A 22-minute watch.   

Jeremy Woodley is chief exec of The Fry Group, a 121 year-old full-service wealth manager that operates in 5 countries around the globe. In the latest of our OctoBlast series, he sits down with Lee Robertson to discuss how he structures various parts of the business and the headwinds advisers face in today’s climate.

Strategically, Jeremy makes the point that the Fry Group is an IFA business at heart, and outlines the core areas where as a business they can add value versus the areas he thinks they can’t, or shouldn’t try.

He discusses the ‘pride’ clients feel in the Fry Group, and that with integration across different functions including tax and wills, this enables inter-generational planning and a cycle of new younger client relationships and longevity. Ultimately, he identifies the business as a de facto multi-family office.

On current headwinds, Jeremy points to stock market uncertainty and a lack of political statesmanship. “Fund flows demonstrate a slowdown”, and with IFA businesses built on AUM and attracting new clients, this creates”hesitation among clients, and they pause”.

When asked if there were any areas of disruption to think about, Jeremy points to digitalisation in the HMRC and its impact on tax accountancy, and what bits he expects joined-up over the next 18 months.

For more of our longer OctoBlast conversations, we’ve had the very entertaining Mark Polson on why advisers and planners are heroes, as well as wealth manager Alan Smith on why he uses flat fees.