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Mail Madness! Simple customer service that’s easy to forget

April 15, 2013

I can’t remember the exact date that I got my very first e-mail, envelope but since that fateful moment I’ve been under its spell.

I will not be alone in thinking that e-mail has controlled me and been the thief of time over the last 15+ years or so.

I also have tried on many occasions to change my relationship with the electronic menace and to better disciplined (like my colleagues!) and have better “systems” for dealing with my inbox.

Whether its just a symptom of my personality or just plain stupidity, nothing has really worked until now…

I have now discovered a fantastic system that sorts out my emails into the really important ones and the ones that can be read later and puts them into my inbox or not.

It does a whole lot more besides and I’m not doing it justice here but that is only a small part of the point I wanted to make.

The reason I so happy with my new email system is not just that it works and does what I need it to do, but it was the experience from a customer perspective that rang my bell most.

The trialing and buying of the system was all done remotely and was just fine, but there is always that slight feeling of “what have I done” after handing over money when I’d had no contact with anyone at the company.

One personal email thanking me for purchasing from the system’s owner and creator (correctly allowed into my inbox!), and I felt vindicated, valued and happy.

I did actually email him back to say how I felt and the real point is saying thanks to your clients and customers is key to ensuring that they or their business don’t feel taken for granted.

It’s such a simple thing to do that we simply don’t do enough.

Thanks to Stuart for reminding me to thank my customers better and more often.

Back to my emails I think…

Roland Oliver

PS – please get in touch if you want to know more about the system.

The Price of Advice

April 12, 2013

In the build-up to – and in the aftermath of – the Retail Distribution Review advisers up and down the country have been scrambling to find a charging mechanism that works.

For many the end of commission has been a death knell; bond pushers that used to take up to 7% initial and advisers that offer no ongoing service have found themselves suddenly having to become transparent and losing client interest as a result.

There is no doubting that this is a very positive thing; for a long time the smoke and mirrors in financial services have served to cloud the clear picture to consumers.

In terms of pure economics, the worst thing about lack of transparency in a marketplace is the fact that the market cannot operate efficiently and competition is hindered. And the moment competition is hindered consumers get a bad deal.

For a charging structure to ‘work’ it must be fair, not daunting, actually cover the work being done and cover costs the clients don’t see – regulation, compliance, software etc.

The charging structure must also be manageable. We have seen difficulties with some investment platforms as to the logistics of how the product fees to the adviser are actually generated. Some say nothing has changed, some require a wet signature on a fee statement for each and every piece of business, and some require us to manage a time consuming and complex method of moving money around within a client’s investment to cover charges.

As a business trying to do the best by our clients and get paid properly for the valuable work we do, without any hidden agenda, it can be challenging. Edinburgh_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_28

We have discussed every way we can structure our fees so that they are attractive, fair, workable, easy to implement and simple.

Each time we reach this undeniable fact: a simple initial and ongoing fee, not linked to the value of the assets managed and paid externally from any platform, is the only way forward.

It will take time to implement fully, but we shall be extracting ourselves from any overly complicated or confusing charging and shouting the virtues of this from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle.

The Greatest

March 27, 2013

The use of positive affirmations is often used by personal and business coaches as a way of creating the right mindset in order to help you achieve goals and targets that can appear beyond you.

Tony Robbins has long used the fire walk as away of demonstrating how your mind can overcome obstacles (in this case 1000 degree burning coals) to achieve great physical feats. Muhammad Ali

Famously Muhammed Ali declared “I am the greatest” and not many argued that he wasn’t.

My personal favourite was attributed to Henry Ford who said “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right”

All very touchy feely and New Age, Roland, but what’s the point?

Following on from my “No Hidden Agenda” blog, there were a number of positive comments. Many agreed this when dealing with large financial institutions and how that it is incredibly difficult for these types of business to win back customer trust.

