“The first year I worked from home. It was hard work, but I’ve never been afraid of that and I’ve always been very determined and driven in what I do.”
Paul, who is originally from Barnoldswick, began his working life at the age of 16 on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS), working at the Nelson branch of a local building society. YTS was an on-the-job training course for school leavers. From that start, it was a story of continued career progression. He moved to a larger society, becoming its youngest branch manager and moving up to become its North West regional manager, winning a series of awards along the way.
Then he made the move to the bank that was to change the course of his career. Paul, who is a chartered associate, explains how he brought all the financial services experience he had gained over the years to his new venture.
He adds: “We’re passionate about building long-term relationships with our clients through the wealth management advice we provide.
“And that advice is tailored to meet their personal and business objectives. Our key values are togetherness, integrity, knowledge and professionalism. It is a simple and straightforward approach but it works and it works well.”
The majority of Schofield & Associates’ clients are based in east Lancashire but it also advises people living as far away as the south coast and in Scotland. Paul says: “Covid really brought the whole world closer together.”
Most of the practice’s clients are small business owners and their families and much of the work it does is centred round inheritance planning issues. Among the other wide range of services it delivers are investment and retirement planning and intergenerational wealth management.
The business moved into its current Burnley headquarters, overlooking the Leeds and Liverpool canal, two years ago. It has continued to grow organically but also through two major acquisitions, including the financial advisory arm of a well-known legal practice.
It also took over the operation of another locally based St James’s Place practice and he hasn’t ruled out further acquisitions in the future as part of its future growth journey.
He adds: “Our success and growth comes from hard work. Most of our business comes through client referrals and we get the overwhelming majority of our new clients that way.
“Our relationship with our clients is at the very heart of the business and everything that we do.”
Career development throughout the team is also important to Paul. He says: “I believe in promoting from within, it is something that I saw work well in my previous career and I have taken that with me.”
To that end Schofield & Associates set up a graduate scheme in 2019 seeing it as a good way to take on people and to grow and develop them in-house. The business supports recruits through their studies and
Gareth Metcalfe, who started as a client, joins as business development manager. He is now one of the firm’s financial advisers
A graduate scheme is set up and Toby Uttley-Muldoon joins as the first person to go through it – there have been three more team members who have now been through the scheme successfully
qualifications and then gives them clients to service. It is an approach that has proved successful. Graduate Toby Uttley-Muldoon was recently named young person of the year at the Burnley Business Awards.
Paul says: “The people who have come through the graduate scheme are making a real contribution to the business and that is a great to see.”
He adds: “We were very pro-active during Covid, we were there for people to help reassure them and advise them through uncertain times and our clients appreciated that.
“I feel that we are in a really good place as a business. “I’ve loved every minute of the past 10 years. We’ve built a business with strong foundations and processes and that allows us to support our clients while we maintain the very highest service standards.
“I’m so very proud of what we have achieved. We have a young team and it’s great to see them progressing. We all really care about each other and about the people that we are working for, and that’s what makes it so special.”
Schofield & Associates Financial Planning Ltd is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website
http://www.sjp.co.uk/products. The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.
SJP Approved 05/09/2023
In a major rebrand the business becomes Schofield & Associates Financial Planning Ltd
First acquisition – Howard Little Wealth Management is acquired and Howard joins as an advisor
Five new team members are recruited as expansion continues
The business moves to new offices at Burnley Wharf
Toby wins young employee of the year at Burnley Business Awards
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
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ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
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