From big to boutique
It's a big decision to leave the safety of a large institution to start up your own boutique business and over the last three years Industry Moves has seen quite a few put their money where their passion lies. We caught up with three entrepreneurs in the finance industry who took that leap of faith to see how things were panning out.
Angela Ashton - Co-Founder, Evergreen Consultants 
Angela Ashton has over 25 years' experience in financial services. Previously she held roles as head of ratings at van Eyk Research, GM - research at IWL Ltd, and head of research at Lonsdale (now Lonsec). She was also the senior strategist in the asset allocation team at QIC. She co-founded Evergreen Consultants with Brett Baker in November 2015.
Can you tell us a little about your business and what it offers?
Evergreen Consultants is an investment consultant firm that specialises in working with financial advisors and family offices. We provide bespoke investment portfolios that are built in conjunction with the planning group or the family office to deliver what they need from investment portfolios.
After a year or so in the business, are the initial risks that you took starting to pay off?
Yes, absolutely. Our business model and our offering to the market has been validated because we have gained a number of really good quality clients over the year.
What have you found to be the best way to develop your client base during the initial stages of business development?
The way that we've found our clients has been through a number of different channels. First of all, both Brett (Baker, Evergreen's co-founder) and I have been in the industry for a long time so we already knew a lot of people; those existing relationships have been a great place for us to start and have also referred us on to new clients. There has been no cold-calling because we found that the most effective way to find our clients was through word of mouth and referral.
Have you found that you've had to develop a variety of new skills now that you're working with a smaller employee pool?
Yes, I have and I think that will always continue to happen but now we have other people working for us, so there are a few more people bringing different skills to the business. It's not at all like being a manager in a big company. It's such a different mindset when you own the business and you've got people working for you. We've had to do a lot of stuff that we didn't know about. I think Brett probably had to do that more than I did because he's the guy doing all the odds and sods; he looks after the bookkeeper and other things on that side of the business.
Have you found that owning your own business has had a positive or negative influence on your work/life balance?
If you looked at my life you'd probably say it's had a negative impact on the balance but I think it's changed the way I look at work/life balance. The reality is that coming here everyday is what I want to be doing. I don't feel like I need the downtime as much and I guess that's because I love what I'm doing. I don't think I'm missing out on anything and I always make time for my family. It's definitely more flexible; I'll go and do things that I would usually have done on a weekend, on a Wednesday afternoon and I might work Saturday. I'm much more focussed on how my time is spent.
Read our Q&A with Angela in November 2015
Jay Kumar - Founder and Managing Director, Foresight Analytics(TM)
Jay Kumar's experience in the industry's 'big' institutions spans almost twenty years, including roles as a research analyst with Morningstar, a senior portfolio manager with both ING Investments and OnePath, and most recently as an institutional research manager with ANZ Wealth and Private Banking. He started his new boutique venture in September 2015.
Can you tell us a little about your business and what it offers?
Foresight Analytics is a quant based analytics, research and advisory firm. Our target market is asset owners and asset managers. We focus on the institutional market. What sets us apart is the unique approach we take in solving practical problems for our clients. First and foremost, our framework is quantitative based which means we are heavily reliant on data and technology to deliver fact-based insights, whether they be investment market, investment strategy or industry related. We aggregate and process multiple data-sets using our big-data technology to provide predictive insights on manager skill and investment portfolios using a range of fundamental factors, econometric factors, investment styles and ESG factors.
After a year or so in the business, are the initial risks that you took starting to pay off?
When setting up the firm I was pretty clear that I am building for the long-term. I wanted to build an approach towards helping clients, that was truly unique. I wanted to use world's leading technology and a unique framework to differentiate ourselves and wanted something that was client centric. When you consider our operational achievements since inception and within the context of our strategic aspiration, it has certainly been very pleasing. It shows that we have been successful in gaining clients and we were able to deliver very strong outcomes for our clients. So I would say the risks are definitely paying off.
What have you found to be the best way to develop your client base during the initial stages of business development?
The best way for me was to tap into my global industry network. Over my twenty years in the industry I have developed a very strong brand in the market which led to a very strong network in the institutional space. My first step was to really tap into that brand value and reach out to people that I knew to utilise the business and the unique elements of what we were all about.
Have you found that you've had to develop a variety of new skills now that you're working with a smaller employee pool?
Managing my own business has definitely been an enriching journey for me. Prior to starting my own firm I had twenty years' experience in the industry working across multiple roles and firms, so that prepared me well from multiple perspectives. My career so far has allowed me to build both generalist skills and specialist skills that have proven to be very valuable. When you are managing a small business you have to learn as you go and be open minded. For me, the most valuable lesson that I've learnt over the last year and a half has been learning the challenges that my clients face and service gaps that exist in the market and asking how can we fit in and deliver what our clients really want.
Have you found that owning your own business has had a positive or negative influence on your work/life balance?
It's been very positive. That was clearly an important factor that inspired me to set up this business in the first place. I wanted to build my business around my lifestyle and spend more time with my family. I have been putting in more hours for sure, but those are flexible hours and all that hard work has been going into something that I really love and believe in. I'm not kidding when I say it's hard work. It requires a lot of focus and perseverance but the best part of it is that I am directing my energy and time into something that I am extremely passionate about. It's a win win for me and I'm very happy at where I am.
Brad Matthews - Founding Director, Brad Matthews Investment Strategies (BMIS).
After fifteen years in various roles with St. George Bank, eight years with Hillross Financial Services and his most recent four year stint as AMP's Head of Investment Strategy, Brad Matthews changed pathways through opening his own boutique firm, Brad Matthews Investment Strategies (BMIS), which he founded in October 2015
Can you tell us a little about your business and what it offers to its clients?
BMIS provides economic and investment consulting to financial planning practices. We assist financial adviser firms in developing their investment philosophy and creating portfolio solutions consistent with this philosophy. BMIS aims to improve investment outcomes as well as creating implementation efficiencies and reduced costs for advisers.
After a year or so in the business, are the initial risks that you took starting to pay off?
Yes, the response to the service offering has been very pleasing. The business became viable relatively quickly but most importantly the quality of clients that have taken up the offer has been exceptional.
What have you found to be the best way to develop your client base during the initial stages of business development?
Word of mouth and existing networks have undoubtedly been the most important component of business development.
Have you found that you've had to develop a variety of new skills now that you're working with a smaller employee pool?
Certainly! Business development and sales was an area in which I did not have a lot of experience and was obviously crucial in the start-up phase of the business. I actually found that I enjoyed this part of the business and it does become a bit addictive. At the other end of the scale, working for yourself with no staff to delegate to also involves taking on some fairly mundane tasks - particularly when working with large amounts of data - and this has required bringing back some skills I'd used earlier in my career. The positive is that there is plenty of variety when you are managing all aspects of the business.
Have you found that owning your own business has had a positive or negative influence on your work/life balance?
I am working longer hours than previously, however with my kids now grown up I was prepared for the balance to swing a little back towards work.
