At the end of last year my Independent Financial Adviser rang and suggested I moved my pension plan. Why? Because I was now ‘eligible’ for a new scheme at a fancy-pants City stockbroker – Brewin Dolphin. Now I sort of trust this IFA guy. I do think he knows what he’s talking about. But, you know, I don’t always think he’s putting my interests at the very top of his daily to-do list. Also, I’ve had a terrible experience with pension plans. Let’s just say, ‘Equitable Life’ - and leave it at that. So I went to see said fancy-pants brokers at their mega-offices in London’s Spitalfields and listened to the offer. It was what I expected. Highly credible? Oh yes. Largely unintelligible? Absolutely. What to do? Well of course, some research. After all, the outcome of my pension is pretty important. If possible, I’d like to avoid the ‘food or power’ choice in the cruel winter of 2040. Into Google went the Brewin Dolphin name. What came back was just pages and pages of corporate information. Mostly unhelpful verbiage such as: ‘We recognise that building a strong working relationship with you is key to providing an excellent service. This personal approach is mirrored in the way we will approach investing on your client’s behalf. Our focus is on providing investment management that is as unique as each client’s needs. We have worked for generations, providing tailored solutions that help your clients to create and preserve wealth.’ Mmmm, no real insights there. I then typed in ‘Brewin Dolphin’ plus ‘customer review’. And the top result that came back was this. A review written last Summer that begins : ‘I have to write a review on Brewin Dolphin as a result of my experience with them. My overall impression of using them for over 10 years (not out of choice, will explain as I go on) is VERY BAD.’ Briefly, the review is a story of how Brewin Dolphin turned 80k into 38k over a ten year period. And here’s the part that caught my eye: ‘It is breath taking that these bankers can steal in daylight, whereas if I went into their branch in Manchester and took each of their Rolex watches, they car keys for their high performance cars and their make grooming products, I would get arrested and locked up.’ Mmmm, interesting. What next? I decided that...
...marko123, the good fellow who was writing the review, looked fairly sensible and had picked up on some key points. Firstly, he had a beef about management fees – something I’m really wary of. Secondly, he was talking about an investment over a ten-year period - that in theory should give any investment manager time to perform. He even pointed out that he was making leeway for the devastating effects of September 11th on the world’s stock markets. And I noted he was a graduate in a technical subject and had written a number of other reviews that were helpful and non-ranty. In short – he had my attention.
However, there are always two sides to every story, right? So I sent the review off to my finance chappie and asked for some feedback. I also asked for some third-party endorsements. To his credit he came back with a few awards the company had won - but didn't address the review. I decided to sit on it for a few weeks. However, I just couldn’t get that review by marko123 out of my mind. And thus my pension remains unmoved. This may be a decision that I come to regret as Brewin Dolphin go ahead and tear up the markets for the next ten years, while I sit and collect meagre returns with my current plain-vanilla pension provider. Only time will tell.
I tell this tale as an example of what I call the ‘share-and-compare economy’. A shorthand concept I use with clients, when discussing how networked media has created a world where traded opinion among individuals increasingly determines purchase decisions. We share items with our social networks and compare what comes to back to us as a way of processing the vast amount of information today’s world offers. It’s a trend that looks only likely to continue. As pocket browsers and other groovyware connects us up to our nearest and dearest on a permanent basis they will become the main filter through which we decide to spend our precious time and, increasingly, our dosh too.
Anyone else have experiences of the share-and-compare economy? I’d really like to hear them if you do. Either in the comments or privately if you’d prefer.
Oh, and sorry Brewin Dolphin – you’re probably great.
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