The firm is growing. Your capacity is not.
More clients should be good news, but reviews, administration and exceptions keep landing on the same people. You want to understand whether to hire, simplify the service or change how the work is shared.
Financial planning & advice firms
Business consulting for financial advice firms.
Your clients value your advice. Behind that advice sits a business that needs to work for you and your team. Allington helps financial planning and advice firms make clearer decisions about growth, investments, people and the way work gets done.
Recognise the challenge?
When a fresh perspective
can make a difference.
The proposition has evolved without a clear plan.
Different fees, service promises and investment solutions have accumulated over time. You need a coherent approach that advisers can explain and the business can deliver consistently.
A bigger decision needs dedicated attention.
An acquisition, system change or leadership transition is competing with client work. You want someone to examine the options, challenge assumptions and help turn the decision into a manageable plan.
Where we can help
Support for the decisions
behind your business.
Start with the issue that matters most. Work can stay focused on one question or connect several areas where the decisions affect each other.
Make growth work commercially
Connect your target clients, fees and service commitments to the time it takes to serve them. Set priorities that reflect the firm you want to build and the resources you have.
Bring clarity to investment decisions
Review your investment proposition, external provider selection and ongoing oversight. Give advisers a clear explanation of the solutions available and leadership a proportionate process for reviewing them.
Give the team a clearer way to work
Follow onboarding, reviews and handovers to identify avoidable repetition and unclear responsibilities. Agree practical changes around adviser, paraplanner and administrator capacity.
Prepare for an acquisition
Assess the target’s service model, investment approach and operational demands. Plan how clients, people and processes would come together, alongside your legal, tax and other transaction advisers.
Make better systems decisions
Define what the business needs before choosing new tools. Compare providers, improve reporting requirements and assess specific AI uses, with human review and delivery responsibilities made clear.
Reduce dependence on the owner
Clarify which decisions need your involvement and which can sit elsewhere. Review leadership responsibilities, committee arrangements and the senior support needed to move priorities forward.
These are examples of how we can help. The full service range is available to every type of firm.
Explore all six servicesWork you can put to use
A decision.
A plan.
A way forward.
We agree the outputs before work begins. Depending on your priority, an engagement could deliver:
- A client segmentation, service and pricing framework that reflects how your firm works.
- A documented approach to investment provider selection and ongoing oversight.
- A revised onboarding or review workflow with clear handovers and responsibilities.
- A prioritised business change plan with owners, dependencies and practical measures of progress.
A practical starting point
Bring the decision that keeps getting pushed back.
You do not need a finished brief or a business-wide programme. An initial conversation can establish the question, why it matters and whether a focused review or a defined project would be useful.
Discuss a first stepAn initial conversation is without obligation. Scope, timing and fees are agreed before any work begins.
What a focused review might explore
- The issue taking up time or holding the firm back.
- What you have already tried or considered.
- The people, budget and capacity available for change.
The intended output
An agreed engagement could produce a clear assessment of the options and a practical sequence of next steps.
Direct senior involvement
Work with the person
doing the thinking.
The practice is led by Tom Wareham, with experience across investment management, corporate strategy, risk management and governance, and team leadership.
You work directly with Tom Wareham to define the question, develop recommendations and agree any support needed to put them into practice.
Meet the practiceBefore we get started
Questions you
may be considering.
Is this suitable for a small, owner-managed firm?
Yes. The scope can be a single commercial decision, workflow or investment question. The aim is to make the work useful at your scale, with recommendations your team has the capacity to act on.
Can you help if we outsource our investments?
Yes. The work can focus on how you select, explain and oversee external solutions. Responsibility for managing investments remains with your firm and its appointed providers; Allington supports your proposition, processes and governance.
Do we have to commit to ongoing support?
No. A focused review or defined project can stand alone. Ongoing or interim support is a separate option where the firm needs additional senior input, with responsibilities and time commitment agreed in advance.
Your next conversation
What would you like
to move forward?
Tell us what is happening in your firm and the decision you are trying to make. A few sentences are enough to start.