Resources for Financial Advisory Firms
Whether you are a new or established Independent Financial Advisory Firm, you can increase your growth and profitability by utilizing Bradley Nuttall Middle Office Services.
Many New Zealand based advisers can be so overwhelmed with running a business that they forget to grow their business. Perhaps you, like other advisers struggle with:
- How do I organize all my client data?
- How do I offer my clients comprehensive services without running out of time?
- How do I communicate with my clients to ensure I’m staying in touch?
- Are all my services compliant with the the new regulations?
- What is my investment message and do I really believe it?
- How should I build my portfolios?
- How do I match clients needs to a specific investment or portfolio?
Perhaps you just feel like you are not being nearly as productive as you know you're capable of being.
You’re not alone. For many advisers it can take FUM of over $200 Million before they can build the scale and infrastructure to adequately service their clients.
With Bradley Nuttall you can leverage the proceedures and tools of the foremost independent investment adviser in New Zealand at a fraction of the cost of developing those services independently. Moreoever, you have the confidence that at Bradely Nuttall, clients come first. All tools have been developed, used, and modified based on real client experiences and are being updated and enhanced routinely.
Bradley Nuttall has the experience you need. As of March 2011 Bradley Nuttall provides critical adviser services to separate financial advisery firms, helping them grow their business so that they can focus on doing what they do best, working with clients and building relationships.
Adviser Firms working with Bradley Nuttall routinely find the following benefits:
- More time: By using our client and portfolio management systems, CRM System, and Custodial platform Bradley Nuttall allows its adviser clients to focus on client service and advice as a primary consideration, while still allowing the time to secure new business.
- Lower cost of service: With access to institutional pricing for investments and custodial services and with the leverage provided using Bradley Nuttall’s templates and tools, most firms find they can offer enhanced services at lower cost of delivery.
- Higher profits: Firms that work with Bradley Nuttall access infrastructure and support at a fraction of the cost of developing themselves.
- No foreign bias: Bradley Nuttall is a New Zealand owned and operated business. All investments will be on one local platform and investments/marketing will be based on the needs of the New Zealand investment public.
- Simplier client management: Bradley Nuttall provide’s its adviser clients with client management and comprehensive advice systems developed by successful New Zealand based practitioners. Our adviser clients can deliver advice in a simple yet thorough manner.
- Independence: Adviser Clients retain benefits of independent business ownership while benefit of large firm support and systems. Adviser clients are also indpendent from large investment product providers. Bradley Nuttall utilizes no commissioned or proprietary products and only utlizes investments in the best interests of our clients.
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Key Value-Added Systems
Bradley Nuttall Adviser Client services incorporate the following key elements:
- Asset Class Allocation and Recommended Investment Systems.
- Client Management Services.
- Aegis Platform.
- Xplan and Intranet Services.
- Other Benefits.
Asset Class Allocation and Recommended Investment Systems
Bradley Nuttall only works with firms that share a common investment philosophy that includes the following key aspects:
- Investors are risk averse.
- Prices set by financial markets are efficient and any costs employed to exploit inefficiency in stock picking, manager picking, style drifting, or market timing are not expected to be recouped in increased investment returns.
- Portfolio design and exposure to risk factors including market, size, and value explain the vast majority of portfolio returns.
- Diversification helps reduce volatility and maximize expected returns.
- Standardized portfolio offerings at various amounts of volatility allows more important discussions of cash flow needs, loss tolerance, and risk capacity to influence allocation decisions.
Bradley Nuttall portfolios are mostly asset-class based and invest predominantly in managed funds from Dimensional Funds Advisers (DFA) as well as New Zealand bonds, New Zealand equities, and New Zealand listed property trusts. Larger portfolios may also have direct investment in New Zealand equities in order to achieve a small-value tilt.
Importantly, Bradley Nuttall can offer two unique advantages in the way it implements it’s investment philosophy with its adviser clients:
1. Our New Zealand focus caters to Kiwi clients: Our portfolios do not have biases towards any foreign country and can thus be altered based on the specific needs to New Zealand clients should tax law, fund registration, or other events occur which merit evaluation.
2. Our single platform for all investments increases efficiency: We offer New Zealand based fixed income on the same platform as other securities. This simplifies our performance and tax reporting.
Adviser clients access years of research and experience in developing an investment system. In summary you aquire:
- Rigorous Portfolio Management: A set of portfolios at unqiue levels of risk and return, developed based on the needs of New Zealand investors and based on 50 years of academic research
- Time Saving Drift Management: Set rebalancing methodologies and associated processes
- Clear Research and Explainations: Supporting research and engaging marketing material involving our portfolio allocations
The above save you time and give you confidence your clients investment portfolios are thoroughly and professionally managed.
Our portfolios contain no commissions, no proprietary products, and use institutional investments only available to a handful of fee-only advisers in New Zealand.
Many advisers struggle with managing portfolio drift. This is the natural outcome when investments have different risks and returns over time. Adviser’s working with Bradley Nuttall enjoy comprehensive drift managements to assure their clients that their portfolios reflect their underlying risk tolerance in whatever market conditions are present.
