An influx of new clients as business owners reassess their financial goals as a result of the pandemic has helped wealth planning and investment management firm Clarion Group achieve a record annual performance.
Group turnover in the year to April 30 rose from £3.4m to £3.7m.
Clarion, founded in 1985 by Ron Walker, added five staff during the year in line with its expansion.
The recruits, including chartered financial planner Ella Davies and compliance director Robin Townsend, took staff numbers to 20. Further recruitment is under way to cater for rising demand for Clarion’s services.
Clarion is based in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, and provides lifelong financial planning to business owners and families across the north west and beyond.
The group comprises Clarion Wealth Planning and Clarion Investment Management, which provides discretionary investment management services to clients.
Ron said Clarion had welcomed a record number of new clients during the year to April.
He said: “This growth has been partly driven by referrals from existing clients, which is testament to the excellent service our team provides. We have also worked in collaboration with other professionals such as accountants and solicitors to add further value to clients and achieve the best possible outcomes.
“In addition, the pandemic has undoubtedly led people to reassess their financial position, resulting in more people requiring high-calibre advice in respect of their lifetime goals.
“We have seen more clients looking to exit their businesses, more looking to retire, and some just feeling they require a more in-depth financial planning service.”
Ron said Clarion’s business model ensures a robust process for clients. Each adviser has a dedicated paraplanner and administrator, giving them more time to focus on their clients’ bespoke requirements.
“We get to know our clients intimately, with many having been with us for decades,” he said.
“We aim to include the whole family in our lifelong financial planning process, focusing on the long term with cashflow forecasts running through to the client’s 100th birthday.
“This approach gives them clarity, confidence and certainty that they can enjoy life to the full now as well as long into the future, and that they will have sufficient wealth to ride out bumps in the road and achieve their objectives.”
He added: “We are extremely pleased with our strong group performance but also, and perhaps more importantly, to have achieved excellent outcomes for our clients despite the wider economic picture.
“We have ambitious and significant growth plans for the business and the latest financial year has seen us make good progress in this regard.”
