Breaking the mould: How one adviser profitably serves younger clients

After cutting his teeth at several firms, including Close Brothers Asset Management, the Warrington-based Chartered financial planner branched out on his own to launch Work to Live Financial Planning in August.

The one-man operation targets clients in the 27 to 47 age bracket, particularly the self-employed.

"I work with high level corporates who are looking to leave the corporate world, small and medium business owners in the growth stage and freelancers and contractors," he says. "I think people reach a certain point in their lives and think ‘what's next', so it's helping them reach that point."

While most advisers work with clients in or near retirement, Richards sees value in those who have fewer assets but greater capacity to work.

"I saw a chance to differentiate myself from other advisers and I believe there is massive value in financial planning for clients of my age with homes, children, businesses," he explains. "Traditionally, people would want to work as hard as they can and retire at 65, but I think now people are going to work for longer, work less, change careers.

"It can be profitable, it's just that they're going to pay you from a different area. If someone's household income is £100,000, 1-2% of their income can pay for their financial planning. I think it can be profitable, but it might not be as juicy as clients with a lot of assets."

Richards, who has a young family and bases his business at home, said cost pressures resulting from Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) regulations saw a movement to fixed fees, aligning with his own model.

"I don't see it [profitability] as a massive issue. People are paying out of their savings rather than having it hidden in a pension. It's definitely a challenge being more upfront but it's about seeing the value is there."

Subscription model

Richards also points to low overheads as a reason for success, a model achieved by working from home or hot-desking, outsourcing paraplanning, administration and marketing work. All of the above has helped him make the most of his income.

While he only has a "handful" of clients at the moment, he plans to grow his business through providing subscription-based advice "for people who are not at the point where they need full on financial planning but could benefit from education".

He continues: "Financial education is not taught in schools and people are so worried about doing things wrong they don't realise they can set up a pension themselves. You can't go massively wrong if you start from scratch, but people are so confused by the jargon they don't get started."

While cashflow modelling is part of his business, Richards admits he does not work exclusively in this area as some advisers in the millennial space do.

"I'm not trying to project how long their money is going to last," he reasons. "But what comes out of it is ISAs, pension and insurance."

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• Topics
• Your profession
• adviser
• millenials
• Profitability
• Ian Richards
• Close Brothers Asset Management
• Work to Live