AFH was definitely the right choice for our clients first and also for us. Client outcomes are excellent, with genuine and authentic service propositions and the support of first-class administration, investment and technical teams. We considered ten organisations to partner with, decided on AFH and they have exceeded our expectations throughout.
I ran Emery-Little Financial Services LLP for ten years with my business partner Bryan until his retirement in 2018. Our business was what I would class as a traditional IFA firm and we had built it up to a sizeable practice over the years.
Following Bryan’s retirement, I took over the relationship with his clients and felt I needed support and a simpler hand over of my clients in the future. As a small business we found that we were spending a lot of time on administration, fund management and compliance matters, rather than being with clients.
I completed thorough due diligence with ten acquirers. It was important to find the right home for our clients and for us. To my surprise I found that five of the acquirers were only interested in the funds under management.
AFH stood out as the best of the companies I engaged with. I got on well with Alan Hudson and felt AFH had a family feel and friendly culture.
Alan explained their clients first approach and how the AFH strategy, to grow its profitability to deliver a competitive proposition, by driving down the costs of investing for clients, was very important to the business.
As I have always worked on the basis that if you’re fair to clients they’ll stay with you, I felt that AFH’s approach very much mirrored my own values.
In a very old fashioned way, I shook hands on a deal with Alan. It was a fair deal, but it wasn’t about the money, it was about doing what’s right for the clients.
Joining a new firm and getting to grips with new systems, processes and T&C procedures is always challenging in any organisation. I was like a rabbit in the headlights for the first three months. My Exec PA’s Jane & Tricia were life savers and provided excellent support for me.
Everyone in the organisation, from the top to the bottom have been great. I haven’t come across anyone who hasn’t been helpful or friendly.
My clients are settled in, many of them are benefiting from an enhanced service proposition. The centralised Investment team manage the portfolios on my behalf and provide informative technical updates for the clients, which has been invaluable during periods of market volatility. The service propositions are good and work for my clients and us.
Before the deal completed, I kept asking will this work for us? Two and a half years on, I am settled into the AFH way of working. I follow the rules and (thankfully) no longer have to concern myself with the regulatory burden. The benefits far outweigh any challenges and I feel comfortable having a large Risk team behind me, to keep me safe!