The UK transplants experienced their fair share of culture shock when they relocated to Asia, and this has shaped, and continues to shape, their commitment to treating customers fairly and transparently.
Far from resting on their laurels, Sutton and Pugh are forging ahead in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively, making sure that best practice remains at the heart of the business.
Their approach helped The Fry Group triumph at the International Adviser Best Practice Adviser Awards in 2016 in both Hong Kong and Singapore. They now have their eyes on the prize for 2017.
Learning from experience
Pugh landed his first advisory role with Hargreaves Lansdown in the UK. But in search of a challenge, he decided to move to Asia in 2009.
“I first went to Malaysia but it was horrific in terms of being a culture shock, especially after 10 years in London,” he says.
“The really shocking thing was the difference in the standards of advice given to clients.”
But it was in this jarring experience that Pugh recognised a “huge opportunity to do the right thing”.
And it was this mentality that he took with him when he left Malaysia and moved to Singapore, where he joined The Fry Group and helped transform the business from “sleeping giant” to award-winning firm.
Sutton had a similar experience when he moved to Hong Kong. Having worked for Nationwide in the UK for four years, a job opportunity lured him halfway around the world in 2003.
After working for a couple of entities, he was introduced to The Fry Group by a friend in 2006 and took over the running of the office in 2010.
“To be honest, moving to Hong Kong was a big shock,” says Sutton.
One particularly startling difference was the fees and penalties associated with the products sold to clients. Another challenge Sutton experienced was the way in which the products were sold.
“It’s very different from working in the UK as a financial planner. In Hong Kong, the industry is full of salespeople masquerading as financial planners.”
This was Sutton’s experience when he worked as a financial adviser for a bank in the special administrative region, where he witnessed at first hand the lack of care and attention the clients received.
“What appealed to me about The Fry Group was that it is very much a client-led business that provides holistic financial planning,” he says.
A different model
The Fry Group has always charged annual advisory fees, says Sutton. “We are paid for a service, not selling products.”
According to Pugh, not much has changed in Singapore since he arrived seven years ago. “Usually what happens is there is a change in regulation, which means there has to be a change in the standards and the way advice is given.
“We’ve seen some regulatory change but it hasn’t really filtered down in terms of what is happening on the ground. It has got a bit better but standards certainly could be improved hugely from where they are.”
