Black tie events are generally not my thing. In fact getting me to wear a tie at the best of times is a bit of a challenge.
But wearing a black tie at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane last night came with an added bonus as I had the privilege and pleasure of collecting the IFA of the Year trophy at the Money Marketing Financial Services Awards 2010.
Informed Choice Ltd were up against the cream of the UK’s IFA community; shortlisted alongside 2Plan Wealth Management, Bestinvest (Brokers), Lowes Financial Management, Paradigm Norton Financial Planning and Positive Solutions.
To come first against these competitors added an extra degree of satisfaction to the evening.
But this is not an award for me, even though as Chief Executive I walked on stage to collect the award from comedian Alastair McGowan and Fidelity FundsNetwork sponsor Peter Hicks. It is an award for the splendid team that I have here at Informed Choice.
You will have to ask the judges why they awarded the top prize to us, but if you ask me I would say it is because we are a firm that embraces change.
Whilst so many of our peers either reluctantly accept that they need to change to deliver what it is that the consumer really, really wants and others are absolute resistors to such change, we wholeheartedly embrace change management as a natural part of our business life.
It is easy to sound full of ego when you win a prestigious award like this one but we always temper that with a saying we have in this business.
“We are very good at what we do, but we can always get better”.
As a firm of Chartered Financial Planners we have embraced the need for the highest level of qualifications, long ago abandoned commission in favour of explicit charging for our client services and taken on relevant technology to support our client services.
We are turning Informed Choice Ltd into a recognised brand and growing the firm gradually to support ever increasing demand for high quality independent and impartial advice.
We absolutely may not get everything right first time but let me return to my theme of the team at Informed Choice.
The acid test for any firm is not how they behave when things go right but how they behave when things go wrong. I know and I thought this as I walked up to get the award last night, that if anything goes wrong there is not a group of people I would rather have around to handle it than the team at Informed Choice.
Footnote:
If you take a suit holdall to London with your clothes to change into for an evening event, remember to pack a pair of trousers! If like me you forget, then M&S are most helpful when it comes down to finding a pair to match your jacket. The alternative of collecting the award in your boxer shorts is probably not on.