There might be real determined and skilled management at the heart of these businesses but if the people really don’t believe, then you’re fighting a losing battle.

My local branch of Lloyds TSB were throwing out so may negative and unhappy vibes recently at the teller level, I nearly got the rope out…

Naturally it leads to a poor customer experience and unsatisfactory feeling all round.

I truly pity the poor front-line staff at any Cypriot bank when it opens its doors again on Thursday.

I’m very lucky that the people that work with me have a serious desire to provide the best service they can to clients and go the extra mile.

We like to believe that this approach is both nature and nurture but you have to continue to want to do better and create the right business attitude and environment to do this.

Providing a better service, more enjoyable customer experience is what we are all about.

I personally don’t think banks in the UK will ever regain their status in the eyes of the public and the new paradigm is businesses that do care about their clients and the service they offer.

I also think as a nation we need to vote with our feet more than ever and if you have any doubts about how you will looked after and treated by any business, then look for somebody else.

Our Second Opinion Service is designed to provide prospective clients with a view on the current service they receive for their adviser and suggest one of three possible outcomes;

continue with your existing arrangements as it works.

here is the name of an adviser that might be better suited to your requirements.

or you might want to considering working with us.

Either way, you’ve nothing to lose and we might just be your greatest decision.

Roland Oliver

No Hidden Agenda

March 18, 2013

As previously mentioned by Claire in her blog, we recently ran a seminar on our approach to customer-led Wealth Management.

Of the number of noticeable comments made was that the attendees felt that the was “no hidden agenda” in our presentation and that people could see that we clearly had an interest in providing a service that had them at the centre of it.

As big business and politicians continue to try and win back our trust, the phrase “no hidden agenda” keeps coming back to me.

We are all incredibly sensitive to this feeling. Dealing with anybody providing a service of any type today must make sure that our needs are being met in a way that suits us first and not the provider.

Whether its a local restaurant, or high street bank, hiding you must be clear about what you are providing to your customer as nothing will sour the relationship quicker than the discovery of a hidden agenda.

The gaining of a client’s trust is a privilege that is repaid in long term customer loyalty. In the post RDR world when fees are going to be scrutinised, ensuring you don’t lose it through any hidden agenda is crucial.

In a day when the the Cypriots are perhaps finding out about another hidden agenda, its clear to me that we need to continue to be clear, open and honest about what we do for our clients.

In case you were counting, I mentioned the phrase “no hidden agenda” 5 (6, if you include this one) in this short blog.

Nothing to hide here.

Roland Oliver – March 2013

Wealth Management Seminars

March 15, 2013

Anyone who follows us with regularity will know that we are passionate about what we do here at Oliver Asset Management and committed to providing a superior wealth management experience.

We decided early on this year that it was crucial for the business to spread the word about what we do and help educate people in how they can manage their finances better with our help.

If you follow us online or receive our newsletter you will have known we had our first seminar last night at the prestigious Greywalls hotel.

I am delighted to note that the inaugural event was a great success and provided us with the opportunity to meet some new and very interesting people.

I am also pleased to note this will be the first of many seminars for 2013 and if you missed last night and would be interested in hearing more about our next seminar do get in touch or keep checking in on the website.

We’ll be confirming the next date and location soon!

Dr Claire Armstrong

2012: The year it didn’t happen

January 9, 2013

Judging by the headlines in the financial press, investors spent much of the past year anxiously awaiting one calamity after another that failed to occur. The plunge off the so-called fiscal cliff was averted. The euro zone did not fall apart. China’s economy and stock market did not crash. The bond market did not implode. The re-election of President Barack Obama did not derail the US market. Doomsday did not arrive on December 21, as some interpreters of the Mayan calendar suggested it would.

