IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST
“You build trust by understanding what’s important to me and demonstrating you understand.
The key is education. Don’t throw ideas at me; educate me, but as equals.
They all called me when I sold my firm, but they all came to me with investment ideas.
They don’t get my money, because they don’t start with building trust.”
WHY
The ‘why’ of Mulberry Bow is really a response to the three limits on happiness: health, time and money. A tax adviser we know once told us of a self-made client who sold his business, a business built up over 20+ years. The windfall was enough for him and his wife to be comfortable for the rest of their lives, provided he could get decent financial advice. At the time, there was nobody the adviser felt comfortable recommending and three years later the IFA the client found for himself had managed to halve the capital.
The adviser explained that it was experiences like this that led him and his fellow partners, in 2014, to make a resolution; to find someone who could build a financial planning practice that was genuinely different, offering a trusted service akin to acting as the FD for your personal financial life. The person they identified was our founder Simon Bullock and the practice he built is Mulberry Bow.
WHAT
CONVENIENT IS THE ENEMY OF RIGHT
Ajaz Ahmed
At the heart of Mulberry Bow is the belief that there are no shortcuts to giving you peace of mind. We ‘sweat the small stuff’ on your behalf, and commit to helping you and your family for as long as you need us.
We begin with you educating us about what’s important to you, your current financial position and what you want money to ‘do’ for you. Then we educate you, without patronising, about the key threats to your financial wellbeing, as well as the most relevant and advantageous, non-controversial planning opportunities.
On this foundation we build a considered, well-informed and tailored Financial Plan for achieving your financial goals and then walk every step of that journey with you.
HOW
Our unique five step process is tailored to the needs of successful business owners and professionals who are at the top of their game. We do not give tax or legal advice, but our process is informed by an awareness of key tax and legal issues gained through working with different clients facing similar challenges.
We work closely with your other professional advisers, and recommend people if there are any gaps in the team, so that the plan we construct with you acts as the glue that draws all of the threads together.
We find it rewarding to help our clients invest intelligently and tax-efficiently, with sensible provision for loved ones and a simple but coherent estate plan. It means you are free to focus on the things you are passionate about… whether that’s giving your business interests your undivided attention, enjoying time with family and friends, or exploring some far-flung corner of the globe.
WHO
BE CAREFUL WHOSE ADVICE YOU BUY, BUT BE PATIENT WITH THOSE WHO SUPPLY IT
Mary Schmich
Before Mulberry Bow, our advisers all worked for prestigious London firms, looking after successful, self-made clients, but over time they each came to the same conclusion. The culture of the businesses they represented meant that however much they cared, they were essentially selling products. Each wanted the opportunity to build something small, but high quality, with every client treated as an individual and complete alignment of interests. They wanted the client, or any member of their family, to have complete trust in them and their advice.
Advisers who know what they are doing and are motivated by the client’s best interests, rather than a sales target, are sadly rare in our industry, but they are worth seeking out. After all, managing your own personal finances can be a dry affair and an unwanted distraction from enjoying life, but getting it right is critical to your peace of mind.