Increasingly at Cater Allen, we are finding that IFAs are turning to us in their need to invest clients' cash funds across multiple banks, in order to spread the saving risk.
In the current financial climate, with the dichotomy between HNW individuals favouring holding cash over market investments, and falling confidence in banking security, the professional advisors’ job is not an easy one.
In January this year, Santander formed a new Private Banking arm, and Cater Allen is one of the three businesses comprising the UK division. The core strategy of the UK region is to focus on providing even more comprehensive support to our key distribution channel of intermediaries, and growing our introducer proposition. With 64% of UK HNWs now turning to professional advisors as their primary source of investment advice, our current campaign aims to demonstrate our support for the IFA market and address issues raised regarding security and return on investment, in order to provide the most beneficial, long term solution for your clients. Not to mention ease your workload.
Our view is that HNW banking is about building stable, long term relationships between bank, introducer and client. It is not the job of an IFA to be constantly chasing interest rates and security ratings.
One of reasons IFAs do business with us is that their clients’ deposits are 100% guaranteed by Abbey National PLC. The recent renewal of this guarantee, plus the strength of parent company Santander, the largest bank in the euro zone, and one of the 10 largest in the World, provides security for all of your clients’ cash funds. By offering this level of confidence, to you and your clients, we hope to help you manage their expectations regarding the security of deposits, without the need for you to resort to multiple accounts, across numerous banks.
We understand that HNW clients are concerned with making a return on their investments, but they are usually somewhat more savvy than the mass market, rate chasers. Their financial priorities tend to be more long term, and evolve around future comforts and peace of mind. While some banks today are attracting their share of cash using introductory bonuses and loss-leading, short-term interest rate offers, which are great if you have the time to rate chase; at Cater Allen we believe that both you and your HNW clients are far better served by consistent, transparent interest rates that are tiered to reward higher balances. By working hand in hand with Cater Allen, you can also receive trail commission on all accounts you introduce, with the flexibility to rebate this back to your fee-based clients, increasing the return they make on their savings, on an on-going basis, and helping you build better relationships.
Maintaining long term relationships is pivotal to the way we work at Cater Allen. Firstly, the relationship we build with each of our introducers. Understanding your business and assisting you in getting accounts opened quickly and efficiently is key, as well as providing you with a dedicated relationship manager, and a UK-based support team to look after the day-to-day running of your clients’ accounts. You can also have instant access to copy information for all business linked to you.
Secondly, the relationship that we have with your client. You work hard to build trust between yourself and your clients, and we know it is of utmost importance that you remain in control of that relationship. We believe that it should be left to you, the trusted IFA, to provide your valued, HNW clients with impartial advice. We cement this commitment with our no-cross sell guarantee. We will never market our products to your clients without your permission. You can also feel comfortable that when your client picks up the phone to contact us, he/she will reach a multi-skilled, UK-based member of our renowned Client Team, dedicated to the day-to-day running of Accounts, who will not sell to clients, but simply aim to address all queries, personally and in a single call.
The number of HNW individuals in the UK has grown from over 400,000 in 2002, to over 1,000,000 in 2008, and these clients have high expectations when it comes to service. We believe that with service as our core proposition, we’re ideally positioned to help you grow your business in this affluent area.
So why have we not been shouting about this sooner? To be honest, in our 200 years of operation, our focus has never been on hard-hitting, mass marketing. In fact, today, our second largest source of new business, after introduced business, is friends and family of existing customers, via word of mouth. The introducers and customers we work with are happy, secure, and feel at home.
This is our invitation to you; You’re welcome to come and make yourself comfortable too.
For more information visit www.caterallen.co.uk/laymyhat
By Richard Dunn, Managing Director Cater Allen Private Bank