Instead, the belief that owning a share of the world’s businesses is a sensible idea appears to be alive and well, despite suggestions from some observers that the “cult of equity” is dead. For the year, total return was 16.42% for the MSCI World Index in local currency, and 16.00% for the S&P 500 Index. Among forty-five global stock markets tracked by MSCI, only three posted negative results in local currency (Chile, Israel, and Morocco), and twelve markets had total returns in excess of 25%, with Turkey leading the pack at 55.8%. Although much of the financial news over the past year highlighted Europe’s fragile financial health, most of the region’s equity markets outperformed the US, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. For US dollar-based investors, results were further enhanced by a modest decline in the US dollar relative to the euro, the Danish krone, and the Swiss franc.

As is so often the case, earning the rewards offered by the world’s capital markets may have required a combination of discipline and detachment that eluded many investors.

We always advocate this kind of investment approach and encourage clients to rise above the noise of day to day fluctuations and ignore the temptations of market timing and speculation.

2012 Index and Country Performance

Total return (gross dividends) for 12-month period ending December 31, 2012.

MSCI Index	Local Currency	USD
WORLD	16.42%	16.54%
WORLD ex USA	16.73	17.02
EAFE	17.89	17.90
EMERGING MARKETS	17.39	18.63
EMERGING + FRONTIER MARKETS	17.15	18.35
TURKEY	55.80	64.87
EGYPT	54.66	47.10
BELGIUM	38.56	40.72
PHILIPPINES	38.16	47.56
THAILAND	30.84	34.94
DENMARK	30.37	31.89
GERMANY	30.07	32.10
INDIA	29.96	25.97
HONG KONG	28.01	28.27
POLAND	27.05	40.97
AUSTRIA	25.07	27.02
SOUTH AFRICA	25.07	19.01
COLOMBIA	23.87	35.89
SINGAPORE	23.54	30.99
NEW ZEALAND	23.28	30.38
CHINA	22.85	23.10
JAPAN	21.78	8.36
FRANCE	20.93	22.82
AUSTRALIA	20.77	22.30
MEXICO	20.09	29.06
PERU	19.73	20.24
THE NETHERLANDS	19.35	21.21
SWITZERLAND	18.91	21.47
SWEDEN	17.11	23.41
USA	16.13	16.13
FINLAND	14.71	16.50
KOREA	12.89	21.48
TAIWAN	12.84	17.66
HUNGARY	11.86	22.79
INDONESIA	11.83	5.22
ITALY	11.72	13.46
NORWAY	11.63	19.70
UNITED KINGDOM	10.24	15.30
MALAYSIA	10.23	14.27
BRAZIL	10.14	0.34
RUSSIA	9.73	14.39
CANADA	7.46	9.90
IRELAND	4.66	6.29
GREECE	4.11	5.73
PORTUGAL	3.36	4.98
SPAIN	3.12	4.73
CZECH REPUBLIC	0.26	3.48
CHILE	–0.14	8.34
ISRAEL	–6.24	–3.91
MOROCCO	–12.63	–11.48

To speak to us about how our investment philosophy could help you contact us on 0131 273 5202 or use the form on the website.

Malcolm Stewart

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are not available for direct investment; therefore, their performance does not reflect the expenses associated with the management of an actual portfolio.

Do I need a Business Will?

November 30, 2011

We’ve talked in recent weeks about the importance of considering business protection, identifying a need and considering your key man requirements.

We have also touched on Business Succession and it is with that in mind that we would ask – Do you have a business will? You would be surprised when this is asked how often the answer can be – “I don’t need it!”

As part of our Wealth Management Plan offering for clients we ask if they have considered putting a will in place and if they have already written one, when it was last reviewed.

It would be remiss of us not to cover this and in a similar vein it is crucial to any business succession planning that a business will is in place to ensure shares in a business go to the right people on the demise of Directors or key shareholders.

We feel it is vital that a business Director or key shareholder considers if they died or became critically ill, where their business interest would go?

In the first instance a company’s Articles of Association will deal with the issue of transferring and selling shares.

