Peter Leggett: planner with a life plan

PeterLeggett lives a charmed life. The Melbourne planner was just metres away when the World Trade Center came down and in Bali the day terrorists bombed the Sari Club.

Leggett emerged from both tragedies unscathed and in what is obviously characteristic of his style, took to the streets of New York helping the Salvation Army tend the hurt, wounded and distressed in the aftermath of September 11.

A runner-up in this year’s financial planner of the year award, Leggett decided on a career in financial planning nine years ago.

“My background was in management accounting and insurance — but it became clear to me that the future was about helping people to achieve their life goals. It was not about selling them products.”

Leggett has built a business — Leggett Financial — which today employs 15 people (four advisers, a chief operating officer, a technical services manager, a client services manager and support staff), services over 400 clients and has $135 million in funds under advice.

The business generated almost $300,000 in revenue in its first year of operation and remains the number one practice within theHillrossgroup today, based on income and assets under advice.

Leggett began with one simple mission.

“I wanted to protect families, to ensure that no matter what happened to them they would be looked after — today and tomorrow. I’m still passionate about that.”

He attributes much of the success of Leggett Financial to his staff.

“They are loyal and supportive people who love our clients.”

Equally important though, he says, is effective time management.

“I define very clearly who I am and who I want to be and what I want to do. Then it’s a case of setting goals and objectives and working out how to achieve them. Those things then become my priorities.”

Leggett Financial clients include small to medium business owners, senior corporate executives and wealth accumulators.

The practice is also targeting what Leggett considers to be a largely untapped market — divorcees, widows and widowers.

“Death and divorce are major trigger events and these are the times when people really need help and advice,” he says.

To tap into the market, Leggett has established relationships with divorce lawyers, running training and development days on topics like estate planning, family succession planning and self-managed super funds for legal practices.

As for the future, Leggett sees two major challenges. Mastering technology to extract maximum efficiency and running the business as a business in every respect.

But if he sounds like all work and no play, nothing could be further from the truth. Leggett says there is more to life than making money.

”Much more important is who you are and who you are with — money just facilitates.”

And with that philosophy, Leggett has gone about setting and achieving a number of goals and objectives on a personal level.

He has visited 91 countries, climbed the Himalayas, trekked the Andes, lived on a Kibbutz in Israel, worked as a missionary in Punjab and in a retirement home in Uruguay.

He has set up community houses for homeless kids, volunteered as the director of Youth Programs for the Salvation Army and mentored 11 teenagers.

He’s also found the time to marry and father five children, ranging in age from six to 16.

“We’re only here a short time,” he says.

“I want to make the most of it.”