The financial services industry is always bickering about something or another, according to Anthony Villis, managing director at First Wealth.
Speaking to FTAdviser as part of our Coffee Corner series, Villis said there were quite a few areas the industry could improve on such as diversity and inclusion.
What is the key thing the industry needs to change?
“We need to stop squabbling amongst ourselves,” he said.
“I just get bored of tied or independent fixed fees against ad valorem or evidence-based against active management.
“There are really good advisers operating in all those different models and they are also really bad advisers operating in all those models so rather than this sort of entrenched 'my way is the best way', I wish sometimes people thought there were bigger problems to solve here such as diversity and inclusion and climate change.”
Villis said the industry would be in a better place if people put their energy towards that rather than “squabbling over something that has been done to death”.
Well, where do you think we are at as an industry with diversity and inclusion?
“Pretty terrible,” he said. “Everyone knows that financial services has a sort of white middle aged man problem.
“Is it getting any better? I think it is gradually getting better, but very, very slowly. We haven't got enough females in financial services.”
Villis explained there are also not enough people from ethnic backgrounds in financial services.
At First Wealth, he said the firm board is 50 per cent male and female, and is the same in the senior leadership team.
“With advisers, we've got six male advisers to three females which is still not good enough, but it's getting better than where it was,” he said.
“The challenge we all have is it's about bringing these people into the profession to start with because it's difficult when you're hiring people and often there is a need for hiring and there aren't the number of people there to choose from.”
Anthony, how did you enter into the financial advice space to begin with?
Villis said he studied economics at the University of Bath and tried to get a job there because all his friends were there.
“I wrote to a few companies and didn't hear much from many and then had two interviews - one with an accountancy firm one and one with Chase De Vere.
“Chase offered me a job - subject to sitting some exams - so that was the start when I was 21.”
He explained that upon starting out, he didn't really have a clue what he was doing.
“I didn't have any real inclination what financial advice was to start with, but it was just a great group of people,” he said.
“I enjoyed the work hard, play hard ethic. There were some really good times there.”
Since starting out, what has been the biggest change you’ve witnessed?
“Well, personally speaking, in terms of the way ours is very much more focused around clients' lives and the whole movement away from transaction business,” he said.
“When we started, it's always the question of how much you've got to invest. It was always an investment question rather than a financial planning question and that's probably just where the profession was at the time or the industry at the time.”
