"I was at a point in my own practice where I needed to expand and employ additional administrative staff in order to keep up with my growing client base. While I enjoyed working on my own after many years of working for bigger corporates, I was feeling the squeeze of the amount of time the administration and compliance was taking out of my day. I met with various medium-sized financial planning practices before (and during) my discussions with Mike Estment at NFB. It took about six months of kicking tyres and in-depth discussion with the various practices to establish whether or not we were a good fit. The fit was not only for me but more importantly for my clients. My clients are the people who placed their faith, hopes and dreams in me and my practice. If anything were to happen to me I wanted to be sure that they will be taken good care of and I did not want them to feel like a number.
After meeting with Mike, Andrew and William I got the feeling that NFB is really like family. I felt heard and valued. I also got the impression that they are driven and passionate and that theirs is a great business with a big heart.
NFB Asset Management has won numerous awards for their asset management funds and asset managers. Having the asset management team available to discuss the portfolios is invaluable. It gives me great comfort knowing that the investment advice I give my clients has been approved by the Investment Committee at NFB, and the funds I recommend have been vetted by qualified experts in this field. As a financial advisor my duty is to take care of my clients needs and I rely on the expertise of the Investment Committee to do the fund manager research.
Client transferral was handled very efficiently with the help of my assistant, Dineo. Within three months over 95% of my clients were transferred. I secretly think my clients were relieved that I was no longer on my own as I have more time to keep in touch with them and also to take on new clients. It feels like my own practice within a much bigger, more secure practice. I get to do what I love which is financial planning, particularly investment planning. I have access to the asset managers, stock brokers and colleagues to bounce ideas off, to chat about any problems I encounter and I have the independence to manage my clients’ financial planning matters in the most appropriate manner for their needs.
Honestly, I wish I had met the NFB team 20 years ago!"
Evelyn Doubell
Financial Advisor (Johannesburg)