Straight-talkers aim to restore confidence in financial service sector

THREE former colleagues have launched their own financial services company - Chatfield Private Client Limited - in a bid to revive dwindling public confidence in the sector.

Jason Ashman, Adrian Pickersgill and Philip Challinor have gone into business to implement their vision of what a '21st Century financial services company should look like'.

Having worked together for 10 years the trio realised the only way to achieve their ambition was to form their own company - independent of external shareholders.

Together the co-directors have more than 50 years experience in the financial services industry, making them among the most experienced and qualified teams in the country.

Mr Ashman, 40, said there was  'genuine appetite for change' in the delivery of financial services.

He said: "Why should the public trust an industry whose recent history is littered with ignominy, like the Equitable Life failure, miss-selling of endowments and pension transfers, AIG and Lehman Brothers?"

Meanwhile, he said, insurers, investment managers and advisers continued to 'take their pound of flesh' from investor's portfolios while delivering 'at best average returns'.

He said consumers struggled to understand what charges were being incurred and this was where the relationship between insurers, investment managers and advisers was 'rotten'.

"They are dependent on the lack of transparency of the current situation and will block any attempt to change the current state of affairs as their survival relies on it continuing," he said.

Chatfield, based in Hall Green, Birmingham, is promising to provide clients with high quality, tailored, independent advice based on the traditional values of trust, integrity, honesty and the delivery of a genuinely unparalleled private client service.

It will combine the traditional fiduciary responsibilities of a trusted adviser with the latest technology and wealth management techniques to deliver a genuine ‘exclusive private client’ experience.

Clients will be advised by the directors and will have their personal contact details so they can be reached at any time in order to further enhance the private client experience.

Mr Pickersgill, 40, said the aim was to deliver financial planning based on 'straight-talking'.

"We will answer the questions that matter like, when can I afford to retire? How can I pass on my wealth to my children as tax-efficiently as possible? How much do I need to sell my business for?"

Mr Challinor, 33, added: "We are happy to challenge conventional thinking and provide highly creative solutions for clients. As well as using traditional approaches that have been shown to work, we also use a range of alternative strategies in an effort to maximise a client’s position. We will also ‘walk the walk’ by personally investing our own funds in the same strategies we recommend to clients."