Monday Interview: Scott has the poise for more deals at financial services giant

The chief executive of 1825, the financial planning business of Standard Life, talks at ease on a variety of topics, from the company’s expansion plans to Brexit and how savers are dealing with the biggest political crisis in a generation.

We spoke just as her team was busy completing the integration process on the latest in a flurry of acquisitions.

The deal for the wealth advisory business of Grant Thornton, which was unveiled in July, was the eighth 1825 had completed since it was established four years ago, and will see more than 100 employees added to the Edinburgh-based advisor’s headcount, including 34 financial planners.

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With work still do on integrating the Grant Thornton operation, Ms Scott said further deals were not on the immediate agenda. However, growth through acquisition is still very much part of the plan.

“We are always looking at opportunities,” said Ms Scott, who attended ballet school for 15 years before dedicating her career to financial services.

“The focus for us just now is about integrating the businesses really well, creating that one way of doing things across the UK and really focusing on serving clients.

“Whether we go ahead and do any more acquisitions next year, I think is too soon to say, but we are always looking. Ultimately, we don’t really speculate on mergers and acquisitions either.”

1825 began its acquisition spree with the acquisition of Pearson Jones in the north east of England in 2015, and followed that with three deals the year after, when the Munro Partnership in Scotland, Baigrie Davies in London and Jones Sheridan in the north west of England came on board.

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The expansion continued with deals for Fraser Heath in the south west of England and Cumberland Place in London in 2017, which prefaced the acquisition of the wealth management business of BDO Northern Ireland in March of this year.

The culmination of all the deals means 1825 now has a team of around 450 people spread across the UK. About 110 are advisers, with the balance in client support roles, such as paraplanners, who are “making it all happen - very much the unsung heroes,” Ms Scott said.

Explaining the acquisition rationale, she noted: “What you are doing is you are bringing lots of high quality businesses and some really great people [on board] who have served their clients really well. You are bringing them together to create one way of doing things. It brings with it huge opportunity.

“It can be challenging, because people don’t like change sometimes, but the most important thing for us is making sure that we minimise any disruption to our customers and clients, and we make it as good an experience for colleagues as possible.”

1825 was set up by Standard Life, now Standard Life Aberdeen following its 2017 merger with Aberdeen Asset Management, in the wake of sweeping reforms to the pension system, which broadly gave consumers more freedom when it comes to accessing their retirement pots.

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The reforms, which related to defined contribution or money purchase schemes, meant that people could have full access to their pensions from the age of 55, and no longer had to purchase an annuity.

“It means things are a lot more complicated,” Ms Scott said. “It’s not like you work, and then you retire.

“People’s lives are different now. People live longer, they have multiple careers and they don’t retire at a point in time – they maybe change their job, they do more vocational work, they change their hours, so they can be working and drawing down on their pension at the same time.

“The result of that was that more people needed advice at around about retirement age, keeping in mind that is not a set moment in time for a lot of people.

“Then they need their advice when they are in retirement. But there is a gap… there is just not enough advisers in the UK to help people.”

Ms Scott added: “Standard Life Aberdeen has always had a strong sense of purpose around being able to help our customers and our clients with their life savings.

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“We made a decision in 2015 to be able to do that across the UK. So we went about doing that by buying some really high quality advisory businesses, and made our first acquisition in 2015.”

The expansion at 1825 has played out against a background of political stalemate, with Brexit a perpetual spectre looming over the economy ever since the vote to leave the European Union in 2016.

Asked whether Brexit was an influence on savers’ behaviour, Ms Scott noted there was currently a great deal of political instability across the world, and said she recently experienced first-hand the protests in Hong Kong, triggered by plans which would allow extradition to mainland China.

Ms Scott stated that “markets don’t like uncertainty and ambiguity”, but added: “What we are finding with our customers and our clients is they want to have more conversations, just about what is happening and what it means for them and their money.

“We issue a weekly blog which is just really helping people understand what is happening in the market, and why. Our clients are saying that is really helpful. They know their investments are long-term investments, but every day they are

hearing about things. It is just making it more front of mind.”

Moreover, Ms Scott does not feel that people are saving less in the current climate. “If anything they are saving more because of the uncertainty,” she said.

“They are wanting to make sure they are putting money aside so that they have got short-term cash available, and what they are doing on medium and long-term investments.

“If anything, we are probably seeing people spend less, and save more.”

Ms Scott has worked in financial services, across a broad range of roles, since graduating with honours in business economics with marketing at the University of Paisley. Her first port of call was the graduate trainee programme at Endsleigh Insurance, which instilled her with skills and know-how she continues to tap into today.

After Endsleigh, she spent 12 years at the Edinburgh investment house Standard Life, holding a variety of posts, before working for Royal Bank of Scotland for around a decade. She re-joined Standard Life as head operations in 2014, and was made chief executive of Standard 1825 in September 2017.

Asked what she enjoys about her role, Ms Scott conveys a deep motivation to do the right thing for her clients, and for 1825 to be there at different stages of their lives. That could be assisting with retirement but it could also be helping people plan financially during ill health.

“The big thing for me are the day to day stories about the differences we make to people’s lives,” she said. “One of my best memories of the last two years was someone sharing with me a photograph of a client doing a selfie in Borneo with a gorilla. He sent the selfie in saying: “I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t given me the confidence to retire.”

“For me, when all is said and done, it always comes down to the difference we can make to people’s lives.”

Six Questions

What countries have you most enjoyed travelling to, for business or leisure, and why?

Japan. I went for the first time earlier this year and was blown away by the people, the food and the cleanliness! I love the fact that everything runs on time, and I just can’t wait to go back.

When you were a child, what was your ideal job? Why did it appeal?

A ballet dancer. I actually went to ballet school for 15 years, I loved the performance and the costumes.

 What was your biggest break in business?

Getting accepted onto the Endsleigh Insurance graduate trainee programme.

To this day I still refer back to things I learnt on the scheme.

 What was your worst moment in business?

I was the head of a very high-performing, closely-knit team.

We’d shaped things and grown together. Having to tell them I was moving elsewhere within the business was emotional and incredibly difficult.

 Who do you most admire and why?

Michelle Obama. Her sense of dignity is just inspiring.

 What book are you reading and what music are you listening to?

I’m currently reading Michelle Obama’s autobiography.

Musically, INXS – I’ve just watched a documentary about the band and it’s made me go back and listen to all their music.