Adviser Spotlight – Barry Horner, Paradigm Norton

by | Nov 24, 2016

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In the spotlight this month, Sue Whitbread talks to Barry Horner, CEO of Bristol- based Paradigm Norton Financial Planning, about the development of his business  as it continues to go from strength to strength.

Q: Paradigm Norton is now 15 years old. Could you tell us what have been the most significant changes that you have introduced to build the firm into one of the UK’s leading financial planning businesses? 

A: Over the last decade we have created a replicable model that will allow us to continue to expand and prosper with multiple owners and as a result we have a hugely exciting future.  We now have an outstanding team of almost 50 staff, each of whom is positioned to enable them to work to the best of their unique ability.

Q: You have always been very vocal about building the profession of financial planning. For you, what is it that makes financial planning different to financial advice? What’s your motivation here and why do you believe it is so important? 

 
 

A: There are three parts to the Paradigm Norton vision statement. One of them is ‘To be foundational in the building of the global profession of financial planning’. Our vision is to have played a major and significant part in the history of establishing financial planning as a profession in the UK. This we will only do when members of the general public actually recognise the need for financial planning and can also access a good and trustworthy planner in the same way as they now can an accountant or solicitor. A financial adviser, to my mind, is focused on the sale of ‘others’ products, albeit that this may be a helpful inter-connected series of products. A financial planner, by contrast, has nothing but his or her own skills to sell. The planner delivers a distinctly goals-based service, whereby, for example, a client is able to retire eight years before they thought they could! What price would/should someone pay for eight years more with their family doing the stuff in their lives that is really meaningful to them

Q: Back in 2015, Paradigm Norton announced the launch of its graduate programme. How is it going and what is the plan for the future?

A: Our graduate programme is one of the foundations upon which we intend to build the firm in the future. We took on two graduates last year and plan to take on a further one or two in 2017. We have found that our graduates are very eager to learn, they absorb facts quickly, are energetic, most often say ‘yes’, and have a real aptitude for technology and incremental improvement (one of our values). The quality of the graduates we have employed has been exceptional. They are given an initial a five-year career plan, which provides them with an excellent opportunity to establish themselves at the heart of our business.  If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to think about how you could accommodate a new graduate within your staffing plan. You won’t look back.

 
 

Q: Many congratulations on your recent election as the Chair-elect to the international Financial Planning Standards Board [FPSB], based in Denver, Colorado.   What made you take this step and what do you hope to achieve whilst you are on the board? 

A: I was delighted to be invited to chair the FPSB Board in 2018.  FPSB has a vision to be in over 40 territories globally by 2025 and see more than 250,000 CFP Professionals serving clients.  For us to be recognised as a profession we need critical mass and the growing global momentum can only help this. My goal is to help lead the FPSB ‘LASER’ strategy that focuses on Leadership, Awareness, Standards, Engagement and Recognition.

Q: We are seeing lots of consolidation in the sector at the moment and Paradigm Norton has acquired a number of businesses over the last decade. Do you have plans to acquire more firms? 

 
 

A: Yes, merging in other smaller, profitable firms which have a similar culture, modus operandi and who share our vision and passion for financial planning will be a central strategy for us for the next five years.

We have yet to see the emergence of a significant ‘professional services model’ financial planning business in the UK. At the moment, we are in informal early stage discussions with four firms.

Q: You operate a ‘Client Board’ at Paradigm Norton – how does this work and how do you benefit from this type of forum? 

A: I meet with ten of our clients twice a year. This forum helps me to better understand the challenges that our clients are facing (for example, what are the key financial issues for them) and how well we are delivering on our promises. The whole issue of cyber crime was addressed at the last Client Board meeting, which has now led to our COO launching the IS027001 accreditation process. As a part of this project, we have created a paper for our clients alerting them to the issues of cyber crime and the need for change, such as two-factor authentication when they communicate with us.

Q: You have clearly defined your target client and I love the concept of  ‘Paradigm Pete’!   In general, how do you identify which clients are most likely to benefit from the services at PN?

A: That’s an interesting one. As you say, back in 2005 we created our fictitious client ‘Paradigm Pete’. We did this as a result of being asked ‘What does your perfect client look like?’  This was a question that at the time I couldn’t confidently answer. Over time, as the business has grown, we find we have multiple ‘Paradigm Petes’, each of the senior fee earners having created their own avatar or ‘perfect client profile’. This, I guess, has been part of our growth process. Each client would still be characterised as a ‘delegator’ but one might be a successful CEO whilst another might be an elderly retired widow. It’s really key that as a business you have real clarity on your target client, the service proposition that you are going to make available to them and how much you need to be paid to deliver the service whilst making a profit.

Q:  You have recruited an experienced non-exec director to join your board. Has this been strategy been successful and what does his involvement bring to the building of a successful financial planning firm? 

A: Yes, back in 2014, we invited a long-standing client and experienced corporate business leader, Kevin Gregory, to join our board. Kevin had previously worked at a senior level within HSBC and Legal & General and prior to this he was the CEO of a wealth management firm. In a nutshell, Kevin provides us with a perspective that we don’t have. He helps us see issues through a different lens. I, for one, really appreciate and value his wise counsel, his focus on encouraging us to do fewer projects really well and some of the discipline and rigour that he has brought to our corporate governance processes. We meet quarterly for an off-site board meeting, which is always a good opportunity for strategic discussion as well as wrestling with the operational challenges of managing a growing financial planning practice.

Q: There is a lot of discussion about robo-advice within the financial planning community and the impact that this may have on financial planners and financial planning businesses. What are your thoughts on this area and how might it impact Paradigm Norton and financial planning generally? 

A: I see robo-advice as ‘digital investment management’.  Will this be a threat or opportunity for financial planners?  I think the answer depends on how you seek to promote your business. If you “run money” and promote yourself as an adviser who can out-smart the market, make tactical calls on market movements and timing, then I think you should be at least ‘concerned’. Digitisation will lead to commoditisation and my best guess is that what some financial advisers manage to be handsomely rewarded for at the moment, could within a decade be a thing of the past.  If, however, you market your firm as a financial planning business, focused in its entirety around helping clients achieve their broader life goals, passions and desires, then I think you should be less concerned. We all need to embrace technology in every form but can I see a ‘delegator’ client who has multiple financial challenges and wants to discuss financial options, doing this in front of a screen in the evening? – I very much doubt it. There will of course always be some techy individuals where this is absolutely what they will do. In my view, they will be in the minority.

Barry Horner Biography

Barry is the CEO for Paradigm Norton Financial Planning Ltd and was the co-founder of the business back in 2001. He has subsequently led the team of 50 staff to its current position, whereby the firm is widely regarded as one of the most respected financial planning firms in the UK – an achievement recognised through Paradigm Norton having won numerous professional awards.

Follow Barry on Twitter –  @paradigm_ norton

 

 

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