Financial Management is a team of planners based in Buckinghamshire.
Matthew Wright is a Financial Planner with the practice, who has over 25 years’ experience.
How long have you been using IBOSS?
“My association with IBOSS dates back to 2010 when I worked for a business which used them. We’ve been working with IBOSS at Financial Management since 2013.”
What services do you use?
“We’ve used their Portfolio Management Service for many years and started to use the OEIC in early 2017.
“We were pleased when IBOSS launched the OEIC. It brings a degree of simplicity; for example, clients don’t need to accept fund changes on a quarterly basis. It also allows IBOSS to be nimbler with their decision making and there’s Capital Gains Tax (CGT) advantages too.”
Are you using IBOSS as part of a formalised Centralised Investment Proposition?
“Yes.”
How did you first find out about IBOSS?
“Historically we ran our own portfolios. However, we rather became victims of our own success. The work involved with reviewing funds, communicating with clients and completing fund switches soon became extremely time consuming.
“We needed to consider alternative options, but our research didn’t immediately uncover an investment house who would do what we wanted. We were then introduced to IBOSS by our Old Mutual consultant. That led to a call with Kevin Morrison and Chris Metcalfe, and we haven’t looked back since.
“IBOSS were completely different to anything else we had seen and were exactly what we were looking for:
“Firstly, they are a smaller business and are consequently nimbler without being overly process driven.
“Secondly, they helped with our client communications, which was gratefully received.
“Finally, they took away the pain of rebalancing, fund switches and the requisite due diligence which we were previously completing once a quarter.
“In short, the relationship with IBOSS means we now work with a specialist investment manager, a decision which has given us more time to spend doing what we are good at, financial planning.”
What were the important factors when you were looking for an investment partner?
“Their commitment to our business was crucial, as was listening to what we had to say.
“The regular touch points from their team are important too. They aren’t ‘in your face’ and certainly not ‘salesy’. However, the frequent support and guidance, as well as the face to face visits once a quarter from Chris and Kevin are hugely important to us and were a big part of the reason we chose to work with IBOSS.
“We are extremely happy with the performance of both the OEIC and the Portfolio Management Service. This has been achieved with a level of volatility which is below that of their peers.”
How have your clients reacted?
“Our clients are aware of the role IBOSS play in our business, we don’t want to hide this or take credit ourselves. Our clients trust what we are doing, and what we recommend, and are therefore happy to proceed with the IBOSS recommendations. The quarterly reviews are greatly received and it has had the effect of raising our profile further with clients and engaged them more in their pension and investment planning.”
Is it possible to identify the single largest benefit to you or your clients in your relationship with IBOSS?
“We have an investment solution which we entirely trust IBOSS to run it for us.
“For the right client, with appropriate requirements, there isn’t a second thought about using IBOSS. That means we can focus on what we do really well and where we add real value.
“There are other key benefits too, including:
- The regular client reviews
- Fund managers who are invested in their business
- Their size; they are small enough to care about performance”
In three words, how would you describe IBOSS?
- Professional
- Invaluable
- Unique
