In this month’s Adviser Spotlight, Sue Whitbread talks to Pete Matthew, Managing Director of Jacksons Wealth Management and Creator of MeaningfulMoney.TV as he continues to use the power of the internet to introduce financial planning to more and more consumers across the UK – and beyond. And has some great tips for advisers too!
Q; Pete, your financial planning business Jacksons Wealth Management has been operating since 1923. Can you give us a brief overview of the business today?
A:The company was founded in 1923 by Mr Horace Jackson, who would cycle from farm to farm in Cornwall selling insurance. In 1974 the partners at that time recognised a divergence between general insurance and life and pensions work, and so split off a separate limited company which is called Jacksons Wealth Management today.
We’re a six adviser, eight staff practice, a Chartered firm, and moving increasingly towards all advisers engaging in financial planning by default. Our investment management is for the most part outsourced, as we believe we should stick with what we’re good at, which is helping our clients meet their goals and counselling them to make good decisions. Our primary investment partner is Seven Investment Management, with whom we have been working closely for 11 years now.
Q: What drives you when it comes to running both your financial planning business and your online business Meaningful Money, the website which helps consumers make more sense of their financial situation? What’s your “why”?
A: MeaningfulMoney came out of a desire to help more people get their finances sorted than I could ever reach one-on-one. I love the difference that good planning can make in people’s lives, and I wanted to scale that. The internet enables me to reach more people in a week than most advisers can reach in twenty years.
While it was never intended as such, MeaningfulMoney has become a significant source of new client enquiries for us. So that has become part of the ‘why’.
Q:As the founder of Meaningful Money, you’re well known as a pioneer of podcasting as well as formerly using video to get across the financial planning message. You’ve made some big changes to the site recently so can you talk us through those changes and why you’ve made them?
A:As I write the changes are ongoing. After shooting over 300 videos and 170 podcast episodes, the site is packed with content, but it is harder than it should be for visitors to find what they need. I surveyed my audience last year to determine what stage they considered themselves to be at in their financial journey. Out of that I have identified four tracks that people will be able to take through the site:
- Getting started
- Building wealth
- Enjoying their money
- Finishing well (later life)
Right on the home page, people will be able to go right to the content which matches their needs the best. I can also serve up the right content to them via an email sequence and offer paid courses and products too. MeaningfulMoney is on its way to being a healthy business in its own right.
Q:How successful have your Meaningful Money activities been in providing enquiries for your financial planning business?
A: As successful as I need it to be! If ever I mention on the podcast that I have some spaces available for new clients, I get half a dozen enquiries within 48 hours. It’s like a tap I can turn on and off at will, which is nice. This provides problems of scale, of course, but that’s a separate issue!
We’re a well-established business, so nearly three-quarters of our income comes from existing clients. That said, it is important to have a steady stream of new clients to keep the business fresh.
Q: With around 170 podcasts under your belt, you’ve recently made some changes. Can you talk us through those?
A: When I started the podcast back in 2012, there was a logical path to follow from getting started with debt management, basic life insurance through to investment and pensions. Once you have covered those subjects in depth as a podcast allows you to do, the topics become a bit more diverse, dealing with different things each week. Again, that makes it hard for folks to learn about what they need.
So I have switched to a seasons format, where I will have a season of, say, 10-12 episodes and comprehensively deal with one subject in one season. The current season is an introduction to investing, taking in risk, asset allocation, wrapper choices etc.
Q: What take up do you currently get from podcast listeners and do you plan to increase the reach in future?
A: I currently enjoy in excess of 6,000 downloads most weeks. Each new episode is downloaded almost 3,000 times in its first six weeks of life. These are decent numbers without being anything approaching viral!
The changes to the website will, I hope, drive up listener numbers and help me reach more people. So much about getting exposure these days is about social sharing, so once the site is finished, I plan to ramp up my social media penetration to try and drive more traffic to the site.
Q: How do you get the inspiration you need to keep coming up with new and innovative ways of spreading the financial planning message and developing the services you deliver?
A: Everywhere you look there is inspiration for online content of some kind, whether it is a financial news story which I can comment on or a big question that I can answer. This always engenders trust and familiarity in those who consume that content.
We get asked questions by clients all the time, and sometimes I’ll write it down and do a podcast on it. Or if it’s a quick question maybe shoot a video.
It is important to stay on top of developments in marketing too, for example using Snapchat (yes, really!) to build an audience or Facebook live video.
Q: Is it easy to use modern technology to help deliver the financial planning message to a growing audience or do you need to be a bit of a geek? Do you think more advisers should do it?
A: Being a geek helps, for sure. I grew up on the vanguard of computer users so I do have an affinity with technology which many people, even those only five years older than me, can lack. Anything can be learned though, if you have a will to do it, but you have to be convinced it is worth your time. Some things can be outsourced, but not audience building – that needs to come from you.
Q: Marketing is an area which many advisers often find challenging. Do you have any tips for other adviser firms looking to grow their businesses?
A: Combine new methods with tried and tested ones. So if you’re doing seminars, why not supplement those with online content, or even live stream them to the internet? If they’re good, people will watch, and you will generate online enquiries.
Also, think outside your local area. It’s been quite a while since I took on a new client in Cornwall. Most are now based all around the UK, and I have never met them, except through a Skype video call.
Make sure you embrace modern marketing. Some people still think the internet is a fad. They will lose.
Also it’s important to speak with your own voice. People don’t trust corporate-speak. Give your company a personality that people can connect with.
Finally, keep it simple. Most people don’t need complex financial planning, but will pay to have their lives made easier.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I love to walk my Jack Russell, called Maisy, on the cliffs of Cornwall. My entire family is involved in amateur dramatics. In November I play headmistress Millicent Fritton in a production of St Trinians – can’t wait to put on a dress and kitten heels!
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Pete Matthew – Biography:
Pete Matthew is a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner and Managing Director of Jacksons Wealth Management in Penzance. He is married to Joanne, and has two daughters, Ellie aged 16, and Kate aged 13. He also has a four-legged daughter called Maisy who is 5 years old.
He is also the founder of MeaningfulMoney, a financial education website with videos and podcasts reaching thousands of people across the world every week with the message that financial planning is for everyone and needn’t be complex.
Follow Pete on Twitter @PeteMatthew or @Meaningfulmoney
