The office phone rang 5 times before lunch today.
2 new client enquiries, one existing client going through a divorce, another client providing notice that our probate services will be needed soon and notification of the completion of a first house purchase by a newlywed couple. Our team is running the gambit on life moments today and most of them haven’t even had their second cup of tea.
What's it all about?
There are days when it’s hard to ignore the heart behind this business. If you ask any member of our team, they will tell you that the reason they love their job is the people. The people we work with, the people we work for, the people we counsel and teach and connect with and guide. We see them at their best and we see them at their worst.
It is a complete misnomer that people who work in financial services only care about the numbers. Or at least, it is a misnomer at Bigmore Associates. Finances touch the most vulnerable and exciting moments in a person’s life, and we see it every single day.
Life moments matter
Our Wills team was recently writing a will for a lady who was given a terminal cancer diagnosis after years of successfully fighting the disease. Her husband broke down during the appointment, heartbroken about his impending loss, yes, but devastated that he will not be able to give his dear wife the holiday she had always been dreaming of.
When the financial planning team got wind of this, they called the man in and provided the advice and knowledge he needed to show him how he could take from his pension to pay for the holiday, and repay it with funds once his wife passes. A morbid conversation, yes, but one that was important to have because it gave him hope and pride and joy that he and his wife could have one last epic adventure together.
How can anyone say finances don't have heart?
Another client who had taken in his niece and nephew after his sister and her husband passed away came in panicking about how to best look after the small sum of money they inherited. He was insistent about being able to give them the best, including a private school education, savings towards a property deposit and paying into their ISA’s every year. After some careful, thorough conversations, some cash flow modelling and the best investment strategy for their family our client was able to relax into his new role as a father, feeling less pressure and stress around the need to manage their finances long-term.
The mortgage completion mentioned in the article’s opening was also a somewhat frantic first meeting. Having seen their dream first home come on the market right at the start of the property search, a couple rang our office desperate to get their paperwork in order so they could be immediately proceedable for the seller. With a strong deposit in the bank and the expert guidance from our team they were able to package their case and submit their mortgage application to turn around their mortgage offer in 36 hours from first call, securing them their dream house in the process.
It's about people.
Behind every financial transaction is a person, or persons. People with hopes and dreams and needs and fears and wants and worries. In our industry, the tangible transactional thing we are dealing in is money but the true business we are in is people.
We don’t see our clients in terms of the money they are working with, whether investments, property purchases, estate planning or any of our other services. As a matter of fact, our fees are below the industry standard. And our service is far above it. To us, a job well done is when we have connected with our clients and are able to uncover their aspirations and their apprehensions, and counsel them in a way which helps them make the best financial decisions for their life.
We cannot take the heart out of what we do because helping people is our passion. If we weren’t connected to our clients and driven by giving them the information, tools and peace of mind of wholistically aligned finances, we might as well close up shop and switch industry.
It can seem an unnecessary, overpriced and unattainable thing to meet with a financial advisor. But we promise you, once you have that free initial consultation you will understand that this isn’t about how much money you have or want, it is about what you want your life to be like. Both present and future. It is a judgement free zone to help you get to the bottom of what is most important to you, and create a financial roadmap to get you there.
You have nothing to lose by getting in touch with us. You do, however, have the potential to gain.
“A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.”
– Jonathan Swift
