Whilst the study of Philosophy is generally considered to be a way of thinking about the world and the nature of mankind, it is also a system of values and principles which quite often dictate one’s decisions. These individual values can often then drive the ethos of a business.
Our ethos
As fully independent advisers we aim to offer the most appropriate service to meet your needs and deliver this in a way that makes the whole process enjoyable.
Many of our clients have been with us for a very long time; with some of the adviser and client relationships having endured for more than 20 years. A large percentage of clients have been referred by other clients or their families or business partners. We also have productive relationships with other professionals, who will often refer to us for specialist advice.
We believe in doing a great job for our clients, ensuring we always act in clients interests and invest in technology to enhance the overall experience.
Core Active Portfolios (CAP):
Growth, Income, Passive & Ethical
We truly believe there are some key benefits to having your portfolio actively reviewed as outlined in ‘The Benefit of Advice‘.
At Gracechurch Wealth Management LLP, we are extremely proud of the range of model portfolios which we call our Core Active Portfolios (“CAP”). These portfolios are kept actively under review by our in-house Portfolio Manager who is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Final decisions are made by our Investment Committee and the administration conducted by our CAP team.
We currently have 15 models, split into four key categories:
- Active Growth
- Active Income
- Passive
- Ethical
Within these categories, we have portfolios adapted for different client needs. We constantly review the portfolios making changes, usually every quarter. Superb risk adjusted performance has led to many happy clients over the 10 years plus we have been offering this service. We are very transparent in terms of our past record which you can view here.
The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount invested.
Benefits for staff
Not the 9 to 5
It can be noted from our opening times, that we are not a 9 to 5 office; in fact, we start work at 8am, finishing at 4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 12 noon on Friday. Whilst Monday to Friday can seem like long days to start with, most staff members seem to love the longer weekend and do not want to go back to finishing at 5pm on a Friday.
We find that by operating these hours, staff are able to avoid much of the normal rush hour, with many of them traveling from outside of Milton Keynes. The added benefit of finishing early on Friday, is that we have been known to have a staff lunch from time to time.
On-site parking
We understand that not everyone can cycle or take public transport to work and in Milton Keynes parking can be scarce. We do have a private carpark, which employees can use for free, and we provide on street parking permits for those days where parking in the carpark is not possible.
Our Academy and other Training
We do encourage staff to improve their skills and further their learning, whether this is going to conferences, taking part in webinars or taking industry exams.
In addition we deliver internal training sessions throughout the year relevant to roles as requested by team members. We encourage all staff to attend and for our senior staff to share their knowledge by running these sessions. For our advisers, we run quarterly adviser days with topics in keeping with their CPD requirements.
We do not believe a person should be limited to the role they were taken on for. If they show potential and a desire to progress then we encourage them to develop into other areas, wherever possible. With this concept in mind, we developed a formal academy structure for those staff members who are looking to become advisers or paraplanners. We also look to promote from within, with many examples of this throughout the business.
Out of office
As a company within the Financial Services industry, we find that End of Tax Year (05 April) can be a busy time for us and our staff. We like to acknowledge that by holding various events throughout the year. We aim to hold various lunches, Summer and Christmas events for staff to say thank you.
We work on the basis that everybody is part of the larger team; whilst advisers are the ‘face’ of the business, they cannot get the job done without the support of the back-office team. These events can take many forms, such as a trip to ‘Wicked’, the Crystal Maze or a day on the river in Henley.
You may also say we can get a little festive at GWM, we like to take part in Secret Santa and the Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, but the main event is the Christmas Party, where It would be a sin not to have a bit of a Mariah Carey sing-along. Birthdays aren’t forgotten either, with a discretionary day off for all employees.
Employee Schemes
There are a number of schemes on offer to employees, once they have passed their probation period (subject to criteria) which most take advantage of:
Pension
We operate an Auto-Enrolment compliant pension scheme with Royal London.
Life assurance
Income protection
Health
There is also an option to take out Private Medical Insurance with Bupa, which can extend to family members.
Giving back
We had teams taking part in the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton Bike Ride. This is a 54-mile route taking them through the Surrey and Sussex countryside, with the lovely Ditchling Beacon (0.90 miles with a 143m height gain and an average 9% gradient) towards the end.
In addition, members of the team assist the lecturing team in Coventry and Northampton Universities on a regular basis to help the development of students taking the Financial Services degree.