Dynamic Wealth

Calum Cameron has no doubts about how successful the transition from what was Dynamic Wealth to what is now Fairstone Kibworth has been.

“If I would have written my perfect five-year succession plan for the business, it could not have been much better than what we have been through,” declares the financial planner and Head of Office.

Looking back, Calum says what appealed to him about Fairstone was something very straightforward.

Governance and compliance

“It was their governance, their focus on compliance and the fact that as a business, they were doing really well,” he recalls.

“Anyone we spoke to about Fairstone had a great story to tell in terms of how they found things when dealing with the group.

“You have got a strong business with very clear tramlines, you’ve got great people wherever you go, whether that’s in head office or in offices around the country, and they shared the same values as us.”

A major step

Nevertheless, Calum concedes that it was still a major step to sign up to the DBO programme and agree to eventually sell the business.

“Selling a business is a massive thing to do on all fronts and you need to be clear about the decision you are taking,” he explains.

“With Fairstone and the DBO, it wasn’t about taking the money and running and it has worked really well.”

Calum’s colleague, Financial Planner David Bolton, says that signing up to the DBO was “really easy” and the gradual changeover from Dynamic Wealth to Fairstone suited the firm and their clients.

Safer business, higher performance

Calum explains: “What we found as we went through the transition is that we felt like we had a business that just got safer and safer whilst also performing at a higher and higher level.

“Clients ultimately trust their adviser and that’s what makes the change easy initially but when they experience the security of being part of a bigger organisation and knowing that high standard of governance is in the background, you just get the win-win.

“You’ve got that sweet spot of a personal relationship with the client continuing but with that extra stability, certainty and consistency in what you are delivering.

Nothing changes, but everything changes

“In some ways nothing changes but in other ways everything changes.”

During the course of the two-year transition period before Dynamic Wealth became Fairstone Kibworth, Calum, David and the team were able to use the support of Fairstone to help grow the business.

“The DBO is a great way to build on what you already have before the business is fully acquired so it creates more deal value at the end of the day,” explains Calum.

Expanding and improving

However, as well as expanding the business, joining Fairstone has also improved it.

“Working with Fairstone has made us better advisers,” David Bolton believes.

“When you join as a new firm, you have got your own ideas about compliance and what’s right and you push back a bit initially but you actually get better and that’s led to great success in the business.”

Calum Cameron agrees.

Access to specialists

“We have now got access to specialist paraplanning which we could not have afforded to have previously and therefore when you’ve got a case that’s technically complex and you want to get it right, you know that it’s been checked properly.”

While he admits that selling a business is “a hard thing”, Calum feels the DBO model is the ideal way to do so.

Letting go at your own pace

“Letting go of something you have nurtured over a lifetime isn’t easy so to be able to do that at your own pace without being pushed out of the door or having more responsibilities pushed on you that you don’t want is really important,” he explains.

“There are lots of consolidators in the marketplace and you don’t hear great stuff about a lot of them,” warns David Bolton.

“Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t sell to anyone else but Fairstone.”

Interested in learning more?

To find out more about Fairstone’s DBO model, contact Fairstone M&A Team Business Development Executive Euan Morris today.