Barry Newbury
Helen Rich
IN PROFILE
Barry Newbury
Managing Partner , Epoch Wealth Management
Barry is managing partner of Epoch Wealth Management , based in Queen Square House , Bath . He ’ s been working as a financial planner since 2000 , spending the first ten years of his IFA career at national firm Chase de Vere , before establishing Epoch in 2010 with three other partners .
Alongside Jon Rolfe , Gareth Rees and Markas Gilmartin , he has built Epoch into a formidable presence in the financial planning world , accumulating awards and accreditations at the same time as building client numbers from zero to over 500 today . The firm has influence on over £ 500m of client assets and positions itself at the High Net Worth end of the market .
Epoch is recognised as one of the best IFA firms in the country . It is one of four Chartered Financial Planning firms in Bath and one of fewer than 900 in the country . Furthermore , it is the only Accredited Firm in Bath and one of only 76 in the country , which places the firm within the top 1 % of advice firms nationally . It ’ s also ranked in the Top 100 IFAs in the country for the last three years .
We met Barry to find out more about the firm and the man at its head .
Why did you set up Epoch ?
We were all working for larger firms at the time and knew that they were not providing the best possible client experience . We were constrained within the structures of these larger organisations and felt we could do it better ourselves !
Over time , we began to determine the basis of our business . It was only when we began talks with haysmacintyre , a London based accountancy practice , that we had the impetus to take the plunge .
By recruiting the best staff and surrounding our clients with them , we stay true to the mantra we had when we started that there is “ a better way .” Rather than most staff earning fees , most our staff support the relatively few fee earners we have .
How has the firm evolved ?
Having a presence in Bath and London from the outset has been challenging but very rewarding . Many of our clients work in London but live elsewhere and having a base in both cities built our credibility straight away and continues to do so .
We ’ ve also grown our employee numbers over the years ( now employing 28 ) and have also appointed an Associate Partner , so we are 33 in total . We retain a ratio of more than 3:1 in favour of support staff versus fee earners to ensure our clients are always well looked after .
We don ’ t regularly advertise , preferring to build relationships with other professional services firms . About half our income in 2016 / 17 will be from clients who have been introduced by a third party . We have a successful relationship with a number of firms in the area and further afield but are always willing to build mutually beneficial relationships , so long as that is not to the detriment of our existing relationships .
We never set out to be a big firm and believe we retain the positive ethos of a smaller firm . We don ’ t have a mass market offering ; we offer a bespoke service to high net worth clients and strive to be the best at what we do .
How does a client set out on a journey with you ?
Clients will typically be referred to us by an existing client or a third party . Some contact us directly but they are in the minority . Either way , we ’ ll sit down with them and get to know them . We ’ ll ask them questions that get to the heart of what makes them tick , what ’ s really important to them rather than comparing the relative merits of fund A versus Fund B .
Many of our clients are business owners like us , so we can empathise with them and the pressures they face . We can also draw on many years of advising clients in similar positions- we can impart anecdotal evidence to help reassure them that their needs are understood . We understand that they will hopefully transition from the problem of not having money to the problem of having money ; it changes most people in some way .
Finally , we look to move their focus away from the immediate issues they may be facing . Whilst important , the true power comes from knowing the impact of making decisions will have on the future .
What has been your biggest learning in business ?
Learning to trust people and hand over responsibility . It ’ s been difficult , but since I have it ’ s changed the company . It ’ s given the team the reigns to get on with it . I ’ m very lucky to be working with a bunch of extremely clever and talented people across the board .
What can we expect to see from Epoch in the coming year ?
Hopefully more of the same ! We ’ re never complacent ; we always look at ways we can improve the client experience and our business . We hope we can continue to demonstrate our superior offering to prospective clients .
Furthermore , we believe so much in the quality of our financial forecasting tool that we ’ ve set up a new business to license the software to the wider market . We think it ’ s more valuable as a resource for others to give clients a better chance of success than retaining it internally as a USP .
What do you like to do outside the office ?
Aside from the usual exercise , watching and playing sport answer , I ’ m also a bit of a bedroom DJ . I love vinyl ; music is a great passion .
Next edition we talk to :
Helen Rich
Founder
Taste of Bath
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017 35