A 25-minute watch.   

Pete Matthew is managing director at Jacksons Wealth Management, and sat down in the booths with Lee Robertson, talks through his time at the company, setting-up Meaningful Money, where he believes the industry needs to move, and what advice he would give younger folk.

Seeing RDR looming on the horizon and frustrated at a broad lack of financial education that stems all the back to school-age, Matthew launched Meaningful Money in late noughties as a way to bring financial planning information to the masses. He remarks the industry ‘delights in making information opaque’, and that by being more forthright with information, this helps build trust in an industry where it’s poor.

He found an added advantage: it’s brought him clients. Having not set his stall out as a content marketer, the buzz around Meaningful Money has meant webcam meetings that are now the norm. He talks through how this can be replicated, and adds, while many advisers have moaned that there’s much to be lost by not having face-to-face meetings, there are certain techniques that make them ‘90%’ as good.

Turning his attention to the industry, he points out that “we are worst at moving forward”, and that the “increasing challenge to the value proposition” means “ad valorem will have to die”.

On organising investments, he remarks: “Investment is probably the least important bit, and the area advisers are least qualified to actually advise on; we are passive, multi-asset, and OEIC wrapped.”

More from Pete in his 3 Questions here.