“Stability, experience and a commitment to professionalism and client focus are key”, ISS said.
Trust
But there is one overriding factor: trust. Schroders Personal Wealth, along with Schroders-owned Benchmark Capital, also made the top 100 this year. For Gillian Hepburn, commercial director at Benchmark Capital, trust is king.
She said: “It’s a key factor for consumers when choosing and assessing the value their financial planner will provide.
“It's crucial to build trust while offering a service that’s clearly defined and stands out from the rest. There’s not one single way to do this, but a combination of being clear and transparent about what type of clients you can help, the benefits, and how much it will cost them is a good place to start.”
According to client testimonial site VouchedFor, trust ranks highly among Schroders' clients. Marie, 43, a new client of SPW, commented: “Everything is on my agenda, my timescales and with a real focus on me and my needs. I trust my adviser completely.”
Hendry echoed this, stating: “The feedback I get from clients is they trust us to act with their best interests at heart, and I don’t think there is a greater compliment we could be paid.”
Trust and that personal, relatable touch are certainly important to clients.
For example, Jan, 66, was full of praise for her financial planner, Flying Colours Advice, which appeared in the Top 100 this year.
Jan told FT Adviser: “They share my values and my beliefs. They know me; they get me. They make things clear”, she said.
Having left full-time work 30 years ago to raise her child, she could have been left out of the money conversation, but from the very beginning of a nearly 15-year client relationship, Flying Colours’ advisers have spoken to her and her husband as equal partners in terms of wealth advice.
By making Jan feel that she matters to them as an individual, the team at the Berkshire-based advice firm have proved their worth to her.
Of course, your firm does not have to be in the Top 100 to be a good financial adviser - but it is important to ask yourself what the Jans of this world would say about your service. Ultimately, the biggest test is the client testimonial.
The full methodology can be found in the FT Adviser special report, here, as well as the full list of the Top 100.
Congratulations to all the 100 who made the list.
