Much has happened at TCFP towers since January, and it is time to share it with you.
TCFP needs to be as fit and healthy as possible to serve you best. To me that means having the right people in the right seats, not being wasteful and having a clear strategy for the future. My aim, still, is to never sell TCFP, not at any price. Instead TCFP will continue to invest in itself, modernise and grow.
As well as 300+ client families TCFP also supports 10 team member households – to maintain that support I want TCFP to thrive for decades to come and certainly beyond my life expectancy.
I turn 50 this year, which has lent some urgency to getting more clarity on what to do. Over Christmas it became obvious I needed to work with a business consultant. After research and conversations, I decided to work with Mary Taylor: https://marytaylorcoaching.com/.
Mary is proving to be the smartest investment I have yet made in TCFP. She was chosen specifically because of her no-nonsense approach, her energy and dynamism and her wide-ranging business experience. That she is as smart as they come and charming to boot is a bonus. It was also important that Mary wanted to do this work, that she was excited by the project.
I have been working with Mary intensively for the past 3 months, during which no stone has been left unturned and I am delighted to announce the following changes at TCFP:
- Sarah Pounds is now our Head of Operations. Sarah and I have worked together since before TCFP was born, and we have been friends for 32 years now(!). There is no better person to ensure the continued smooth running of TCFP. To enable her to do this the clients she was managing will now pass to Siobhan and Lainey. They will introduce themselves to those affected via the portal in due course.
- Zoe Sheady is our new Trainee Financial Planner. Mary and I interviewed numerous candidates to fill this essential new role and Zoe was the standout candidate. Zoe will be assisting Ian, Dan and I with our client work and taking over some of the admin parts of our work so we can dedicate more time to serving you. Zoe will also assist Siobhan and Lainey by taking on some of their more financial planner like activities. She will also be studying for her professional exams to become a fully fledged financial planner in her own right.
- Ian Penberthy is now our Head of Investments. Day to day management of TCFP’s model portfolio, organising Investment Committee Meetings and dedicating specific time to looking at what we are doing investment-wise now fall within his remit. Ian will also continue to work with his current clients as well as taking on new clients.
- Dan Robinson in now our Head of Client Services. This means he has assumed day to day responsibility for what TCFP does planning-wise and how. He will also manage and source all third-party professionals and experts we defer to from time to time. Dan will also continue to work with his current clients as well as taking on new clients.
- Mary Taylor will head up Business Development for TCFP. She and I will work closely together going forward to help improve TCFP further.
- Siobhan and Lainey, Mark and Katie and Alan will continue as they are. Which means doing the excellent work we have come to expect from them in looking after clients and supporting their colleagues.
- I will remain the Managing Director of TCFP. I will continue interacting with clients, writing, mentoring and leading. The day-to-day responsibilities are now in the hands of the people that know best, with me supporting them.
- The Loughton office will close. The world has moved on in the way we work. Having a dedicated physical office is a big expense and it spends most of its time unused – it is a waste of money. That money can be put to better use and value to you in other ways. 90% of all our interactions with clients are virtual and have been for two years, that will continue. On the rare occasions when a face-to-face meeting is needed, we can meet you somewhere convenient and private, and we have access to offices in London. We also have other opportunities to get together during the year with four social events scheduled for 2022 and others being planned. As well as individual one to ones and the client socials I will keep sharing my thoughts with you via mailouts and client webinars.
All the above means we now have additional capacity for new clients. However, we remain fussy about who we work with, wanting only to work with people like you.
Most new clients last year were introduced to us by you. In 2022 we welcome more of the same.
If there is anyone you know that would benefit from the same great results you are experiencing, please do not hesitate to forward our details to them.
TCFP stopped being the “Jeremy Show” some time ago, everyone on the team is imbued with the “TCFP Way” and it is now time that their voices are better heard. We thrive and survive as a team and our new structure strengthens us further.