After the merger in November, Northern Home Counties held its first CISI meeting on 11 November with three chairmen in place. I am so pleased that Nicola Watts CFPTM, Chartered MCSI (Jane Smith Financial Planning) and Andrew Reeves, CFPTM, Chartered MCSI (the Investment Coach) are now co-chairing with me. They bring so much to the branch and we have developed a fantastic programme for 2016.
Regretfully, we had a piece of very sad news after the latest meeting when I discovered one member, Carl Waltham, had died from a tragic accident. Our condolences and best wishes go out to his family, friends and colleagues. In other news, I am moving from the University of Northampton to Coventry Business School, but the NHC branch continues to hold meetings at the Sunley Conference Centre, at my old university. I am looking forward to my new role and have been given my first mission to develop an MSc in Financial Planning at Coventry Business School.
Our most recent meeting was a brilliant session with more than 30 attendees and it was wonderful to see many financial planning students there. We were delighted to have Richard Bennett, CISI regional manager, open the meeting. The theme was how to improve client experience. David Swanwick from Dimensional delighted the audience with his interactive and lively talk on the power of simplicity and images in client communication. Lawrence Cook from Thesis spoke about the value of active investing and what clients really value: financial independence and peace of mind, and not financial products. The things they value include finding someone they can trust, understanding how a service will help them, and identifying and clarifying goals. Lawrence’s talk was much appreciated and the president of the University of Northampton Investment Society rushed to thank him for his wonderful presentation.
Michael Smith from Chamberlyns inspired the audience with his funny, down-to-earth account of the client experience. Since the purchase of the business in 2009, Michael and Geoff have transformed the Chamberlyns brand. They’ve focused on attention to detail, such as having a member of staff greet clients on arrival and ensuring all staff look up and greet clients as they walk in. They send hand-made birthday and anniversary cards, wine and champagne to make clients feel special, and they send regular magazines to keep them informed. More importantly, their meetings are not only life changing but also filled with laughter, he told us.
We look forward to seeing more CISI members at our branch in 2016.
Dr Lien Luu CFPTM, Chartered MCSI