Profile on... Simon Prescott, Private Banker
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Q: Tell us a little about your background
A: After finishing university I joined the customer
services team at Barclays Bank where I received a good grounding on
the importance of high quality customer service. In 1998, I moved
to Lloyds Bank as a financial consultant and, after just 18 months,
I attained senior level (which usually took three years to
achieve).
In February 2003, I moved to Jersey with
LloydsTSB Offshore as an independent financial consultant with
responsibility for Switzerland, Austria and Netherlands, and the
role involved lots of travelling to and from these regions. In
April 2005, I moved to LloydsTSB Dubai as an international
financial manager with responsibility for many countries including
Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and, at the time, Iran.
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I was made aware of Fairbairn Private Bank in 2006, as my friend
and colleague Andrew Bates started travelling to Dubai to explore
the region for a Middle East representative office. Andrew
introduced me to the bank and the rest is history!
Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Fairbairn
Private Bank?
A: The culture of the bank, and of everyone who works here, is that
the client is number one. There is a strong commitment from
everyone to provide excellent client service and it's refreshing to
experience this. I can confidently say to anyone looking to do
business with the bank that they will experience client service
that is second to none.
Also, the sense of team work is immense. Everyone looks out for
each other and is willing to help. It's genuinely a nice place to
work.
Q: What are your goals / aims in the short
term?
A: I have responsibility for developing the bank's intermediary
business, specifically working with IFAs and wealth managers in the
UK, Middle East and Far East. This is a massive challenge, to
identify companies which look after a smaller number of HNW/UHNW
clients and which also have similar ethics and service standards as
Fairbairn Private Bank. It's very important to the bank that our
intermediary business partners have a strong emphasis on client
service, just like us.
I feel there is a lot of competition in the UK and the Fairbairn
Private Bank brand is not well known at present but, with our high
quality service proposition, backed up by the many awards we have
won over the last 10 years, I am determined to make our name well
known, respected and synonymous with quality and service.
Q: Is there anything your clients are particularly
interested in at the moment?
A: With the UK retail distribution review (RDR) due to start in
2013, many UK IFA companies are re-evaluating their business,
including how they are remunerated for their services, and reducing
risks to their business. Of particular concern to many IFAs is
which investments to select for their clients and how to ensure the
investments continue to perform in the wildly fluctuating global
markets experienced over the last two years, which are expected to
continue for the foreseeable future.
In response to this concern, the bank's discretionary investment
management service is an ideal solution for an IFA company to
recommend to its clients. We provide a range of portfolios suiting
all risk categories from cautious to adventurous and, given our
consistently strong track record and independent recognition such
as our recent PAM award shortlisting, we have a superb offering
which we are taking to market.
Q: Your top tip?
A: Politeness and common courtesy will get you a long
way.
Education: Geography BSc Hons 2:1 (1996);
Financial Planning Certificate (2000); Advanced Financial Planning
Certificate Taxation (2007).
Career: 1996 to 1998 - Barclays Bank; 1998 to 2003
- Lloyds Bank Financial Consultants; 2003 to 2005 - LloydsTSB
Offshore, Jersey; 2005 to 2007 - LloydsTSB Middle East, Dubai; 2007
to present - Fairbairn Private Bank, Isle of Man
Likes: Photography and being outside,
motorsports.
Dislikes: Rude people, people who are late.
Dream job: Motor racing driver (preferably F1) or
motorsports photographer.
If you weren't here now, what would you be doing?
Probably out walking somewhere with my camera.