Adviser Spotlight: Amy Goodall-Smith, Goodall-Smith Wealth Management

Our series of Adviser Spotlight interviews aims to reveal the current state of play for the UK’s savers and investors.

In our latest Q&A with advisers and wealth managers nationwide, we talk to Amy Goodall-Smith, Director of Goodall-Smith Wealth Management, about clients’ changing needs and how Flagstone can help.

“It’s not about timing the market. It's about spending time in the market.”

Hi Amy. Tell us more about Goodall-Smith Wealth Management and your work with your clients.

We're based in Twyford, Berkshire, and been going for about six years. I’m the only adviser in the practice, with five fantastic support staff that help me look after my clients. I’ve achieved chartered and fellowship status, and have an MSC in finance, so I can deal with any specialisms.

Most of our work comes from referral business, and we’re growing fast. We benefit from being on the High Street, so people from the local area can pop in. We work hard to take care of our clients and provide exemplar service.

Are you talking more about cash than two years ago? How does it fit into your client offering?

We very much look at the full picture rather than just focusing on one asset class or area of clients’ finances.

However, as higher earners, many of my clients have large cash sums. So, we’ve always talked about how cash fits with their overall portfolio, keeping in mind inflation vs investing and interest rates. The interest/inflation gap is still there, so we’re still having the same discussions today that we were having two years ago.

I particularly use Flagstone when my clients:

• Sell property, and have cash to use
• Have large sums in their businesses that they’d rather not withdraw, for income tax reasons

Why do your clients prefer to hold some of their wealth in cash? And is market entry timing important? 

Timing the markets is a topic I discuss with my peers a lot. If you mistime large sums going into the market, it can have a detrimental effect. However, it's that old phrase: “It's not about timing the market. It's about spending time in the market.”

Often, the reason why clients hold cash isn't to invest. It’s more about: “We’ve sold our house,” or “I've got money in my business,” – some people just like having large sums of cash.

Often, this is habitual – they’re used to seeing a large number in their bank account, and worry if it’s no longer there. Others tend to have large overall wealth, and hold a set percentage of it in cash.

We tend to suggest keeping 3-6 months’ worth of expenditure in cash, and known capital expenditure due in the next three years or so. For some, £50K+ isn’t a huge amount. Because I can offer the perfect cash solution with Flagstone, we tend to go for it.

What value does an adviser bring to these conversations? 

People don't know what's available, so it’s important to talk to an adviser. I've had clients that sat on cash for years and years in their current account, earning almost 0%.

Flagstone is also ideal for when we set up an investment to create an income for a client.  As we tend to delay turning that income on for 12 or 24 months, we need somewhere to hold the cash that’ll generate an income during those first years. Flagstone has accounts with 30, 60, 90-day access, which is a really great way to get good rates and organise their money.

What problems does Flagstone help solve for you and your clients? 

The platform itself is so straightforward that once I’ve sent the introduction, there’s very little need for me to get involved. But the main benefit of working with Flagstone is that I don’t need to be an expert in cash as an asset class to offer this solution to clients. One client had something like 17 different bank accounts and had never considered or knew there was an offering like Flagstone, with just one platform. He thought it was amazing.

It’s also great to have one point of contact, and we find Flagstone’s Business Development Managers really helpful. Not all clients are straightforward, so being able to speak to someone and having that line of communication open all the time is very important to us.

Four in five advisers say cash is a growing concern for their clients. With Flagstone, yours can access hundreds of accounts from 50+ UK banks. All in one place, with one application. For greater FSCS protection, exclusive rates – and minimal admin.

Join our network of leading referrers today, and help your clients protect and nurture their cash.