One of our clients, national financial planning business Continuum has seen net assets increase by £300m in the first half of 2021, an increase of 38% year on year, building on the impressive growth seen by the firm in 2020.
Assets for the firm now sit at over £1.4bn.
Turnover for the full year is now expected to grow an impressive 36% year on year to hit £10.21m by the end of 2021 (2020: £7.51m).
Continuum capitalised on growth opportunities with five new advisers joining the business in the first half of the year. The national financial planning business now has 55 advisers based across the country.
Client numbers also continued to rise. The financial planning firm saw client numbers increase 13% year on year to surpass 12,400 clients.
Gross profit surged 56% year on year as the firm continued to build on the impressive growth seen in 2020.
During 2020, Continuum saw a 41% increase in income from total new business written, a 31% increase in business turnover, an 11% increase in clients, and a 13% increase in asset inflows.
Martin Brown, managing partner at Continuum, said he thinks that the firm’s people culture is the secret to its success as clients really feel supported.
He said: “The pandemic has made people more conscious for the need of planning as they come to gain greater respect for their own vulnerability. Both clients and advisers have never been more engaged in developing and reviewing their financial plans as they are now.
“We have supported our clients at a time when they have needed us the most, and they are rewarding us for this by recommending us left right and centre. Outstanding client experience has always been at the core of our business culture. Referrals and new business enquiries have increased exponentially, which can be directly attributed to our strong client relationships, the quality of our advisers, and the strength of our support staff.
“Our people culture and constantly evolving Partner Charter has really helped our advisers embrace virtual working and helped them strive for an outstanding client experience with every single client interaction. We are determined to create a partnership where the client, advisers and the business are of equal importance. Each party has to feel engaged and that advisers and the business act as one.”
Continuum’s shift to virtual working has been so successful that the business has no plans for all staff to return to the office full time.
The majority of clients also want to continue to engage with their adviser remotely.
Some of the firms 55 advisers have returned to face-to-face meetings with clients, with most doing a hybrid of face-to-face and virtual meetings. Over 80% of Continuum’s client meetings are currently virtual and the firm does not have any plans for this to significantly increase.
Martin Brown said the shift to more digital meetings may be part of a long-term trend: “Our net promoter and brand loyalty scores have increased further in recent months, so our clients are telling us they are happy, and all our advisers have experienced a record business year in a virtual capacity. We will continue to work with our clients in whichever way works best for them.”
Editors Notes – About Continuum
Continuum is a modern brand of financial advice. It is a partnership of like-minded Independent Financial Advisers sharing a common passion, approach and commitment to practicing true financial planning.
We are dedicated to providing a modern financial planning experience – one that focuses on the client.
Assets under influence have increased to over £1.4bn
We believe that by creating a three-way partnership between Continuum, the adviser and the client, we also create an environment where each party can only succeed and grow if the other parties also succeed and grow.
Continuum is a trading name of Continuum (Financial Services) LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Continuum (Financial Services) LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership
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