Third leadership forum explores wealth management principles for business success
Good rules for wealth management are also good rules for running a company, business leaders heard at a high-level networking event.
The advice came from Nick Oliver, founder of wealth management firm Oliver Wealth, who was guest speaker at the latest Stockton House Leadership Forum. Organised by The Wigley Group and held at its headquarters at Stockton House near Southam, the forum welcomed around 30 business leaders from across the region to network and share advice.
Nick launched Oliver Wealth in 2022 and the firm, which is based at Stockton House, provides independent financial advice to clients across pensions, investments, protection and estate planning. It has grown from a team of one to nine since its foundation.
In his talk, Nick explained how the core principles behind financial planning apply equally to running a business. He urged attendees to understand their end goal and not to overreact to bumps along the way, and stressed the importance of diversification in both wealth management and business.
The session sparked strong engagement from attendees, who put a wide range of questions to Nick about financial planning once his talk had finished.
Nick said: “Good financial planning usually starts with knowing where you want to end up, and that’s exactly the same for a business. What is the final goal, and what is the exit plan?
“In finance, markets rise and fall and there will always be bumps along the way. Some of the biggest mistakes we see come from people panicking over short-term noise and dramatically changing course when they would be better served holding their nerve. The classic mantra is ‘time in the market, not timing the market.’
“When trading gets tough for businesses, that can understandably cause short term worry. But as long as the processes in place are sound, good businesses will be able to recover after leaner periods.
“Diversification is also very important. We wouldn’t advise anyone to put all of their savings into a single investment, and similarly, businesses should not rely on a single client or product. When conditions change, having different options mitigates risk.
“It was great to see so much interest in the room. The questions afterwards showed that people are thinking hard about their own finances as well as their businesses, and I really enjoyed sharing that conversation with fellow business leaders here at Stockton House.”
The Stockton House Leadership Forum is a high-level network for senior business leaders, combining expert-led sessions with practical discussion and networking opportunities.
Claire Lynch, Board Director at The Wigley Group, said: “Nick’s talk really struck a chord with everyone in the room. He took principles that many people only think about in relation to their pensions or investments and showed how they apply to the decisions business leaders make every day.
“The level of engagement was fantastic and attendees were clearly keen to put their questions to Nick.
“We set up the forum to bring business leaders together to learn from expert speakers and from each other. Having one of our own Stockton House tenants lead the session made this one particularly special and shows the strength of the business community we have here.”
The next Stockton House Leadership Forum will be held on 9th December and will feature guest speaker Rob Milne, Associate Director and Deputy Head of Midlands at communications agency PLMR.
For more information about Stockton House visit https://www.stockton-house.co.uk/ or to book onto the next Leadership Forum contact info@stockton-house.co.uk.