A company’s Articles of Association form the basis of the company’s constitution. They’re commonly referred to as the internal rule book of the company. The articles are chosen by its members and are legally binding on the company and its members. A company’s articles are subject to the Companies Act 2006 and can’t contain rules that would cause the company or its directors to operate outside the law.

When a shareholder dies, their shares will form part of their estate and ultimately pass to their heirs under the terms of their will or the laws of intestacy where they haven’t made one.

You wouldn’t want to die and leave your personal wealth subject to the rules of intestacy so why take the risk with your business assets?

It is vital that firms understand and know what their Articles of Association say about how shares transfer. All those likely to be affected by the death or critical illness of a shareholder need to know if the Articles enable the shareholders to do what they want with their shares should the worst happen.

If the articles are found to be lacking in terms of the preferred instructions then they can be amended by a Solicitor and a Business will can also be completed to ensure that everyone involved has the peace of mind that the value they have within a business will be protected and pass to their chosen heirs when the time comes.

If you are unsure about what you already have in place and want to revisit your existing arrangements we are happy to offer a second opinion service to look at your Articles and business will.

If you still need to put a business will in place then don’t hesitate any longer, let us look at your business and what is required and make the step to having everything reviewed and protected for the New Year.

Check in again next week where we will discuss in more detail how a business will can work in conjunction with a cross or double option agreement to ensure capital is paid back into the business if required or to the heirs of a deceased shareholder.

Claire Armstrong

Business Protection – Can you identify a need and are you covered?

September 16, 2011

As of April this year there were over 2.5 million registered companies in the UK* and a staggering Business Protection gap defined by Legal & General as £1.1 trillion **.

44% of business owners said their businesses would fold within 12 months of the death or critical illness of a key person and only 4% of business owners have shareholder protection in place**.

If you are involved in a business small or large you will know that an integral part of the running costs includes insurance in relation to buildings and contents, key equipment, stock, vehicles and Public liability to name but a few.

The cost of each is taken as a given and paid regularly to ensure a business is functioning within the right legal requirements and to provide backup should the “worst” happen.

There is no doubt that equipment, vehicles, location etc provide the means by which a business can offer goods or services but what is the real backbone of any firm are the people who make it successful and profitable.

A successful business is one which not only makes the most of its key individuals but nurtures their expertise and reaps the reward in terms of the relationships they develop with suppliers and customers.

Have you considered the cost to your business if you were to lose one of your key individuals through ill health or death? If you can think of someone within the business whose temporary or permanent loss would affect the company’s ability to maintain turnover and generate profit then they are a key individual and they should be covered.

If you lose a Key Person from the firm you need to be able to cover the cost of recruitment and replacement for that individual as well as making up for loss of profit directly attributable to them. You may also require reserves in place to ensure any business liabilities such as overdrafts, business loans or even Directors Loan Accounts can be repaid if they are recalled.

Business Succession Planning

As well as Key Person cover there is a massive need for Shareholder Protection within firms, or more specifically Business Succession Planning.

Business Succession Planning not only protects the company but also the employees, their families and the shareholders.

Some of the most frequently asked questions for shareholders within a company when considering the death or critical illness of a co owner include:

What happens to their shares when they suffer a serious illness or die?
How would the control of the business change?
What would be the cost of buying out the co-owner’s share?
Where does the cash come from to purchase shares from the co-owners family if they do not wish to retain an interest in the business?
What agreements can be put in place to ensure remaining shareholders and surviving families can exercise their preferred options when it comes to retaining or selling shares?

We can help answer these questions for you.

The partner, shareholders and key people in any business are its driving force, they are a valuable asset and you need to have plans in place that ensure if they suffer a critical illness or die your business can still continue and remain profitable despite the loss.

The death or critical illness of a key person in your company could threaten everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve, is it really worth the risk not to have the correct cover in place?

