the
CLUB
to WelcoMe the Spring edition of the caRrinGtoN CluB ‌we had some very positive feedback from our first edition and we hope you enjoy this as much. We are advocators of life planning and place great importance on having a bucket list, identifying goals and then putting a plan in place in order to achieve them. You only get one chance to live your life, so make the most of it. This edition of the Carrington Club looks at the importance of goal setting and what aspects of the goals themselves make us more likely to achieve them. When did you last set some goals? Where do you want to be in the next 5 years? The Carrington Team have all spent some time thinking about their professional and personal goals
and we’ve shared some of them with you. Is it time for you to get goal setting? And how can we help you with your plan to achieve those goals? This edition also includes interviews from long-time client Jeremy Tipper who shares his thoughts on goal planning and the inspirations which have fuelled his business successes. John Donohoe, a trusted adviser, talks about his passion for making a difference to clients and scoring goals - both literally and figuratively! Thank you to both Jeremy and John for giving up their time and contributing to this issue.
Mike & Al
“A goal is a dream with a deadline"
Napoleon Hill
Top Row: Sophia Adams, Carolyn Stewart, Mohsin Bukhari, Cecily Chapman, Ali Moorhouse Bottom Row: Mike Hodges, Rachel Hogg, Eric Woodward, Nicola Craxton, Alistair Candlish Location: Home House
QA &
CLIENT INTERVIEW
Jeremy Tipper A Carrington client right from the start, Jeremy is a successful entrepreneur - having built and sold several companies, invested in and mentored a number of start-ups, is a wine enthusiast and a cricket nut! We were fortunate to catch up with him, where he shares with us his career history, some tips for running your own business and his thoughts about goal setting; including how he worries that being too focused on your goals can lead you to miss opportunities in business, and in life!
A BIT ABOUT YOU? I was born in Kent, brought up for 20 years in Hong Kong, went to university at Loughborough…which was more about sport than the Banking and Finance degree that I studied. I then had the pleasure of living and working in London, then Australia and then back to the U.K. I have a lovely wife, Helen, whom I met at university. She runs her own personal training business. Together we have three kids, Martha, who is 18, Louis, 16 and Seth who is 14. Boots the dog makes up the family unit.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER TO DATE I was fortunate enough to be sponsored to do my degree by NatWest Bank. I did a Banking and Finance degree at Loughborough, which gave me the opportunity to play loads of sport whilst I was there. If I’m being completely honest the degree itself was something of a peripheral experience.
I found out relatively soon after joining the bank post-degree that I wasn't particularly well-suited to work in the large corporate environment, so I was only there for a couple of years. The one thing I really enjoyed doing whilst I was at NatWest was to act as an assessor on the bank's graduate recruitment program. So, having gone onto the scheme myself, I then had the opportunity to interview and assess those wanting to join the bank’s graduate scheme in future years. I really enjoyed that aspect of my work, so I joined a business which at the time was relatively small called Robert Walters Associates. I joined the banking recruitment team there and after a couple of successful years, got something of the plum job to go and help get the business running in Australia and New Zealand. Helen and I had just got married, so we moved to Sydney to help get the business off the ground. Having done that for a couple of years I came back to the U.K. and ran a reasonable chunk of Robert Walters'
Vital Statistics... NAME: Jeremy Tipper
HOBBIES: Skiing & cricket
BORN & LIVES: Kent
COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT: A radio to listen to Test Match Special
JOB TITLE: Managing Director CHILDREN: Three. 18, 16 & 14
BEST HOLIDAY DESTINATION: Morzine, France FAVOURITE BUSINESS BOOK: The Hundred Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott
business here, but actually found it a bit boring. It was a little bit too “business-as-usual� for me. So, I ended up leaving and doing an interim job at Vodafone in Newbury, which was supposed to be a onemonth consulting project to help them think about how they might do a better job of recruiting people into Vodafone. It turned out to be a contract that lasted the best part of a year. At the time, most big businesses like Vodafone were very heavily reliant on recruitment agencies to source talent. I came up with the idea that they could save money and provide candidates with a better experience by utilising their own brand to attract talent directly, and that I could help them build the infrastructure that would allow them to do that. I helped put some technology in and started to help promote Vodafone’s employment brand. As we were in the throes of putting a team together that would be the Vodafone recruitment department, the HR director unfortunately had a headcount freeze so we weren't able to put the permanent team in place. It was from that situation that my first personal business venture was born, a business called Capital Consulting, back in 2000. I suggested to the HR Director over a couple of half-decent glasses of Australian Shiraz that if she wasn't able to build the team, maybe I could do it for her. We could come
