rule presented itself quite quickly after each acquisition. I found myself spending more time with the bigger clients, the top 20%, whose needs were more complex than the average client.
These clients tended to be either business owners or affluent retiree's. I saw early on the need to provide strategic leadership, which went beyond their financial affairs. I really pushed this part of my role as I could see that higher level decision making moved the needle far more than traditional financial advice would ever do.
I kept my technical competency up to speed, which dovetailed well with working with higher net worth clients. I introduced our unique 4 Drawer Approach to all clients and cash flow forecasting as I couldn't see how the client and KMD could make any decisions without knowing the relationship between income and expenditure.

FP: Can you tell us about KMD? What sort of a company is it and what services does it offer? Does it specialise in particular clients or services?
KMD: Our staff to client ratio is 1 member of staff per 10 clients. Our structure is based on the two owners, Kevin Deamer and Liam Sheils who are the lead advisers. They are both chartered and certified. Liam is IMC qualified and Kevin qualified to the equivalent of IMC. They both work jointly on clients with 80% of all client meetings being attended by both Kevin and Liam. They are ably supported by John Pampling, KMD's Paraplanner who is also Chartered and Certified. All clients deal directly with Liam and John day to day.

All three are supported by Dean Aitchison [IMC] our Investment Manager plus four other members of staff in the Client Support Team.
There is collaboration between Kevin, Liam and John on all client work to the extent that advice related letters are signed off, On behalf of KMD Private Wealth Management rather than the individual adviser as this is the only way to reflect the actual approach to advice.
Our unique 4 Drawer Approach™ is at the heart of what we do. It is the one tool we use to help all clients have a better relationship with their money, regardless of their level of financial knowledge.
We present the content of the client's annual financial review in a personalised folder which they take away with them. This also serves as an aide memoir as it contains a great deal of information about them. This folder is complemented with a Pre Meeting Pack that is sent to the client prior to the meeting. This has helped our clients engage with other, non advising members of staff.
We have reinvested the increase in recurring revenue we have generated in the last year into two new full time members of staff which were difficult short term decisions at the time but will prove good long term decisions.
We have also opened a satellite office in the West End of London which we hope will lead to more referrals from professional introducers and provide a more convenient location for review meetings for our London and Surrey clients. We see all of our clients as important fish in a small pond.
Our clients tend to be retired or business owners.

FP: What have been the key lessons you have learned in running KMD and what tips would you pass on to other planners?
KMD: I forced myself to make a strategic decision in 2007, either to downsize the business or continue with the acquisition model. I knew I wasn't a great manager and the acquisition model was commercially more attractive. However, I didn't want to stop being a practioner and so I downsized from 12 staff and many hundreds of clients to 60 high net worth clients and 4 staff.
So, be clear about what role you want and what you want for your company. If the two are not aligned then you need to address this before making any other decisions.
There is no standing still in business; we must continue to seek improvements in everything we do for our clients. I invented a new word a couple of years ago, tangibilise. I felt we needed to try and tangibilise what we did for clients and how we delivered our service, give them more to touch and feel. We did this with our 4 Drawer Approach, our review folder, our RAG scorecard and our style of Financial Plan.
Fundamentally, you must be technically competent or have close to hand the required competence within your firm. It's very important to have good staff and well qualified staff.
We provide our clients with multi-level relationships, with all of us contributing to the delivery of client service at different stages. The clients know their advice and service is not dependant on one adviser trying to wear all the hats.
FP: How has your team/company changed since the launch of the business and what has the journey been like? How many clients do you have and what's the annual turnover?
KMD: The company was formed in 2008 as part of the downsizing. My business partner Liam joined in 2010 and has been instrumental in ensuring the service we deliver is consistent, disciplined and robust.
In December 2010 we moved from a traditional office in the centre of town to a converted barn outside of town. Since then 90% of clients travel to our office for review and interim meetings. At the same time we also set new minimum revenue criteria for new clients at £5,000 pa and were successful in achieving this minimum for the new clients that have joined us.
We introduced the Stewardship Service in 2012 which is a Family Office proposition, with genuine added value services that make the busy clients life easier and better organised. We took on a full time member of staff to manage this work day to day. This involves book keeping services, preparing personal management accounts, correspondence management, maintaining of a document vault all of which is via a cloud solution.
We have 83 clients and 90% of our turnover is recurring.
FP: What has been your greatest source of achievement so far in running your business and what are you proudest of?
KMD: Without doubt the David Norton award is our greatest achievement so far.
Overall, I am most proud of how Liam and the team go about day to day providing a high standard of service and advice to our clients without dependency on me. I think this is very healthy for our clients.
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?
KMD: Despite running what we think is a tight ship we still feel threatened by regulation,. We are worried that we will be caught out by the regulator's tick box mentality as we don't really fall into the traditional IFA box. We believe the regulator's definition of financial advice being based around a transaction is a long way off the mark and doesn't really focus on where real value is delivered by the financial planning profession.
I also struggle to see how small financial planning firms can expand when Capital Adequacy rules stand in the way of raising debt to fund expansion. We feel we have a scalable model but the Capital Adequacy rules will most likely keep us a small firm.

FP: If you could change anything about the Financial Planning profession what would you choose and what's the future for Financial Planning?
KMD: I would like all Financial Planners to go out and sell 3 Year Financial Plans. Liam and I feel there is a risk of complacency when a client looks at a cash flow forecast and the long term future looks good. We think it is best for clients and planners to focus on the next 12 quarters only, one quarter at a time and only during the second half of the 3rd year do you start building the next 3 year Financial Plan and so on...

FP: What do you like doing in your spare time outside of work?
KMD: Both Liam and I are into Ultra Distance events; well I was until I had a knee OP last summer. Liam runs in 24 hour races in his five fingers. He doesn't wear trainers! I did a Double Ironman last year and would like to go further but currently my body is trying to tell me to hang up my boots. I also coach youth rugby and am a keen skier.

Biography 
Kevin Deamer is both a Certfied Financial Planner^CM Professional and Chartered Financial Planner. Aged 44, he is married with 3 children and lives in Saffron Walden, Essex. He set up KMD Financial Management in 2000 and the company made its first acquisition in 2003.
It downsized to KMD Private Wealth Management in 2008. He has focused heavily on getting the proposition right over the last 5 years and employing good people. He is now ready to focus on growth of client numbers and assets under management.

Key points
1. Check that yours and your firm's objectives are aligned. If not, you have a decision to make
2. Provide the client with really high levels of service, advice and planning that can continue to be delivered with or without you.
3. Remember, a little knowledge is dangerous. Make sure there is a high standard of technical competence available to the client from within the firm.

My Day 
My days vary a great deal from being on an early train to London to all day at my desk typing.
8:30 work through emails
10:00 client meeting
2pm: working on client files
4pm: internal meeting
4:30: supervise KMD's To Do List
5:30 pm: Catch up with colleague Liam
6:30 leave for home