The Bradley Nuttall Investment Committee is chaired by Ben Brinkerhoff and has four members. The committee reviews our management solution every two months so you don’t have to, focusing on:
1. Development: Are our portfolios consistent with a changing tax and regulatory environment? Are any new products available that offer us increased diversification, enhanced asset class management, low cost, and risk-factor optimized characteristics?
2. Maintenance: What is our performance relative to benchmark? Are there any corporate actions and other issues that require attention?
3. Review: Review the research and whitepapers produced by ACIG, DFA and groups such as our consulting actuaries.
The investment committee sources research from:
- Dimensional Fund Advisers (DFA) and the Returns 2.0 program.
- Morningstar.
- Asset Class Investors Group (ACIG) - This group formally meets twice a year and consists of 2 New Zealand firms and 7 Australian firms. The group manages in excess of $3.5 Billion and has an investment committee that peer reviews asset allocation, benchmarking, and risk return optimizations.
- Various share brokers, although primarily FNZ, ASB and ANZ.
- Consulting actuaries, e.g. Melville Jessup Weaver.
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Client Management Services
Bradley Nuttall adviser clients access systems to increase efficiency and improve client management. The key is communicating to clients in a simple yet effective manner by leveraging our client management systems and procedures. In specific we offer our our adviser clients:
- Adviser tools including comprehensive wealth management for key relationships and wealth management processes and systems.
- Fortnightly teleconference calls for advisers to discuss marketing, investment and technical matters.
- Fortnightly teleconference calls for support staff.
- Quarterly economic commentaries.
- Investment governance documentation and processes for institutions and charitable organizations.
- Marketing materials e.g. articles, workshops etc.
- Consolidated tax reporting and communication templates.
- Fixed interest review and corporate action management.
- Client workshops.
- Adviser assistance with “larger cheques” – if required.
- Annual review templates.
- Investment policy statement and financial plan templates.
- Monte Carlo analysis support.
- Performance reporting, benchmarking, and supporting commentary for client investors.
- Commentary on changes and recommendations for client investment portfolios.
- Quarterly client template letters.
Ben Brinkerhoff manages all adviser client services with the assistance of various staff including the Directors.
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Aegis Platform
We offer our adviser clients uninterrupted and direct access to all Aegis systems and programmes to assist with portfolio administration and investment management. We include initial training on the system for all advisers and adviser assistants.
The fees for Aegis are charged at an annual rate and are competitively negotiated allowing advisers working with Bradely Nuttall the benefit of a larger market power and lower costs.
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Xplan and Intranet Services
We will provide access and initial training for Xplan, our client relationship management system. Xplan is the key to getting your client data organized and deliveadviser clients with marketing, new business management, data management, comprehensive client management, and includes templates, risk management tools, investment policy statements, adviser tools, and client care management tools.
Our intranet provides access to all our standard documentation including full access to the workings of our internal committees relating to the asset allocation system and adviser management system, research, marketing documentation, adviser resources, client education, presentations, workshops, portfolio reviews of competing firms, comprehensive client service programme and checklists.
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A Community of Like-Minded Professionals
With Bradley Nuttall you’ll be connected to likeminded advisers that share the same commitment to investment, client management and business growth. At our conferences we share marketing ideas and materials, prospecting plans, compliance requirements, and other helpful resources.
The unique structure of our network means you have numerous opportunities to build relationships with colleagues who address the same business needs you deal with everyday. You can gather with your peers each year at our annual conference —where we talk about the things you want to know… how to grow your business, new marketing and business development programs, how to better serve your clients and what new developments Bradley Nuttall has engineered for your use.
Through Bradley Nuttall you are connected to a larger study group, the Asset Class Investing Group (ACIG) that manages in excess of $3 Billion. We formally meet twice a year to review investment and advice processes. This group is independent, has exacting standards, and is innovative. We find that regular meetings lead to better solutions and processes.
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Other Benefits
Our Adviser firms working with Bradley Nuttall will receive the benefit of using Bradley Nuttall marketing materials including materials addressing the needs of widows, divorcees, retirement-savers, retirees, philanthropy institutions and UK pension transferees. We create New Zealand centric marketing materials and are making major investments in web development and integration of materials from United States based Index Funds Advisers, a firm with $1.4B (US) in funds under management.
All advisor client services are based on a successful New Zealand based advisory business with the following key qualifications and experience:
- Directors with a combined 48 years experience
- Four professionals with CFP’s
- Two professionals in the processes of becoming a CFA
- Bradley Nuttall and associated advisers FUM of around $400 Million (2011)
- Approximately 900 active wealth management clients
Lastly Bradley Nuttall is growing we currently service more than six offices nation-wide and across both the North and South Island.
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Strategic Direction
At Bradley Nuttall we have a deep bench of qualified and professional service people dedicated to advancing and servicing this business. Furthermore we are committed to growing and enhancing our Middle Office services. We expect the Bradley Nuttall Group funds will be around $400 million by year end 2011.
Our strategic direction is to be the best in New Zealand at getting our clients’ entire financial house in order and keeping it that way for the rest of their lives. Further we aim to change the way New Zealanders invest, pushing strongly against commissioned salesmen and towards a fiduciary and independent service model that puts clients first. If you are a likeminded firm, please call us so we can being to discuss how Bradely Nuttall can help you help your clients.
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