up with a commercial arrangement that every time we found someone directly using the Vodafone brand and my team, that we'd make some money, but we'd obviously save Vodafone a lot in the agency fees that they were incurring at the time. That was really at the start of what became something called the recruitment process outsourcing market, although I have to say I didn't even know that terminology even existed at the time. I grew that business over the course of about eight years, expanding from just myself, to a 400 strong team. We got some venture capital funding in 2004 and were acquired by a much bigger competitor called Alexander Mann Solutions, back in 2008. So that was sort of the third chapter of my book. The most recent chapter began in 2010 when I started The Talent Collective, a business you can probably best define as a management consultancy that helps companies with their recruitment strategy. I built that with some great friends and colleagues over the course of four years or so. Then, Rosaleen Blair, who remains the founder and CEO of Alexander Mann Solutions, asked me if I'd be interested in rejoining the business and bringing the Talent Collective team with me. So, I did that back in 2014 and now run The Talent Collective, which is
you have to have a plan as to how you're going to evolve
the consulting arm of Alexander Mann Solutions, who are now the global leader in recruitment process outsourcing. We have about four and a half thousand employees, running recruitment programs for great companies all over the world. I run the consulting business within that, which is a team of about 300 people globally.
WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THE LEAP FROM BEING EMPLOYED TO STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? At the heart of it, a good idea...a way of disrupting the traditional agency recruitment market. Also, a little bit of luck, being at the right place at the right time and spotting an opportunity, and also a relatively low boredom threshold! So, it felt like
the obvious thing to do, rather than trying to make a living in someone else's business, it seemed like a much better way of going about things by trying to establish that environment and the culture yourself. I guess the only tricky thing was getting my wife, Helen, comfortable with the idea of re-mortgaging the house shortly after our first child Martha had been born! I wanted to have the financial wherewithal to know that even if the business didn't work, I was going to be able to pay the salaries of the team that I hired for the first six months, so I took the risk, I guess, of re-mortgaging the house without knowing exactly how I was going to pay it back if the business didn't go to plan.
DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE CLEARLY SET OUT GOALS FOR YOUR BUSINESS? I would honestly say that if you're running a business, of course, you have to have a plan as to how you're going to evolve and grow the company. However, I think in many situations people can become overly focused on goals and goal setting and as a result, potentially miss opportunities or sometimes lose the entrepreneurial spirit that got things going in the first place.
Surround yourself with people that are much more talented than you at certain things
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR CURRENT SITUATION? The thing I like best about the situation I find myself in now is the kind of freedom that it allows me. I work for a reasonable size company, but I actually only do that four days a week. I also do other stuff outside of Alexander Mann Solutions and try to juggle everything else in my spare time. I have the commitments that come with an active teenage family and I love spending time living a bit too vicariously through what they do. Secondly, I get the opportunity to nurture and advise smaller companies that are in the early stages of their development and I have chosen to invest in a few as well. I absolutely love the work that I do with those companies. And then as it relates to the sort of core business activity at Talent Collective, we're something of the innovators and change agents in Alexander Mann Solutions, so I feel very privileged to have the license to work out what we do next, how to grow and build the business and I love being given the flexibility to go out and try new things.
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESSES DO YOU ADVISE AND HOW YOU DO HELP THEM WITH THEIR GOAL SETTING?
The businesses tend to be tech disruptors in the HR or talent market place. They're trying to disrupt the market through the use of technology to provide or present a better product or service. In relation to goals, in many of these businesses it's not about trying to get them to be more ambitious, it's more about trying to ensure that the plans and goals are realistic and achievable; and that they're not going to stretch themselves to the extent that they either burn out or don't allow for bends in the road they might otherwise not see.
HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME ANY KIND OF CHALLENGES IN BUSINESS? Plenty! I think one of the things I can do that is helpful to some of these early stage companies I invest in, is to make sure they don't make the same mistakes as I did. It would be
What makes you happy? Three things really... Seeing my kids do cool things, a really good bottle of Australian Shiraz, a winning English cricket team. (We suggested that if you’d had enough of number two then number three wasn’t quite as important...luckily).
fair to say that I'm more of a people and relationship orientated person than a numbers and operationally orientated one, or certainly that was true in my earlier career. So, I found myself with significant financial and operational challenges to overcome on occasions and I guess that's part and parcel of trying to grow businesses really quickly.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE? The first would definitely be Rosaleen Blair. She's been influential in a whole variety of different ways. We met back in 1999 before I started Capital Consulting just as she was starting Alexander Mann Solutions and she tried to convince me to come and join her. At the time I was more interested in starting my own business, but Rosaleen subsequently acquired both Capital Consulting and The Talent Collective, so needless to say, she’s been quite a big influence on my life! I've had the pleasure of working alongside her for the last four years and I've learned an extraordinary amount about how to run and grow larger companies; much bigger companies than ones that I'd run and that's been a fantastic experience to be part of. She has an instinct for what's important at a particular moment in time. She’s also done something that I think is vital in any business, which is to surround yourself with people that are much more talented than you at certain things. You can't be great at absolutely everything and understanding where your own strengths are and where you need help is something, I think, that if you can learn early in your business career, is super helpful. The other huge influence would absolutely be Helen, my wife, in that I think she's always been good enough to give me the kind of reassurance I needed and the license to go out and do what I want to (from a business perspective!) and not worry too much about the risk or jeopardy that I put the family in if it all goes wrong! I think having that support at home, to go out and do those types of things, is absolutely essential. If there was one piece of advice I would give to someone starting their own businesses, it would be to be clear about the consequences your decisions will have on the rest of your family. To make sure that you discuss that regularly and you have clear support in making those decisions.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing
WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL GOALS? I've only been to 16 of the Test cricket grounds around the world, so I've still got quite a number to knock off in the next five to ten years. My wife and I have committed to, within the next decade, buying an Airstream, which as you might know are those extremely shiny and rather cool silver caravans and travelling through the United States national parks for a year.
BUSINESS GOALS My medium-term goal is to get more focused on nurturing some of those early stage companies, perhaps even a social enterprise or two, and to use my professional time in that capacity more and more as the next decade goes on. I do believe that half the fun in life is not knowing what's around the corner, both from a personal and professional perspective. If you're too rigid or goals focused, I think it can lead to you missing out on opportunities that might come your way if you're somewhat more flexible.
FAVOURITE QUOTE About 15 years ago I had the pleasure of meeting a chap called Geoff Sewell, who had a life-changing experience when his sister died. He decided he didn’t want to be an accountant anymore and instead wanted to be a performer
and started a business called Incognito Artists. It’s a singing waiters business, it’s fantastic. He has a quote which I have since plagiarised which is "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." Geoff is a terrifically entertaining guy and I’ve learned a lot from him in life.
DO YOU TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT GOALS? So, obviously I try to help them as much as possible… broaden their horizons, take on different opinions and perspectives so they've got as much in their heads as they can possibly take in. But I purposely don't try to propose to them things that they “should” do, but just give them those ideas as to things they “could” do. Whether that be university choices, A level choices, GCSEs, all of that kind of stuff. I believe that people are at their most effective when they're happy and enjoying what it is that they're doing, so one of my fundamental principles is to follow your interests. Often people say, “follow your passion”, and I'm not entirely sure many kids have a very clear view of what their passions are when they're 18, 16, or 14, but most kids at that age are very inquisitive and are interested in stuff, so I think the perspective I try to present to my children is to focus on the things that you're really interested in and see where it takes you.
Round up
What the carrington team have been up to... GROWING THE TEAM! We are thrilled to welcome Rachel and Sophia to the team. Joining us in the last couple of months, you may have already had the pleasure of speaking to them. They both bring with them years of industry experience and have settled straight into the Client Relationship team! Ali now finds himself very much surrounded by women and is taking some good-natured ribbing.
