Some families will talk about everything but money. Jim Reeve, Continuum’s interim managing partner, says that’s a mistake. He tells leading business journalist Ruth Sunderland OBE how a mix of generations makes for better financial advice, and why people should stop pretending it’s rude to raise the subject.
Ruth Sunderland: You obviously know this business very well and you have been around a long time. The clue is in the name, Continuum.
How can intergenerational planning, helped by technology, strengthen that human relationship between adviser and client which is at the heart of everything?
Jim Reeve: My view is that financial planning in its purest form is a very personal engagement between individuals and families.
There is a psychological component to all of this which is so fundamental. You really have to spend your time understanding what are the aspirations, fears and ambitions of the people that you sit with.
RS: Where does the technology come in?
JR: All the support services that we’ve tried to build around our advisers are there with one goal. That is to enable the adviser to focus on the customer.
We want advisers to look good, to go into a meeting with confidence. Then that confidence moves from the adviser to the customer. It is all about confidence.
RS: The key word I’m getting from that, Jim, is confidence.
JR: Absolutely. As a young man starting in my career, there were much more experienced people than me who believed in me and who allowed me to flourish and grow. I learned that competence drives confidence.
We want to build the advisers up, give them the knowledge and training they need. Then they can help clients feel good about themselves so they think: “Yeah, I do understand what I want out of life and my money.”
RS: You said something very important there, which is the mentoring you received from older colleagues when you were starting out in the business meant so much to your success in life. That’s one reason it’s so important to get that age balance within any business, isn’t it?
JR: If somebody shows belief in you, it gives you so much. You feel empowered.
One of my roles in life is being a grandparent, and the purpose is not just to spend money buying presents, it is to give my grandchildren self-respect and confidence.
Bridging the age gap: Energy, competence, and confidence
RS: What are you doing to attract a younger generation of advisers into the firm? How important do you think it is?
JR: It will be great to bring on a younger generation of advisers. But I am not ageist. The absolute benchmark is how competent and professional you are as a financial adviser.
That said, there are lot of talented young people out there which really inspires me. They bring a new level of energy to any business.
RS: Jim, you are coming up to seventy and going strong. Is it really about the mix of generations?
JR: Yes. I was born in 1957, so my understanding of the world was formed at a very different time from someone aged 26 who was born in 2000.
But the core of what makes you a professional – teamwork, honesty, competence – is the same as when I was born.
Seamless adviser succession planning and client care
RS: One of the great things about the financial advice is there’s no upper age limit. But it can be a bit traumatic for a client if their adviser wants to retire. How do you handle that?
JR: We introduced a succession scheme. It gives comfort to the retiring adviser because they often see long-standing clients almost as personal friends. The last thing they want after they retire is to bump into a former client in a restaurant who says “Oh you really landed me in it.”
They want to hand over to a similar like-minded person who’s maybe 20 years their junior, so the client feels the relationship is the same.
RS: Yes because if you’re 50 or 60, you have got a very long time span over which you need advice.
The last thing you want is to have to rush around and find a new adviser when you are 96 isn’t it?
JR: Absolutely. The transition process eases the possible emotional strain on the client. It is part of the way we work in teams, in a collaborative way, which is always better than doing it in silos. What happens with silos? Things tend to drop down the gaps between them.
“High-performance teams always outperform a high-performance individual. The team is, for me, the most important part of the whole thing.”
Jim Reeve, Interim Managing Partner
Engaging families with intergenerational financial planning advice
RS: Speaking of continuity and different generations, advisers often deal with an individual or a couple – isn’t it a bit odd if they don’t engage with the whole family including adult children?
JR: Yes, though not every parent feels comfortable sharing their financial plans and thoughts.
It just seems alien to me because I have always thought that my children should understand my financial position.
Particularly because inheritance tax changes mean there is a need to spend time executing a good plan. You want to make passing wealth from one generation to another as effective as it can be within the rules.
It makes sense for an adviser to engage with adult children and for me it makes for a richer family bond.
“Families talk about everything else, but not about money, perhaps because of an old-fashioned idea that it’s rude.”
Jim Reeve, Interim Managing Partner
RS: Do you not think it’s rude not to, Jim?
JR: Yes, I do. I feel as if there’s a responsibility on parents to educate their children on how the world of finances affects their lives.
RS: Recent changes to inheritance tax has created a lot of anxiety but is there a silver lining in that it is prompting people to think about these things?
JR: It has made it more complex which underlines the need for good trusted financial advice.
My dad was a policeman and my mum worked in a social security office. I’ve had a blessed existence because people at work saw good things in me. I have achieved in my career and been rewarded for that.
I have earned money myself for fifty years so I want to pass on as much as I can legally to my loved ones.
RS: Your son Simon works in the business. What have you learned from him?
JR: Oh, loads of things. He has a brilliant approach to work and life, and he understands technology and the new world.
Why choose a career in financial advice?
RS: Young people have a lot of options open to them. They might decide that they want to be an accountant, they want to be a lawyer: why be a financial adviser?
JR: If you’re interested in people, if you’re curious, if you’re numerate, if you want to learn about the world and all the challenges that each individual has, then you should think about it. There is no better career to follow for somebody who has got an interest in the human race, the complexity of life and wants to help people make their lives better.
Corporate insights: Intergenerational financial planning advice
- Family-wide engagement: Moving past cultural taboos to deliver intergenerational financial planning advice that unites parents and adult children around shared wealth priorities.
- Adviser succession security: Implementing structured handover programmes so long-standing clients enjoy uninterrupted, lifelong continuity of care without abrupt transitions.
- Tax and legacy alignment: Addressing complex statutory shifts through strategic family inheritance tax planning UK strategies designed to preserve wealth across generations.
- National collaborative culture: Operating as a high-performing nationwide financial services firm where technology supports advisers in delivering personal, deeply human financial guidance.
