Every month, we share some highlights of what’s been happening in and around KBA. This month, we expanded again after merging with Howard Anthony Bartley – Financial Planning Consultants.
Having passed her most recent financial planning exam, find out about Hannah Needham’s exciting promotion.
And finally, we spent a great couple of days at the Royal Cheshire County Show enjoying wonderful weather, coffee, cake, and conversation with current and prospective clients.
KBA have taken on a new client bank after merging with Howard Anthony Bartley – Financial Planning Consultants
Howard Bartley and his daughter, Emily
Howard has known Sarah Hogan, our CEO and Chartered Financial Planner for 15 years since she started in the industry and prior to that, knew her father, Ken Bates for over 10 years. He has seen how KBA has developed since Sarah took over the business in 2016 and has been impressed with how we have kept our family values and culture even with the growth we have implemented.
When the time was right for him to start to think about phasing into retirement, it was important to find a home for his clients and be confident that we would care about them as much as he does. It was also important that the company not only had enough scale to look after his clients but have plans to navigate the endless challenges thrown at the profession. For example, the increased compliance, systems, servicing requirements, exams, and have succession plans to name but a few.
KBA was a natural fit.
With both companies being part of the Openwork network and having similar values – including the family approach in their history – it was a great choice.
Howard is now working alongside the team at KBA as he transitions himself and his clients over and as he phases into retirement. As part of the merger, his daughter Emily – who lots of his clients know well – will be joining the KBA team in October when she is back from maternity leave. We are extremely excited about this, it will also be great for the clients to see a familiar face.
We will be contacting all clients soon. If you are one of Howard’s clients and wish to get in touch with KBA for an initial chat before then, please call 01942 889883 or email contactme@kbafinancial.com and one of the team would love to chat to you.
Talking about the merger, KBA’s Company Director, Sarah Hogan says:
“We are so excited to have Howard, Emily, and his clients onboard. I have known Howard for 15 years and he has always been a well-respected adviser with a great sense of humour. We are honoured that he has chosen us to look after his clients in the future and I am absolutely over the moon that Emily is joining us as well.
“I have no doubt there will be some fundamental changes and challenges, as with any merger. After all, that is partly why Howard is joining us, due to the increased obligations of the profession, but it’s nothing we cannot navigate through.
“The team are also excited about working both with them and the clients over the coming months, and about having Howard and Emily’s experience to help train newer members of the KBA team. I am sure it will be the start of a great relationship.”
Meanwhile, Howard said:
“As our world continues to expand and demands become even stronger from the regulator and clients, it becomes more and more difficult for smaller companies such as myself to continue. This is why we made the decision to merge with a growing company such as KBA, who have the high-quality resources of a large company but excellent customer service levels of a small company.
“When you have been in the industry as long as I have, you make many professional connections within the same field as yourself, all with different views and values.
“When I was first introduced to Sarah, I could see instantly what a bright, passionate, and driven individual she was. If you had told me at the time that 15 years later this young lady would be merging my business with hers, I would not have been shocked in the slightest.
“I look forward to getting to know each member of the team individually and cannot wait to see what we will achieve as a company.”
Hannah Needham passed her final financial exam and is now a qualified Junior Financial Planning Consultant
You may remember reading about Hannah when she joined us as a Junior Adviser earlier this year.
She’s been working so hard that she’s now passed her final financial exam and has won a promotion after less than six months on the team.
Here’s what Hannah has to say…
Can you tell us a bit about your time at KBA, your previous role, and what this new role will mean for you professionally?
My time at KBA has been a whirlwind, I’ve learnt so much and had a lot of fun.
In my new role, I am acting as client support to our Company Director, Sarah Hogan. I will watch and learn from her ready for when I start going out and having my own client meetings as a fully fledged Financial Planning Consultant – hopefully in February 2023.
How long have you been working towards this qualification and what did it involve?
I have been working towards this qualification for 18 months – I spent a lot of my weekends and evenings revising!
How did you find the final exam?
It wasn’t as bad as I expected – probably because I worked really hard in the weeks leading up to it!
What did you find hardest when preparing for the exam? And the easiest?
The hardest bit was learning the exam technique. The easiest was pulling together all the knowledge I had learnt from my previous exams.
Do you have a revision technique you rely on or are you a natural at learning new information?
Fortunately, I am pretty good at taking in new information, but I like to write and re-write. It takes a while, but I do get there!
Are you now working towards another qualification, or are you taking a break before diving into your next challenge?
I am taking a little break. Then, my next step will be working towards getting my Chartered Financial Planner status, which means a lot more work and more complicated exams.
We enjoyed a right royal time at the Royal Cheshire County Show
It was the first time we’d had a stand at the Royal Cheshire County Show, where we had a great time sharing free coffee and cake.
Our fantastic team of Financial Planners were on hand to discuss all things financial and explain how we turn complexity into simplicity.
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, our Yorkshire Building Society team members from our Nantwich agency were also on hand to show what they do best: delivering fabulous customer service face to face and making you and your savings their top priority.
It was a scorching few days, but we had a fantastic time chatting to new people and catching up with some of our fabulous clients who were out in force, making the most of the gorgeous weather.
We extend a massive thank you to the team, clients, prospects, and local traders who made our first experience at the show so special. We’re already looking forward to doing it all again in 2023!