ACHIEVEMENTS Cecily has once again been nominated for the Investment Week Women in Investments Award. Fingers crossed for the shortlist which is released in the summer. Since completing his qualification last year, Ali, has become a fully-fledged Financial Planner and has begun taking on clients of his own. Cecily, Ali and Sophia are now embarking on the journey towards becoming Chartered Financial Planners. Meanwhile, Rachel has booked in the first of her financial planning exams for the summer. Another great achievement, this time out of the office; having put in the hours on the road, Rachel passed her driving test. Well done!
The youngest member of our team, Finley Stewart, was born in January and has already made multiple trips into the office to visit. Carolyn seems to be taking everything in her stride and as with work, nothing seems to fluster her!
BUCKET LIST MOMENTS Recently, Mo was privileged to be invited to attend the launch of the first blockchain ETF at the London Stock Exchange. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be at the opening of the UK markets. Speaking of once in a lifetime experiences,
Mike too crossed off a bucket list moment when he went to watch the English cricket team play at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. It looked like an amazing trip.
#HealthIsWealth Keeping us all on our toes, Ali completed his first marathon. Accepting the challenge of trying to beat Al’s impressive record of 3hrs29, Ali flew over the line in 3hrs26, raising more than £1,000 for Mind Mental Health Charity in the process. It was a team day trip to Brighton to cheer him on in his success, however, they took a slight detour home via Bognor Regis. Thank goodness they work in finance and not navigation!!
We also had representation at the London Marathon with both of Al’s sons’ completing the sweltering course in great time in aid of Sense, a charity who supports people with complex communication needs. Following on from Al’s recent golfing success as runner up in the Davidson Trophy, he was crowned champ of the Arlington Cup Challenge held at The Wisley. He’s hoping to carry his form into this year. Having worked as a masseuse for the Oxford Rowing Team in this year’s Boat Race, Nicola headed to France for the Paris Roubaix to support cyclists taking part in the challenge. Conquering four of the famed pavé (cobble) sections herself (on race day no less), next year’s sportive is firmly in the diary.
IN OTHER NEWS Following a rather competitive company evening at Flight Club, where Eric proved himself a deft hand at Killer and Demolition Darts, Mike decided a dart board for the office was essential! There is currently a round the world challenge taking place. Since taking up the position of Head of Investments, Mo continues to appear in the press – recently offering his views on interest rates and the Bank of England. He has also started circulating Weekly Snippets of interesting facts he’s gleaned during the week. Keep your eyes pealed for the most interesting nugget which he posts to Twitter @Carringtonviews
Mike and friends in front of the Adelaide Oval
"You should set goals beyond your reach, so you always have something to live for" TED TURNER
why set
goals They give your life long-term focus and purpose They allow you to measure your progress and take pride in your achievements They keep you undistracted and accountable They motivate you and help you to live your life to the fullest They transform intimidating, seemingly impossible dreams into more manageable milestones
"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable and then, when we summon the will, they soon seem inevitable" Christopher Reeve
tips for
goal setting
WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN.
This makes them real, gives them more force and holds you accountable.
SET SMART GOALS.
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Trackable. This brings structure and control to your goals, making them more manageable and achievable.
CLARITY OF GOAL IMPORTANCE. It is important to understand the ‘why’ behind your goal to motivate you to achieve it.
STATE YOUR GOALS POSITIVELY. Intentions we focus on increase the likelihood of them coming to fruition. Make those intentions positive.
SET CHALLENGING GOALS.
A goal must be sufficiently challenging, as performance will increase in line with difficulty, to a point. At the point whereby, a goal becomes too difficult, anxiety increases, and performance drops off.
PRIORITISE YOUR GOALS.
