From the sublime to the ridiculous

The fact that this is my first KevBlog entry for a month is the indication of the sheer intensity of work over the last few weeks, as we seek to help Member firms develop their business proposition, during the 'Credit Crunch'.  During this time, Gordon Brown has announced yet another £100Bn of funding (from UK taxpayers) to help out those poor, beleaguered banks, and the FTSE has subsequently plumbed new depths.  One has the distinct sense that our leaders are making it up as they go along, and conspicuously failing to read their history books.

Inevitably, all this 'stuff' has a profound impact on IFAs seeking to (a) do the right thing for their clients, and (b) continue to maintain a viable business proposition.  Now is not a good time to be learning that the FSA appear to wish to embark upon yet another retrospective pensions review.  One almost expects emotions and attitudes to rise and fall on a daily basis, as more bad news comes out - and we went through that stark cycle within one day, talking to two IFA firms in quick succession.

The first bemoaned the current environment for financial advice, saying that clients did not want to buy financial products, that nobody was interested in investing, that business (read compliance) pressures were preventing the firm from being profitable.  This was true apocalyptic stuff.

The second talked of the opportunities that were arising due to precisely the same market conditions:  the restructuring of cash balances; better risk-profiling of existing investments; cashflow planning for individuals and businesses; early-retirement planning due to clients selling their businesses; mandates to manage pension fund monies; rebroking of protection policies.

It occurred to me, firstly, that success or failure in these kinds of markets has more to do with our outlook and business philosophy than anything else.  And secondly, the 'Armageddon IFA' underscored the fact that a business model based solely on transactions is always going to suffer at times like this.

Focus on the opportunity...