The Chase de Vere (Chase) story began in 1969, which makes it one of the most experienced financial advisers in the UK.
The group has passed through a few hands since then, including AWD in 2005, and it currently sits in the international division of Swiss Life, which completed the purchase of Chase in 2010.
Having sold off its non-core businesses its focus is now on its corporate and private clients with the vast majority of those paying fees. Papadopoulos explains the company’s philosophy has “always been independent and acting as an agent of the client. We offer holistic, independent financial advice, it is in our DNA”.
Most areas of financial planning are covered, from investments and wealth preservation to insurance protection and retirement.
He says the key to the company’s success was the provision of bespoke solutions to the two core segments of the company; mass affluent and high net worth, with their biggest client worth more than £100m.
The company also has a global vision, as part of the parent company’s international division along with companies from countries around the world including Austria, Poland, Luxembourg, UK and Singapore.
“We share a lot of our knowledge with these countries and we are the blueprint for the European model. The other European units look to Chase de Vere and see it as somewhat ahead of the curve.”
Times are a-changin’
The changing face of the UK advice market is something Chase wants to take advantage of.
“The Retail Distribution Review in the UK provided companies with opportunities especially if they adapted quickly and we went RDR compliant in 2011. Companies in Europe look at us and say; why do you like RDR so much? Because it was already part of our business plan and we moved it forward quickly.
“The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive review (MiFID II) means Europeans will have to change some of their businesses, which is why they look at us. I see MiFID II coming in in various stages over the next five years,” says Papadopoulos.
Chase puts great importance on the way it communicates with its clients. “They are seen a minimum of yearly, preferably every half year or quarterly. Out of all the Swiss Life business we have the highest net promoter score. We focus on the clients and the services they need.
“The financial services market is becoming more complex, so we have become more professional, seeing new opportunities for clients. Look, the [UK] Budget shocked us, then 24 hours later we said this [pension reform] makes sense.”
Papadopoulos is looking forward to its implementation, which is expected in April 2015. “Everyone says it will happen, but some points will need to be clarified. We will be looking at tax and give that more focus from next year.”
Working as a collective
The company’s advisers are directly employed by Chase and Papadopoulos thinks this is why the company does well.
“It is difficult to direct self-employed advisers – we work as a collective. We employ 437 people in the UK and we talk to them on a regular basis. It took us five years to get the culture right. All our advisers sing from the same advice process and take account of the key stages of planning.
“When Chase goes into a corporate client with offices in, say, London and Glasgow the advice will be the same in both venues,” said Papadopoulos, who joined Chase eight years ago from Scottish Widows. He is proud of the group’s relationship with its clients and is quick to point out that they are not just customers, “we become their friends and even get invited to some of their weddings”.
What of the future? He sees two opportunities, one for the client and one for the business. For the client there are pensions.
“We are steering them towards advice and companies need more advice now with auto-enrolment. We are increasingly talking to employers and providers who will see a huge spike in employment pensions. We are seeing some apathy in that space with some delaying the staging process. There is some ignorance as well. The employers should ask: How can I help my employees? They should encourage people to save.”
The big picture
Why should people save when interest rates are so low? Papadopoulos leaps on this with gusto: “Understand the time horizons.
Interest rates may stay low for at least three years. We say to the client have six to nine months expenditure in cash. But we look at a client’s needs over three, five and 10 years ahead. We asset allocate and diversify.
“The company’s approach is very much to sit down with the client and discuss all the options. So the question about saving simply gets subsumed into a much bigger picture that renders it almost irrelevant.”
On the second strand of opportunity; those for the business, Papadopoulos returns to RDR and the effect it is having on advice. “Banks are pulling out of the mass market and dealing with high and ultra high-net-worths.
This means there are clients available just below this level. This is where the independent adviser is needed and we are one of the last national independent advise companies.”
The other business opportunity that Papadopoulos sees is with affinity partners, such as accountants, who want advice from “a national, stable, big model company that is independent and offers a holistic approach”.
Buddy system
“People are coming to us now looking for partners because we adapted to RDR early,” said Papadopoulos.
“It is all about trust and also these companies want consistency. Some are big name firms looking for integrity, partnership and confidence. They like the fact that we are a service company that offers face-to-face advice.”
Papadopoulos returns to pensions and auto-enrolment. He is finding that accountancy firms want Chase to help with their own clients, for example, with the issue of auto-enrolment.
He says another area that is going to offer opportunities is long-term care. “This will be a significant market over the next 10-15 years and it will be very big for us. People will need the right guidance and we will put more emphasis on what we do for the client and not what we do for the producer. Always do well by the client.”
Papadopoulos slips into an analogy from the automobile industry about how BMW owners will take their cars to a registered garage they trust for repair and servicing and will not worry about the cost because they know they will get good service.
This is very similar to the Chase de Vere philosophy about how to build the relationship between client and adviser.