This keeps you focused on the most important goals and not feeling overwhelmed by having too many.
financial planning tips for
SPRING
Start saving by filling your 2018/2019 ISA now instead of waiting until the end of tax year. Don’t wait until the end of the tax period to make pension contributions, make them earlier in the year to capitalise on tax free growth. Do some spring-cleaning and review your protection and insurance cover before the summer holidays roll in. Work out how much money you want to allocate to specialist tax efficient investments, such as VCT and EIS, as they will have a short window of opportunity for investment once released. Before the summer holidays start, look at minimising bank charges abroad and get your hands on preferential exchange rates by signing up to an app such as Revolut. Investors should be aware that the value of their investments may well fall as well as rise, growth is not guaranteed, and that past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Qualified members of the CRM team are all looking to be Chartered within 3 years Two of the team want to have a weekly/ monthly digital detox from social media
All of the employees in their 20’s & 30’s would like to put down a deposit/ buy their first house in 3 – 5 years
Couple of the team would like to learn/ become fluent in a second language
All of the staff have a fitness/ sporting goal or two…
TEAM GOALS
TEAM GOALS ERIC Maintain good health and improve lifestyle – lose weight
MIKE
Spend more time in Florida
To spend more time with friends and the people who I enjoy the company of. To help my kids have an interest in Sport and be active, which will help keep them off devices!
NICOLA
Teach grandchildren a sense of value, especially around money
Quit morning coffee addiction and pack my own lunch
RACHEL
Spend more time with my family in Portugal and Scotland
Learn how to Ski Learn how to drive a motorbike
CECILY SOPHIA
Read 20 books this year
Climb Kilimanjaro by age 30
Walk 10,000 steps per day
Cycle London to Paris
ALISTAIR Remain healthy which will allow me to continue enjoying playing sport for as long as possible and at the highest level possible I want to be a much better cook, to enjoy it and be confident
ALI MOHSIN
Have an established group of interesting and complex clients
Dramatically improve my fitness over the next 12 months
Become Chartered in the next 3 years
Stop having children!
If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time BJ Marshall
QA &
PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW
JOHN DONoHOE Arram Berlyn Gardner
As a business we try to surround ourselves with like-minded people. Individuals and companies alike, who can advise and support us in reaching our goals. Carrington have enjoyed an almost 20-year relationship with ABG, a firm of Chartered Accountants, Auditors and Tax Advisers in the city. We caught up with John Donohoe, a partner at ABG, who we not only have a personal relationship with, but who also works with several of our clients. John shares with us his thoughts on goal setting, how he became an accountant and what he loves most about what he does.
+44 (0)20 7330 0000
HOW DID YOU START YOUR WORKING LIFE?
jdonohoe@abggroup.co.uk
I started my working life in accountancy kind of by accident, that classic sort of “not really sure what I wanted to study at university, if anything! I'm undecided, maybe I'll have a look for a job...”. I got offered a position in a small accountancy firm in Birmingham at the age of 18. They put me straight on to a Chartered Accountancy training contract and I had no idea how lucky I was at the time. I was really pushed at that firm. It was a great firm. Great fun and huge amounts of responsibility bestowed on me from an early stage. At the age of 20 I was leading the firm's biggest audit and doing well in my exams and so on, I still feel incredibly lucky to have had such an opportunity.
www.abggroup.co.uk
I qualified at age 21 and went off travelling for eight months. I wanted to see the world and let my hair down, so to speak. When I came back, my now wife, was studying in London so I decided to move down to London to be with her. I thought at the time that I'd only be in London for two years and 14 years later I'm married, a house, two kids, but no pets as of yet. That last bit is very difficult...I'm trying to put the “getting a pet” thing off a little bit longer but it's a battle I’m not sure I’m winning with my family.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO. I would refer to myself as a “general practitioner” so my work is very diverse. I have large audit clients and then at the opposite end I have private clients who I help with tax matters. Variety is the spice of life as they say and it’s true for my working week – one minute I’m talking with a £15 million turnover business about how we’re going to deal with a new auditing standard and the next conversation will be with a new start up business who know nothing about financial matters, they wouldn’t know a debit from a credit – it’s great to have such a wide variety of clients and I find it really rewarding. I also get to mentor lots of the team coming through at work. I always tell them you've got to love what you do ... if work feels like “work”, it's going to be quite hard. I love my
job as it brings me such variation and I really get the chance to help people.
