The last branch meeting of the year in Cardiff was particularly special this month with a host of speakers on display, reports Darren Lloyd Thomas CFPCM of Thomas and Thomas. Branch meetings in South Wales have grown exponentially over the past few years, moving from just a handful of attendees to well over 40 participants.
First up was Gareth Hughes of Aviva on tips for demonstrating value to clients. No mention of Aviva products was made as we delved into the intricacies of taxable assets within client portfolios.
Long standing IFP member Saran Allot-Davy CFPCM then delivered a robust presentation on implementing and maintaining a compliant investment process. Some good questions followed from the floor including thoughts about using money weighted returns to set client expectations.
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Alistair Hudson from the Graduate Foundation College then challenged business owners with a 'Go Wales' funded proposition to take on a part-funded graduate.
Finally, Richard Allum CFPCM delivered a challenging address about the importance of cashflow modelling within a financial plan. Richard was keen to explain that cashflow modelling is an art not a science. He placed real emphasis on asking the right questions of clients and skilful fact finding.
The 'business dragons' finished the meeting bang on time, thanks to the organization of Craig Palfrey and I believe that appetites for learning were very much satisfied.