From life on the road to the practice: the John Wotherspoon story

As a teenager, John Wotherspoon was uncertain about which career path to follow. After being taken by his father to seek the guidance of a career’s adviser, Wotherspoon was told he had a keen head for figures and that a career in stock broking or investment advice was something that would suit his abilities.

Despite the prophetic suggestion given by the career's adviser, a direction which Wotherspoon would find himself thriving in a decade later, the idea of a stock broker or an investment adviser (financial planner) was not something the then 19 year old jumped at. Instead he chose to follow a career in engineering.

Wotherspoon enrolled himself in a civil engineering degree at the University of South Australia. To pay his way through his degree, he joined a band. Originally having a flair for the banjo, Wotherspoon was persuaded to turn his skills to the bass guitar and join fellow university students in forming the show-band Benjamin Courtney.

The band, a cover band, played top 40 songs and then entertained audiences with a floor show and comedy. In 1974, after playing at several local functions, the band was asked by national tour organisers to go on tour.

Although it was a great opportunity to tour around Australia, Wotherspoon quickly grew tired of living out of a suitcase and left the group to pursue engineering.

From 1983 to 1987, Wotherspoon held executive positions with South Australian public service. After five years of climbing the bureaucracy ladder, Wotherspoon decided to re-evaluated his job prospects.

"I had always been good at maths, and I found that one of my strengths was people skills - coordinating roles that involved talking with people," he says.

"I found myself in roles where I needed to manage money and also I found myself in a more bureaucratic lifestyle, I really wanted to work with the public."

Wotherspoon looked at the possibility of entering the IT industry and then discovered the financial planning industry. He felt the profession was in its infancy and had significant potential for growth.

Wotherspoon says the leap from engineering to financial planning was not as harrowing as it might appear.

"In the engineering industry I had quite a few broad management roles, so financial planning was not that much of a difficult or sudden transition," he says.

After taking a substantial reduction in pay, Wotherspoon left the engineering industry for a career in financial planning. Despite the pay cut and his four year old and a six year old children, he was confident it was the right move.

"I was very confident about the move, and learning about investment and learning about financial planning," he says.

"I really knew in the first few weeks in investment advice, I could pick it up quickly. I could deal with people in a relaxed manner so I thought to take the plunge."

In 1987, Wotherspoon spent 15 months as an investment adviser with a South Australian based investment group, Wheeler Grace and Pierucci. In 1989 he took up a franchise with Bleakleys. In 18 months, Wotherspoon had built a small client base and a solid base of knowledge on the financial planning industry.

In 1992 he became a qualified financial planner. During his time with Bleakleys, Wotherspoon met fellow financial planner, Rosmary Osman. After months of discussions, Wotherspoon and Osman decided to become business partners and set up their own financial planning group.

"Rosmary Osman joined the office, and we had her authorised under Bleakelys. We were very similar in financial planner and manager potential, so we decided to build up the business," he says.

In late 1993, Wotherspoon established Accumulus as a licensed securities dealer and in 1994, Wotherspoon and Osman left Bleakley's for Accumulus.

As joint directors, Wotherspoon and Osman have overseen a steady growth rate and a reliable client base. At present, the group has $300 million under advice with more than 1300 clients. Accumulus has 17 staff, a number Wotherspoon hopes to increase to 25, with10 financial planners in the next four years.

"Its always been a team culture, we share in a way most financial planners would find a bit surprising," he says.

After a decade in financial planning, Wotherspoon says there still needs to be more changes within the industry. His prime target is the ability to electronically lodge investments right across the board.

"At Accumulus we still have a paper-based system. This creates a lot of inefficiency. I would love to see all fund mangers have a common data format. Because at the moment there is no one language."

If they would just agree on a common format then everyone would be more efficient."

Wotherspoon also says there is an enormous demand for financial planners. He says there is not a problem in getting people interested in becoming financial planners, the difficult thing is to find a way of delivering financial planning services to people who can't afford them.

"People can't afford to pay for professional services. It's providing access to this service at a reasonable price that is becoming a problem."

On a positive note, Wotherspoon has nothing but praise for the industry's training and qualification/education requirements and access.

Education is an important requirement for Wotherspoon and his staff. When an opportunity arrises Wotherspoon insists his staff attend industry conferences.

"I went to China on an exchange mid this year. There was a group of 60 financial planners, a professional delegation. The conference 'People to People' was ambassador program that focused on trying to create bridges between countries."

As well surrounding himself in client paperwork, cheery staff and national and international conferences, Wotherspoon says family really comes first. Despite the long hours he has to put in at the office, Wotherspoon finds time to be members of his children's school councils. He is also an avid member of many community organisations. He is also a member of the local tennis club, looking after its administration.

As well as local community involvement Wotherspoon has been involved in the Financial Planning Association (FPA) committees. He was on the FPA state council in 1993-1994. This is Wotherspoons first year as a finalist of Money Management's Financial Planner of the Year.