HAD YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AN ACCOUNTANT? It’s often the case that a lot of people who are unsure about what to do after A-levels go and do a business or accountancy degree. Because I wasn’t sure about whether I wanted to go to University I just thought “well what's surely the next step from there is to go and actually become an accountant” so I applied for a few jobs straight away. I never had any sort of burning desire to be an accountant, but as soon as I started my career it became apparent to me that I've got this massive plus side of my job, which is helping people. That's how I see it. It’s obviously not as important as life and death but if you can help somebody understand their finances or help a client to achieve one of their goals, be it pay off the mortgage, pay for their child’s wedding, even get that dream car they've always wanted…it's a great sense of achievement that you have personally helped them do that.
I really believe in succession from within
DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'VE HELPED PEOPLE OFTEN IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR? Absolutely, even if the help is just giving somebody a clear mind so they can sleep at night, that they know they’re well supported with their tax and finances and that they’ve got somebody to talk to about issues that arise. That we’ll look after them. I really feel so fortunate to be in the position where I can do that.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH GOAL SETTING WITH CLIENTS? It's very important that clients set their own goals. I'm then happy to help support them to achieve them. For me, if you're going to achieve your goals you need to set them yourself and you really need to want to get there. You need to want to invest the time to understand what the steps are that you need to fulfil to achieve them, and then commit to taking those steps (and finding the help you need) to get to where you want to be.
HOW DID YOU MEET THE TEAM AT CARRINGTON INVESTMENTS? I first met Mike and Al through one of my fellow partners at ABG, Paul Morris. What I really loved about Mike and Al was how motivating it was meeting other professionals who have got truly high expectations of their own performance in terms of client relationships. It seems absolutely paramount to them. They focus on delivering great service and it’s motivating because it makes me want to rise to that challenge as well in terms of how I deal with my clients.
WHO WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN A KEY INFLUENCE IN GETTING TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? There's a few people really, but the underlying consistency has been those that put faith in me. I'm not one to say, “well it was Richard Branson because of what he's achieved”. I don't know Richard Branson and I find that harder to relate to. For me it would have to be the partner at the firm where I trained. He took me on day one and really pushed me. I wasn’t sure where I was heading, and he just kept pushing me down the right road, so that's been a huge influence. It’s the same with my fellow partners at ABG. I joined the firm when I was 24 and I made partner at 29. A huge part of that is my fellow partners putting me on the right road and backing me and backing my judgment. I find that's been a much greater influence than people that
I don’t know – albeit, yes, they can be inspirational, but it doesn’t have the same impact as somebody really putting their faith in you.
CAN YOU SHARE A FEW OF YOUR PERSONAL AND BUSINESS GOALS? I don’t tend to have long term goals; a lot of my goals are more short term in nature. In terms of business goals, one of my goals this year is to help two or three of the team to progress to the next level in their careers/ within the firm. And to put the faith in them that people showed me because I really believe in succession from within, it’s by far the best way to staff professional service firms and to retain and motivate your team. On the personal side, my children are six and four and I don't know where the years have gone so I just want to make sure that I'm in a place at work, so I can spend a bit more time with them. I'm sure in another six years they won't want to spend any time with me. That's just the way it goes, isn't it?
ARE THERE ANY STEPS WHAT MAKES YOU MOST YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE HAPPY? TO TAKE TO MAKE THESE Workwise for me it’s doing work that GOALS HAPPEN? delivers that sense of achievement One feeds the other really. If we can help the team to develop then they'll be empowered to come up with great ideas for our clients and they’ll build strong relationships with clients, so I can take more of a step back, whilst still doing what I love just on a scaled back basis.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE QUOTE? I was going to look one up to make myself look cool, but I don't. I love films so “May the force be with you”? That's the only kind of thing that ever sticks in my head rather than a business or inspirational quote. (Edit – we think this quote is brilliant and absolutely counts!)
that you're really helping clients. To some it might sound boring but it's true. I love helping the client, making a difference and feeling valued and that I’ve done a good job for somebody.
In my personal time it’s spending time with kids and playing five aside football. I play once a week as part of an ABG works team and sadly we're regularly bottom of the table, but we still enjoy it. And then I play sort of lazily once a week with a group of friends. Scoring the odd goal or two, it’s like forgotten joys.
