Nicola’s Speech

Good evening everybody and thank you for giving up some of your valuable time to come along tonight.

Sadly, I must begin by telling you that the guest speaker I invited has cancelled at the very last minute.

I thought it was a real coup when Gordon Brown accepted but, apparently, he is now too busy preparing to move house!

If only he were to put as much effort into shifting his policy position as to shifting his furniture!

You’ll be pleased to hear that this is not going to be a long and formal business speech and, furthermore, some of my investment partners who are here today offered to give a full and detailed analysis of the current economic forecast - I’m sure you’ll sigh with relief when I tell you I declined their kind offer!

This is, of course, a great opportunity for me as I so rarely get so many of my clients in the same place at the same time to be able to talk to you as one.

The first thing I want to say, and this is the principal purpose of this event, is to thank you all for your historic and ongoing support and trust in Trentham Invest.

As you will hear during the next ten minutes or so, Trentham Invest is going from strength to strength and, frankly, without you there would be no business!!

Many of you will know I started Trentham Invest as a greenfield venture in April 2003.

Those early days were very daunting times as the business had no clients, no professional relationships or alliances and not even an office.

Whilst I had a successful track record in the City, I soon learned that was of no use in Dorking. Frankly, the Dorking business mafia gave me the impression the last thing they wanted was another financial advisor.

Becoming accepted took some time and determination – indeed on one occasion I was even warned off by a local company who told me I was wasting my time.

My initial plan to get business was to visit local accountants and canvass them for client referrals. I remember well those snowy April days when a cup of warm coffee at their office was very welcome indeed.

After continually pestering half a dozen local accountants at last some referrals were forthcoming.

Since then, all of the business Trentham has acquired has been by word of mouth, personal recommendation and business networking. To this day Trentham has never advertised in any form of media.

Therefore, I must take this opportunity to thank all of the local businesses who have, and continue, to support the growth of the company and provide a welcome source of new business.

Our very first clients, and we have some here this evening, will remember that for some time I was the only face of Trentham Invest - OK so it’s not a bad one to have!

After spending two and a half years building a solid business and becoming a familiar name in the town, it was becoming evident extra resource was needed.

After reading numerous CV’s, and hours of interviews I found just who I was looking for. Fortunately the prime candidate felt the same and Vicki joined as Practice Manager in November 2005. We were now a team!

I am sure you will all agree what a valuable asset Vicki is to the business and what a first class service she provides to us all.

The growth of Trentham is in no small way due to her commitment and endeavours.

During December last year Vicki had an unexpected absence from the business and, as is so often the case, you don’t realise how great somebody’s contribution is until they are not there.

This, combined with our ever expanding client base, made me realise it was time to grow the team further.

The search was on for a special person. They would need to work with two very fussy women who are particularly set in their ways, and a dog that ferrets in handbags and briefcases, eats your lunch and has an irritating bark when the doorbell goes!

A dream job! Who could refuse!

So after more CVs and interviews Jennifer Phillips joined us as Practice Secretary in February. Jennifer has already made her mark on the business supporting Vicki and myself with the smooth running of the office.

My sincere thanks to both of you - we now have a strong foundation on which to build.

I must also take a few moments to thank my family and close personal friends for the unfailing support and confidence they have had in me and the business.

Apparently, I can sometimes be a right pain!

Trentham specialises in providing relationship based independent financial advice therefore it’s really important to me that I truly understand what each of you individually require from your investment portfolios.

Although we provide advice on a wide range of financial matters, we have particular expertise in the areas of pensions and investments and by working with you on a one to one basis can meet your unique needs.

I believe that by focussing on genuine personal service Trentham is a refreshing change to other financial advisers.
Our business philosophy is that financial planning is about what is right for you, our client, and not just the promotion of in vogue investment products.

Our fee based proposition means that we are not influenced by any insurance or investment companies that so often produce products for the benefit of financial advisors as opposed to investors.

You clearly share this view because thanks to your support and confidence we now successfully manage client funds in excess of fifteen million pounds.

I am very aware how different you all are in terms of your attitude to the markets and risk, but whatever your position, the returns Trentham are delivering are well above industry norms.

I would like to thank the managers and teams from the fund groups who have helped us achieve these outstanding results.

I am pleased to say that some of them have joined us this evening and can be identified by their red name badges.

When you go home later this evening with your goody bag, please remember that it is these people who have kindly donated the branded gifts from their respective organisations.

Looking to the future, some of you have expressed concerns over the growth of Trentham Invest.

How big will the client base grow to?

Have we any plans for more financial advisers?

Can Nicola continue to deal personally with every client?

Will I be passed onto another adviser at some stage?

Will Herman ever get any bigger?

All very reasonable questions for you to be asking.

Let me reassure you.

I see and hear all too many times that businesses forget the reason clients came to them in the first place and then wonder why clients leave when the business values change.

As you have seen, as the business has grown I have increased the resources, in the form of Vicki and now Jennifer, in order that I can remain business principal.

I give you my assurance that I will continue to add resource as and when required so that I can remain 100% committed to directly providing you with advice at a strategic and fund management level on a personal basis.

It’s still my core belief that I would rather have a 1 carat diamond than a 50 carat emerald.

When responding to tonight’s invitation many of you have asked why a Mole Party?

Well, as a lass born in Sunderland, and you need to know that is well north of Leatherhead, when I started the business I wanted something that related to the place where I now live - the Mole Valley.

Those of you who come to the office see a mole on the door bell, in the window, and for the those who have had too much tea or coffee a mole on the toilet door!

When I did my research in the library, I found out that the River Mole winds between the trees at the base of the escarpment of Box Hill.

In fact, the River Mole is something of an historical enigma and according to one school of thought, its name derives from its habit of burrowing underground the roots of trees, like its animal namesake.

Therefore, to me, the mole was the obvious choice.

As I have already mentioned, when you leave this evening you’ll be given a Trentham goody bag - look inside and you’ll see we’ve brought the mole to life. I’m very aware that I’m all that stands between you and another drink so you’ll be pleased to hear that’s the end of this evening’s formal proceedings.

However, before you rush to the nearest server we have a little fun for you.

Some of our generous investment partners have kindly donated some special gifts and it’s with great pleasure that I hand over to Vicki and Jennifer, the Ab Fab girls of Ansell Road, who will perform the prize draw!

Congratulations to the winners and thank you Vicki and Jennifer.

There is no hurry to leave so please enjoy your evening.

And again, thank you for coming to our party.

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