For most people working in Financial Planning the working day has changed radically since the outbreak of Coronavirus and working from home guidance from the government. In this occasional series we’ll be asking people working in the profession to tell us how they schedule their working days.

First David Inglesfield, chief executive of fast-growing Financial Planning and wealth management firm IWP (Independent Wealth Planners).

"First off, I have to admit I am getting very lazy. In normal times I get up at 5.30 and catch a 6.45 train. Now, I get up at 6.30, have a leisurely breakfast and catch up on news and e-mails.

7.30 – This is the time for anything I “have to get done” – writing reports or proposals or dealing with anything that needs a thorough read and response. Once I get to 8.30, I tend to be in a sequence of meetings. The actual content obviously varies day to day so here’s an example:

8.15 – chat with Tony Spain, our COO – Tony calls me to talk through an operational matter which has cropped up

8.30 – Touch base with our M&A team on two acquisitions which are in the final stages of being agreed with lawyers

9-10 – Our weekly management meeting; a round robin with the team on progress with key projects etc.

10-12 – Marketing strategy – we are doing some work at the moment to understand how best to reach out to new potential clients, so this is a Zoom meeting to review customer research findings and discuss plans with our marketing director, Virginie Faucon, and one of the agencies.

12-12.30 – Acquisition meeting with a new potential seller – I talk through the IWP model and find out more about their aims and plans for the business

12.30 – lunch! - I nip to the fridge to grab something and bring it back to the computer while I catch up on e-mails.

1 – call with hub CEO - I talk to Craig Gibson, one of our CEOs, about an acquisition we are looking at for his firm – I just want to check that he is happy with a particular aspect of the outline business plan.

1.30 – Team Social – we have a twice weekly “social call” with the IWP central team, just to touch base. Marc Bishop, our HR director, had a quiz for us – recognising chocolate bars by their shape – surprisingly difficult!

2.00 call with Chair – I have a catch up with our group chair, Alex Hambro – we talk through the impact of COVID 19, and the acquisitions pipeline, and agree to speak again ahead of our next group board which is at the end of the month.

2.30 Acquisition all parties call – a review with the seller and both sets of lawyers on the almost-final draft of the SPA – I usually find that the seller and I can agree most points fairly easily but turning them into legal speak sometimes takes rather longer!

3.30 – call with James Hunter – a quick touch base with our CFO – we talk through the COVID19 re-budgeting work and also a couple of technical points on a live acquisition

4.00 – team video call – I have a catch up with the CEO & team leaders of one of our hubs, to see how they are coping and say hello. They seem to be coping with home working very effectively.

4.30 – no more zoom calls! Yippee. I actually quite like working by zoom – it is super-efficient, but I do find it quite exhausting.

I call our strategy associate, Raph Canetti, to catch up on the acquisition pipeline and make sure I haven’t got behind on reviewing any proposals – there’s one I’d forgotten which he reminds me about.

4.30- 6.30 – I review and make some changes to a Change in Control proposal for the FCA – our finance team crunch the numbers but I review the business plan section before it goes in.

Generally, we are thinking about how we can grow the businesses – most obviously by recruiting more advisers – but also looking at synergies. This particular firm has some good corporate services capability which we’ll look to scale up around the group.

I finish by 6 or 6.30 and since I no longer have a commute I go for a short stroll in the garden, armed with a well-earned glass of wine!

• Thanks to David for sharing his day. We’ll be running a detailed Q&A with David about IWP in the next issue of Financial Planning Today magazine in mid-May. You can find out about subscribing to the magazine by registering for the website or upgrading your access via ‘My Account.’ Watch out for more ‘My Days (Working from Home) coming up.

David Inglesfield DipPFS TEP is chief executive of Independent Wealth Planners (IWP). He has 30 years’ experience in wealth management in the UK and internationally. He has built and led five wealth management businesses. Prior to establishing IWP, he was head of wealth for an AIM-listed wealth manager. 

www.iwpuk.co.uk