Progeny is transforming the advice model by integrating independent financial planning, investment management, property, tax, HR and legal services. We caught up with Managing Director Caroline Hawkesley to find out more.
Progeny’s model of having all a client’s trusted advisers in one place is pretty unique - do you think this is the future of advice?
I see Progeny as a true innovator because we’re removing traditional advice silos and transforming how people receive professional advice by integrating independent financial planning, investment management, property, tax, HR and legal services.
I believe this is the future for a number of reasons. Firstly, the industry is becoming more competitive with increased regulation, which larger, more diversified firms are better placed to manage.
Technology is also playing an increasingly significant role and we’re using technology and data to combine all a client’s advice needs into a highly personalised service.
Most importantly, this holistic model is an attractive option to clients because the structure makes it easier for us to do business with them. In exchange for consolidating their sources of advice, clients benefit from joined-up, streamlined professional services that deliver better customer journeys, experiences and outcomes.
What companies do you look for, for inspiration (within or without financial services)?
Within financial services or not, the thing that always stands out to me is great client service. An example of this is my local gym. While the company itself is a huge brand, it doesn’t feel that way when I walk through the door – I’m greeted when I arrive, and nothing is too much trouble.
I find it impressive that they manage to maintain such a personal feel when the organisation is so big.
What are the most challenging aspects of aspiring to be ’the most trusted professional advisory firm in the UK and beyond’?
Our focus has always been on taking not the easy path but the right path, for our clients and for the long-term future of financial advice. For example, at the end of last year, we achieved corporate Chartered status with the Chartered Insurance Institute, which makes us one of the largest Chartered firms in the UK.
This acknowledges our commitment to raising the bar on professionalism, putting clients first and investing in our people, as well as our support for wider initiatives that benefit the growth of the profession. This includes our Adviser Academy, providing guidance to the military, working with schools and universities and our summer school for 16-18 year olds.
Clients are also increasingly assessing the integrity and transparency of an advice firm in relation to sustainability and net-zero transition when choosing who to partner with. In recognition of this, we were really proud to recently achieve B Corp Certification. This is a global certification that verifies high standards of social and environmental performance and makes us one of a small number of firms in our sector who are part of the B Corp movement to build sustainable change within business communities around the world.
What makes you an award-winning employer?
We recognise that happy, healthy employees are better equipped to provide an outstanding service to clients and we’ve made a long-term investment into wellbeing and personal and professional development.
This includes recently enhanced family friendly benefits and working practices, including enhanced maternity pay and paid leave for fertility treatments, and paid volunteering and wellbeing days.
We also launched our Protégé mentoring scheme to help more junior employees learn new skills and our ‘Leading with Confidence’, programme, designed to equip leaders and managers with the tools and resources to lead effectively.
We love bringing people together from across our growing business and earlier this year we hosted our second week-long Thrive wellbeing festival, consisting of virtual and on-site activities, and also embraced Learning at Work Week, where colleagues across Progeny have shared their knowledge and experience with others.
I’m also really proud of our in-house adviser academy, which provides a three-year programme that targets Chartered status and offers a fantastic opportunity for people across all areas of the business to follow their ambitions.
When it comes to financial planning, what’s your approach to fees?
As we are a multi-disciplinary offering, we charge initial set up fees as well as ongoing fees for advice, which includes a menu of other services, to ensure all our clients’ professional needs are met.
What, if any, changes have you had to make to meet the requirements of the Consumer Duty?
The firms who embrace Consumer Duty effectively and make it a success understand that it will require a cultural shift and is more than simply the introduction of new regulation.
We’ve responded to this by closely examining everything that has the potential to impact clients, either positively or negatively, directly, or indirectly. This has allowed us to examine all aspects of our financial advice offering to ensure we are delivering the most effective products and services to our clients.
What should the profession be doing better, in your view?
In my view, it needs to get better at becoming a profession. By this I mean we need more collaboration for the betterment of the sector, which includes working together to promote the life-changing benefits of financial advice, building increased trust with consumers and creating professional entry-level training pathways for the advisers of the future.
Culture and values are becoming recognised as an ever more important factor in consumer decision making, and the same goes for budding advisers themselves, who are choosing to seek out potential employers whose ethics match their own.
We were really proud to achieve Corporate Chartered status from the CII at the end of last year which includes a commitment to putting customers’ interests first, investing in ongoing development of technical skills and knowledge and supporting wider aims that benefit society and the growth of the profession, including our adviser academy, summer school and work within schools, colleges and universities.
As an industry, we also need to recognise and properly leverage the power of our data as it will revolutionise the way we work and, crucially, service clients. Advisory businesses are increasingly expected to not just meet the needs of their clients, but anticipate and exceed them and the only way we can do this with any type of clarity is by using data. Firms who don’t have this on their radar and continue to treat data as an afterthought are likely to be in a very vulnerable position in the future.