Progress report: why Taylor made the switch

It’s not always easy for financial advisers to find a dealer who understands their special needs. But it’s not impossible. Chris Taylor reveals how he found his perfect match.

Chris Taylor searched long and hard for a happy home for his Sydney-based financial planning business. Earlier this month he finally found it – in Tasmania. Taylor will not have to decamp from his North Shore office but he now operates as the first NSW representative of the Hobart-based dealer group Shadforths. Consequently the business name has switched from Taylor Bowring to Taylor Shadforths. In November last year Shadforths, which already had several offices in Tasmania and a strong presence in Melbourne, announced ambitious national expansion plans. At the time Nick Bedding, Shadforths CEO described the firm as “one of a very limited number of financial advisory firms in Australia that is not owned by a bank, fund manager, life insurance company or product provider – and also one of only a couple of firms to successfully integrate financial planning and stockbroking capabilities”. Exactly the qualities Taylor found appealing after facing difficulties through his previous dealer satisfying clients’ expectations on reporting. While he had held his own licence from 1995 until 2005, Taylor was not interested in taking on the full burden of FSR compliance himself again. “Since March 2004 [when Financial Services Reform became a reality] it became obvious we would need some back-office support and I looked at a number of options,” Taylor says. “The first one didn’t work out and for six months I’ve looked at a number of others – including some of the major ones who wanted to take an equity stake in the business.” But it was Shadforths which won the day. The Tasmanian firm, he says, has “raised the bar” with its reporting systems and ability to deal with a vast range of investments. Many of Taylor’s clients have “non-vanilla investments” and sophisticated structures which fall outside the realm of most platforms. “Most of my clients have more than one entity – they might have a family trust and an SMSF, for example,” he says. “And they also have investments ‘outside the box’. I need to give consolidated reporting in the clients’ hands which show the total portfolio and a comprehensive asset mix.” Shadforths, which has its roots as a stockbroking firm, was able to tick all the boxes for Taylor. For instance, he says, because of Shadforths’ pedigree, the Accuity platform, a badged BT wrap, has the additional layer where it provides clients with corporate governance advice & buy/sell recommendations on direct equities. “No other master trust does that – it’s a massive improvement.” At the most sophisticated end Shadforths’ Personal Wealth Management (PWM) service is just “incredible”, he says. As well as daily market updates before the ASX opens, PWM clients are also provided with quarterly reports and corporate updates, which might include advice on whether to take up a rights offer, for example. There were also other synergies between the two. Taylor brought a new angle to Shadforths as his business focuses on the high-end accumulator market. On the other hand Shadforths, which boasted 10,000 clients and $2.5 billion before Taylor joined the group, plays largely in the retiree market. While Shadforths’ systems and processes certainly impressed Taylor he was also swayed by less tangible qualities he sensed in the group when he made his first trip to the group’s office in Hobart. “I have never met a more passionate group of people,” he says. “Every one of them was passionate about financial planning.” Taylor must have likewise impressed the Shadforths team. “We now use the Shadforths licence – I’m not aware Shadforths has offered this facility to any group in the past,” he says. “It is a good marriage.” Name: Chris Taylor Business name and location: Taylor Shadforths, 9/100 Christie St, St Leonards NSW 2065 Dealer name or self-licensed: Shadforths Ltd Number and designation of staff: 1 office manager, 1 senior paraplanner & access to Shadforths paraplanners, 2 financial planning assistants, 1 personal assistant to each of the 2 senior advisers, ½ receptionist. Area of speciality: Advising higher earning accumulators, professionals, business owners. Focused on cashflow management, eliminating inefficient debt, tax planning. Have a number of self funded retirees. Considerable number of SMSFs., family trusts, geared portfolios. Relevant qualifications: Tertiary qualifications in Mathematics, Accounting & Financial Planning, CFP, FTIA, FFPA, FPNA Are you a member of the FPA?: Yes – a fellow Number of clients: 480 Funds under management (or funds under advice): $160M Method of fee collection: Debit against clients cash account based on % of FUM. Investment platforms: Shadforths’ proprietary Personal Wealth Management Service, Accuity Front-end planning software: Shadforths’ proprietary software Office management software: Shadforths’ proprietary software Investment research: Provided by Shadforths who outsource & overlay own research. Insurance research: Shadforths Technical and legal support: Shadforths provides full IT support & compliance support. Ongoing education provider: Shadforths provides disciplined CPE training in-house.