Vital Statistics... POSITION: Partner LIVES: London CHILDREN: Two: 6 & 4 FAVOURITE HOLIDAY: Menorca HOBBIES: Five a side football COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT: On a desert island - sunshade as I have very fair skin
It’s very important that clients set their own goals. I’m then happy to help support them to achieve them
HOW DO YOU RELAX? I would say playing five aside but that often creates more stress than relaxation! It’s more the classics of this day and age really… getting lost in a box set on Netflix and going to nice restaurants. If I’m honest, probably one of my favourite places in the house, if not the world, is my sofa, I’m a bit of a homebody.
FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION It's funny, as you get older and have a family your aspirations in what you're looking for change. When I was younger it was all about going to exotic places but when you've got a family, it's all about quality time and so without a doubt my favourite place is Menorca. It's a nice, quiet, peaceful, beautiful island.
FAVOURITE BUSINESS BOOK I’ve picked a few business books up in the past but I’m not that interested. Reading for me is more about escapism so I'd much rather just read a crime fiction novel. Maybe one day I’ll read a business book and realise what I’ve been missing out on but at the moment I’m happy with escaping into world of crime fiction.
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT WHAT ONE THING COULDN'T YOU LIVE WITHOUT? It would absolutely be shade of some variety. I'm very fair skinned so the thought of being stuck on a desert island without shade, well it’s my idea of hell. So, sunblock and sunshade if you let me have two things. I could cope without everything else.
Book review
One of our recent Carrington Book Club books was recommended to us by client and debut Club interviewee, Rod Connors. A refreshing change to the types of books we’ve read previously, it was a quick read, but we found ourselves going back and revisiting sections; highlighting key ideas and marking pages for discussion. At the roundtable it led to animated conversation and original ideas to take forward. There is no doubt that it inspired all of us and we wanted to share it with you. If you have a book that you think we should read please let us know!
DO/ PURPOSE/
Why brands with a purpose do better and matter more by David
Hieatt
A small book that packs a big punch. David Hieatt, founder of Hiut Denim, entrepreneur, marketeer and brand builder, opens our eyes to what makes brands successful. What makes us feel something about them, touches something within us and draws us to be a part of what they are doing and the change they are creating. These companies have a reason to exist over and above making a profit: They have a Purpose
So why should YOU read this book? We think it’s a great read whether or not you’re a business owner. Many of the insights apply personally, to finding your purpose in life, as well as in a business. Insights such as:
Purpose is an incredibly powerful thing. It tells your story, it builds your teams and it defines your culture. It provides strength to achieve the impossible. David Hieatt offers insights on how to build one of these purpose-driven companies, revealing intuitive principles at the heart of these brands and showing you how to apply them to your own.
It’s interesting to think about how different the world might be if all businesses, and all people, uncovered their “why” and lived with such a strong sense of purpose….
We found these principles resonated deeply with the Carrington Team. A goal for us as a company is to build a strong brand, both internally and that our clients and contacts can experience and benefit from. The Carrington Culture is something that we have nurtured and that grounds us when making important decisions.
• That ‘why’ matters • The importance of being first • How to find your voice and share your story
a day in
the life of Head of Investments
STAFF INTERVIEW
: Zzzz - The alarm is turned off and
the Bloomberg app is fired up to see how the Asian markets have traded overnight. It’s an early start for me usually, as I do the round trip of taking my two older children to school before heading for the Metropolitan Line to get me to Baker Street.
: No two days are the same but typically, I will be sat at my desk sorting through the various emails I have received and reading my daily dose of macroeconomics from Deutsche Bank. Every few weeks, I attend breakfast presentations with the likes of Blackrock or JP Morgan to hear the views of their economists or strategists on the global economic environment, to help steer our asset allocation.
Become a space tourist Island hop through the Pacific Own a beach front property
: Analysing & Monitoring…
I use a number of analytical tools to monitor our existing funds and some of the key companies they invest in, to keep tabs on their performance. If I see an underlying company which is not performing, I will make contact with the fund manager to find out why and what action they are taking. Analytical tools are also used to find and monitor new opportunities, which is made a little easier when you’re a numbers geek like me. It is fantastic when we discover a small gem that few else are looking at and it’s the part where I feel we’re being really proactive for our clients.