If you’re not sure where to begin then we can help. We can take you through a step by step guide which helps you consider who needs to be covered and for how much. In conjunction with this we will make you aware of the tax treatment of your premiums and benefits paid on any plans and talk you through the appropriate agreements which should be in place to ensure benefits are paid correctly.

It may seem like a minefield of information but we can pinpoint the need within your company and provide you with a complete report on what would be required and the monthly cost, incidentally it isn’t as much as you would think.

Whether you are a Sole Trader, Co-Owner, Partner or perhaps even a Key Person in a firm we will be able to talk you through the options and help you through the process from beginning to end. We also offer a regular review service and would revisit all your planning on an annual basis to ensure your protection planning is keeping pace with any business changes.

So don’t put off any longer, if you want to speak with us further about how to protect your Business then we’d love to hear from you.

Claire Armstrong

*www.companieshouse.gov.uk (as at 03/04/2011)

**www.legalandgeneralcomms.co.uk/businessprotection

The need for business succession planning

July 21, 2011

During a meeting with a business owner this week, I had the tables turned on me when she started a discussion about the relative merits of business protection plans.

Apart from fact that this is something I should have been doing, it did highlight that this business owner was thinking about the risks (dare I say it again, because of the current economic climate) to her personal circumstances if something was to happen to her fellow Director.

She did also allow me to regain control of the discussion as the understanding of the difference between Key Person Cover and Director’s Share Protection (and how they can overlap) wasn’t fully clear to her.

When you compare the statistics of the number of US businesses that have protection in place for their Key People and Directors to the UK, it shows the enormous financial risk many British business owners are prepared to take by not putting the proper arrangements in place.

A few throw away lines to highlight some of the issues:

“would you be happy if your biggest rival in business was able to buy into your firm because you hadn’t made sure your fellow Director’s shares were subject to the proper agreements in the event of death?”

“…if the most important fee earner in your business was diagnosed with cancer, would your bank be sympathetic to your request for increased overdraft facilities?”

There are a number of questions that owners of businesses should be asking themselves to highlight the potential need for some type of Business Protection cover.

I have set out a list of the major ones I think you must consider now in Key Questions for Business Protection.

If you need to discuss the implications of your answers to these questions and need professional guidance as to how to set the correct type of Business Protection arrangements for your firm up, please give me a call.

Roland Oliver

National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) – implications for small businesses

June 24, 2011

Talking with an accountant this week reminded me that the proposed NEST pension reforms had not really filtered through or even hit the radar in some cases yet.
Small businesses owners can be forgiven in the current economic climate for having other things on their collective minds, but a start to understanding what NEST might mean for their businesses should be addressed sooner rather than later.
I’ve laid out the absolute basic details of the NEST proposals and would encourage you or your employer to give me a call to discuss the implications for your own businesses.
• The UK Government has agreed that all UK businesses, regardless of size, should offer a company pension scheme or enrol their staff into the new National Employment Savings Trust (NEST).

• From October 2012 UK employers will be required to automatically enrol employees into a ‘qualifying workplace pension scheme’. This auto enrolment could be to your existing company pension scheme if it meets certain criteria. If it does not meet the criteria or if you do not operate a company pension scheme then your employees will be enrolled into NEST, a low-cost pension scheme being introduced by the Government.

• Staff who are aged 22 or more and currently earning more than £7,475 a year will qualify.

• NEST is due to start in October 2012, with the largest employers joining first and the smallest joining by September 2016. Contributions from staff and employers will also be phased in. Until October 2016, the minimum overall level of contributions will be just 2%, with 1% coming from employers. From October 2016 to September 2017, total contributions will be 5% with 2% coming from employers. And from October 2017, the total minimum contribution level will be 8%, with employers contributing at least 3%.

• As well as the phasing in of compulsory contributions, legislation designed to minimise the burden on employers includes simple qualifying criteria for existing pension schemes and a simple compliance regime for new employer duties such as automatic enrolment.

Please find a more detailed factsheet here.

Roland Oliver