Tim brings client portfolios into focus

Name: Tim Marshall

Job title: Senior consultant and practice principal

Dealer group:

Godfrey Pembroke

Age:49

Qualifications:

Certified financial planner, Bachelor of Economics

Number of clients:225

Remuneration: We run a fee-based organisation.

How long in profession?16 years

What attracted you to financial planning? Jim Clegg approached me initially to discuss the industry. I supposed I wanted to be at the cutting edge of a new industry and be my own boss.

Background: Prior to joining the industry I'd been a state manager for a pharmaceutical company and I was with them for 13 years. I was initially working as a planner with Morrisons before Jim Clegg and I got Pemroke Financial Planners up and running together with three or four others. We were grateful for Larry Adler's (and FAI's) backing in those early days. I was still with Pembroke when it later merged with Godfrey Weston to become Godfrey Pembroke.

Who is your target market and how do you reach them? Primarily successful small business owners and professional people, including sports people. I reach my target market through client referrals and through accountants dealing with small business firms.

Do you have any superannuation clients? Most of the clients I have are in super funds or we set them up in super funds as part of their investment portfolio. We don't have many retirees as clients.

List the top issues currently facing financial planners: Learning to target a particular group of clients and being able to service those clients well. Making sure the clients are receiving the service they are paying you for.

Do you think these issues will be paramount in 10years? I think by and large they will.

What motivates you as a planner? Being told I've done a good job. Providing positive outcomes for clients and getting a good response. The successes of my clients makes me successful in turn, the end result being that my working environment is very enjoyable.

What has been your best and worst move for a client? That's a hard question. My best move for clients generally would be establishing contact with wholesale share brokers. I've found that this provides my clients with better access to public floats. The wholesale share brokers who I've established contact with are the ones involved in all the good floats. For example, my clients have had great exposure to Telstra shares this way. We can pass on allocations to fantastic initial public offerings. The worst move we've made would be when we remained loyal to unlisted property trusts in 1988-1989, when our gut feeling told us we shouldn't be.

How long is your working week? I used to work mad hours, but now I try to work about 40 hours a week.

How much money is under your direct advice? $130 million

Best marketing tip for attracting new clients? Presenting case studies to potential clients. We often get referrals from accountants.

Do you use any portfolio management technology? Yes. We tend to use Austrust and Godfrey Pembroke's custodial service (OneSource) but we're attracted by the options coming through all the time. I don't think anybody's really got it 100 per cent right yet.

Any outsourcing or external services used? We use Tom Cullinan, a well-known insurance expert and we refer to law firms and accountants, but the rest we do ourselves.

Any 'clients from hell'? We had one female client who was a new client and an inexperienced investor. This was in 1994 and coincided with five increases in interest rates in nine months, which was sending equity values and her portfolio down. The client is back on board now, having recovered the loss plus doubled her money.

Do you have any role models? Jim Clegg is a role model. He is thoroughly professional and he's also a very organised and disciplined person. He tells it like it is.

Any extra industry involvement or activity? I've spoken at FPA conventions before, but I try to concentrate on doing a good job and making my clients happy.

Any pet hates? People who charge large fees and don't deliver good service. This goes particularly for financial planners who don't service their clients in proportion to the fees the client is paying them.

What other issues create success for you? Being consistent, identifying target markets and becoming good at servicing that market. I have a team of people working with me who are extremely good at their jobs. We have 12 people in our office including a consultant, Kon Nicolaidis, who was the ex-state manager for Rothschild. He's a supporting consultant in this practice and he's a great support.