: Lunching & Learning - It has
become an office joke, but the fund groups do like to conduct presentations over lunch and often in
Bucket List
Drive around the world Attend an Olympic opening ceremony
very nice locations (lucky me!). I meet new fund managers over lunch to understand their investment process, the outlook for their asset class and to get a sense of their personality – it’s really important that we trust both the people and the organisations that will be dealing with our clients’ monies and that we build a close relationship with them. Given the number of fund managers I meet, and therefore the number of lunches I consume, I’m amazed my waistline has been contained so far, although it’s probably downhill from here as I get older (or so I am told by some of the more senior members of the team). When not out of the office, a few rounds of darts over lunch is a good way to give the mind a rest.
: Keeping relationships strong
- Another key part of my job is to ensure that I keep in touch with the fund managers we are currently invested with and so I arrange to meet each of them at least twice a year. This is effectively a spot check to ensure they are adhering to their investment process and to get an idea of their outlook and positioning.
Top 5 Facts
Was a semi-professional body builder (although you
couldn’t tell from looking at me now)
Played rugby for the Saracens youths
Have driven over 50,000km across several European road trips… ...yes, with the kids in the back!
Favourite app – Revolut
Favourite movie – Inception
: It has been an hour since the opening of the US markets and it is important to see how they are getting on as they often influence other global market.
: As the day draws to a close, I gather my notes and formulate more formal research documents for our files. It’s essential that we have a strong audit trail of all the research and market movements for everyone to see and to ensure that we’re making the right decision at the right time for all of our clients’ investments. I also take note of any particularly interesting facts and try to tweet the best one each week; keep an eye out for the Weekly Snippet @Carringtonviews!
: Family time. Work-life balance is
a big thing at Carrington – we live what we preach to clients – so I’m usually at home with my family by now. Evenings typically entail eating dinner with the kids, helping with homework and getting them to bed. By the time I get to sit down and mindlessly watch thirty minutes of TV (my current favourite being Homeland), my eyes are drooping!
We mentioned in our previous edition that this year we are raising money for our selected charity, the Niemann-Pick Research Foundation (NPRF). As a team we are committed to making a difference to the communities around us. We are excited to be undertaking various challenges and activities to raise money for the NPRF charity and getting involved with other local community initiatives. Activities in the diary so far for our fundraising and involvement this year include:
ComMuNitIes CARRINGTON IN A SPIN! The battle of Carrington vs clients in the form of a London to Paris “Spin-a-thon”. There will be two teams from Carrington, captained by Alistair and Mike, spinning as fast as they can to see who can cycle from London to Paris (385km) in a set time. To add a little healthy competition, clients and contacts will be invited to form a team to try and beat the Carrington cyclists. As well as raising funds for the charity there will be spot prizes, team prizes and a well-deserved trip to a local drinking establishment to rehydrate afterwards (beer is a very effective form of rehydration you know… or so Al keeps telling everyone). The event will be taking place on Thursday, 12th of July at One-10 on Baker Street, so all you budding cyclists and spin fanatics get in touch for a place on the challenger’s team!
Raising Money for...
CARRINGTON GET QUIZZICAL… Activating the mental rather than physical muscles this will be a rather more sedate way of raising funds for Niemann-Pick Research Foundation. The quiz will take place later this year in an as yet undisclosed venue (i.e. we’ve not decided yet) close to the Carrington offices in Marylebone. Invites will be coming out over the summer and it’s never too early to gen up on your general knowledge, we promise there won’t be any talk of stocks and shares! These promise to be two great events that we hope will raise lots of money for this wonderful charity. If you’d like to read more about the Niemann-Pick Research Foundation and the amazing work they do, please click here https://www.nprf.org.uk/.
CARRINGTON SPONSORS THE BEACONSFIELD CRICKET CLUB COLTS We are delighted to be sponsoring the Beaconsfield Cricket Club Colts teams this season, by providing new coloured playing shirts for all the girls and boys. It is a club that Mike is closely involved with, as it’s not only where he is a volunteer cricket coach, but also where his children play. A firm believer of the positive influence sport has on the development of young people, being able to support the club is something that’s very important to him.
“The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, the tragedy lies in not having any goals to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream” DR BENJAMIN MAYS
29 Gloucester Place . London . W1U 8HX t. 020 7034 7037 w. carringtoninvestments.co.uk
@CarringtonViews