28
INTERMEDIARY PROFILE CHRISTCHURCH INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
“
Increasingly,
people are finding
that going abroad
to work has not
necessarily proved as
beneficial as they had
hoped it would be
”
Anthony Walters, director,
Christchurch
ing demand for the company’s
services and this is
why he says he is looking
to add another three advisers
with offshore expertise
to the Christchurch team
over the next two years.
He foresees the offshore
share of the firm’s funds
under management – currently
£164m – to grow to
20% from its current 7%
over that same period.
l Expansion plans
This is an ambitious goal for
a company which, though
in its 30th year, only formally
created a separate
international operation a
little more than two years
ago when it lured Shah
from Towry Law and put
him in charge. But Walters
says he is confident the
target is realistic.
“Increasingly, people
are finding that going
abroad to work has not
necessarily proved as beneficial
as they had hoped it
would be,” he says. “Jobs
are a bit tighter, and they
are changing.
“People are not necessarily
coming back to the
UK, but they are moving
around, or coming back
to the UK perhaps to
look for work and then
going abroad again. And
they don’t want to have
worries over their finances
at the time they are making
these changes.”
Like the rest of the
Christchurch team, Shah
and Walters are based
FACT FILE
in the heart of London’s
financial district, a few
blocks from the Bank of
England and the London
Stock Exchange. It has
been a good many years
since the company outgrew
and had to leave its
offices in the restored ruins
of Christchurch Tower, a
Sir Christopher Wren landmark
from which it gets its
name, near St Paul’s.
Walters says Christchurch
is happy with its centralised,
single-office business
model, even though some
rival firms with international
clients have been opening
offices in key foreign
towns and cities, or acquiring
or forming joint ventures
with intermediaries
based in these markets.
“There is less need to
get on a plane to go and
see Jim and Joan in Cyprus,
now that you have the
internet and web access
and video conferencing,”
he explains.
“We still want to see
and meet people, but there
is no longer the need to
have advisers charging
around the world the way
they used to.”
l Reassuring rules
Another advantage of being
London-based is that it
obliges Christchurch to be
regulated by the Financial
Services Authority, and to
have to comply with the
recommendations of the
recent Retail Distribution
Review, which include a
Name: Christchurch Investment Management Ltd
Founded: 1980
Funds under management: £164m, of which 7% are for
offshore clients
Clients: 900 active
No. of employees: 13, of which 7 advisers
Locations/offices: London only
requirement that advisers
move to a fee rather
than commission-based
business model by 2013.
Nervous clients value
such regulatory oversight,
Walters believes.
As part of the RDR,
UK advisers also must
obtain Chartered Financial
Planner status, which
Walters says the entire
Christchurch advisory
team is currently working
towards – him included.
Finally, “London is
unique in that it has a
combination of advantages
including a great time zone
in between Tokyo and
New York and a thriving
financial centre that will
continue to survive and
thrive, no matter what the
politicians may say.”
l Hands-on approach
More so than some advisory
firms, Christchurch
is involved in actively
managing its clients’
money and has done so
for more than 20 years,
most recently under
Walters’ stewardship.
In 2008, Walters – head
of the firm’s investment
management team – and
his associates launched
a new portfolio product
for clients they called
the Christchurch Wealth
Account (CWA).
Available in a choice
of risk models, the CWA
offers clients a competitively-priced
(1%) product
that adheres to Walters’
risk-spreading, long-term
investment philosophy.
“We do not invest in
anything we do not understand,”
he explains. “There’s
truth to the saying that if
something looks too good
to be true, it usually is.
“We spread risk on an
international basis, rather
than keeping 60% of
assets in the UK stock
KEY POINTS
Christchurch Investment
Management is celebrating
its 30th year in business
with a plan to expand its
reach among expats.
Based in London, the
company seeks to promote
its UK-regulated status,
and its embracing of the
Retail Distribution Review
– particularly among wouldbe
clients resident in less
well regulated countries.
Director Anthony Walters
hopes to hire an additional
three to five advisers for the
offshore market, and to boost
the offshore share of FUM to
20% from its current 7%
Launched in 2008, the
Christchurch Wealth Account
enables the company’s
advisers to asset allocate
and manage a client’s
portfolio, whatever phase
of life he or she may be at.
market, as many firms
used to do,” he adds.
“And we are very much
medium to long-term in
our planning.”
It is a strategy that
places a high emphasis
on asset allocation,
where Walters says 90% of
portfolio performance
comes from, as well as on
asset protection.
Shah says he currently
finds many new clients
by advertising on the
London Daily Telegraph’s
website for expats (www.
telegraph.co.uk/expat),
where he says readers typically
click on a link to
Christchurch’s website in
search of answers to frequently-asked
questions.
“What I am looking
at doing eventually is
to arrange seminars for
expats and non-doms [featuring]
tax accountants and
solicitors, so it is not just
me standing up there and
saying ‘this is what you
have to do’,” he says.
INTERNATIONAL ADVISER [www.international-adviser.com] FEBRUARY 2010
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