Steven Payne, Director of SP Wealth Planning, Senior Partner Practice of St.James’s Place Wealth Management, is certainly not a man to rest on his laurels.
Having achieved Chartered status, as well as the Fellowship – the highest level of qualification in the Financial Services industry, and built up his business to 600 clients, he is always looking for ways to enhance the service he provides.
Introduction to Cashflow
His introduction to John Whitehead, the resident Cashflow Modelling expert at Plus Group, came about via a Webinar organised by Plus in the Summer of 2020, to introduce the service. Following John’s demonstrations and soundbites throughout, the idea of the service resonated with Steven, as an opportunity to demonstrate to his clients what life would be like with, and without him.
Steven’s interest was further piqued as he has a number of clients at or approaching retirement, and was already receiving questions such ‘Will I have any shortfalls in my income?’, ‘What can I do to address them if there are?’, which he began to realise, he could demonstrate to his clients through the power of Cashflow with a level of accuracy from the software that considers all commutations.
However, before he felt comfortable promoting the service to his clients, Steven requested that John go through the process of developing a Cashflow based on him & his personal circumstances.
Life Changing Models
What happened next was to have a huge impact on Steven’s life. John went on to create three Cashflow Models for him:
- Was a ‘Base’ model, a picture of what he is doing now in terms of his savings and pension, and where he would be if he was to retire at 60.
- Built in more personalised features, such as if he was to sell his business in 10 years, but keep half the proceeds in cash, and aspirations, such as the purchase of a sports car Steven has coveted since he was a child.
- Imagined the scenario if he was to invest the proceeds from the sale of his business in ISAs and Unit Trusts.
It was this third model that was the most impactful. Steven said:
‘The difference it made to my long-term wealth was enormous’.
At the time, Steven was in the middle of acquiring a new business, with a view to generating more income for his retirement, however he admitted it meant more stress, more time away from his family, and adding to his already intense workload. However, he was prepared to make the sacrifice to secure the extra income he thought he would need when he retired.
The Cashflow models provided by John demonstrated to Steven that he did not need to acquire the business as he had planned to, and as a testament to the huge impact being able to view his potential financial future on paper made to him, he broke negotiations, and did not go ahead with the purchase.
Client Presentations
Having gone through the process personally, to great success, Steven proceeded to offer the service to his clients, citing a particular example of a client who contacted him out of the blue, wanting to retire 5 years earlier than planned.
The inevitable question followed ‘Will I have enough money if I retired now?’, which led to John creating a Cashflow model, and after taking into account all information provided by the client about income & expenditure, inflation, and investment performance, the answer Steven was able to give his no doubt delighted client, was yes!
It is this, as Steven puts it ‘black and white picture of the future’, that he likes so much, he can give his clients clarity and reassurance on immediate decisions, as well as the potential for making exciting future purchases and long-term plans.
The benefits to his business are great, he sees the Cashflow models as something he will be able to refer to after every review, and he said;
‘It solidifies my relationship with the client’.
It helps, he said, that in John, he sees a relatable, enthusiastic but professional man, whose style with the client is natural and their presentation meetings together flow well. He said that despite John not being an adviser himself, he sees opportunities, and this has led to increased business for him, as well as providing the enhancement to his own service that he is constantly striving for.
Steven ended our conversation by saying:
‘In 5 years’ time, I am aiming for every one of my clients to have a Cashflow’.
There is no more powerful statement of the benefits and impact of Cashflow Modelling than that.
