The continued growth in customer numbers at CDC Wealth Managment has seen the company, based at the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC), enhance its advisory team with the addition of Terry Calland from Lloyds Private Banking.
‘CDC is committed to providing industry-leading financial solutions and the addition of Terry to the team is integral to this’ says Dr Andrew Mann, Director of Strategy at CDC. He explains ‘our aim of providing top-quality solutions is supported by giving our customers impeccable service. We do this by limiting the number of customers each adviser looks after and this threshold is one of the lowest in the industry meaning our customers enjoy more one to one attention’.
This is in stark contrast to the malaise recently witnessed within the financial advice arena. Andrew continues ‘within the recent announcements of extensive job-cuts at the likes of Lloyds, Barclays and Nationwide, one issue that has been largely overlooked is that such restructures tend to go hand-in-hand with a watering-down or outright removal of help for those seeking financial advice’. Indeed many people who have used banks for financial planning in the past are now more likely to be served through a telephone based solution or not at all.
This creates something of a paradox because Dr Mann points to evidence which suggests customers appointing a professional for financial advice, typically do so because having a named and easily accessible Relationship Manager is high on their list of priorities. The bottom line is that whilst many financial firms are undoubtedly competent to provide advice, this does not always come with a named adviser customers can actually meet to discuss their financial planning needs.
With over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry Terry was not short of offers when it came to leaving Lloyds, but he explains why he chose CDC. ‘Whilst Lloyds has a long heritage of providing financial advice, the sheer scale of the organisation became a frustration and meant responding to the fast-paced nature of change within the sector became difficult. Moreover the number of customers I had to look after meant I could see each one less often. CDC on the other hand has a unique structure which will enable me to offer a service my customers will be delighted with at a price which is extremely competitive’.
