As the coronavirus crisis and the ensuing lockdown impact all of our lives and force many of us to think about our financial futures, Douglas McCrea, the founder of one of the world’s most successful financial planning firms. famous people in Scotland, reveals what drives him, why sponsorship has played such an important role in the company’s success over the past two decades and where the company is heading in this courageous new world.

The pandemic did not prevent hiring in the company. Last month, McCrea announced the appointment of Veronica Thomas and Chris Bain as independent financial advisers. Thomas brings over 25 years of experience in financial services and was a former associate director of Portfolio and Pension Management.

Bain is a former Senior Financial Advisor and MD at EIS Financial Services, where he spent 22 years. Bain said of his appointment: “I have been extremely impressed with the professionalism which is an integral part of McCrea’s philosophy. The company’s reputation is excellent, and despite the videoconference reception, it is no less warm. I think relationship building is essential when it comes to giving good financial advice because knowing and understanding your client’s situation is essential; it’s something that I really enjoy and look forward to developing at McCrea.

The company, which was established in 1999 and whose services include retirement planning, retirement counseling and planning, savings and investments, mortgages and re-mortgages, and tax planning, has been a sponsor of long term of the PRO14 Glasgow Warriors rugby club.

Tell us a bit about the background to the creation of the company.

I think it’s safe to say that being self-employed was always on the cards. I’ve been very lucky over the years to work with great people, to learn a lot, and to make my fair share of mistakes that you learn more from.

Even in the early years, I always seemed to be the one who ended up organizing things – 50 people on a bus that broke down three times to go to Wembley in 1986 comes to mind! It got to the point where rather than working for someone else, it was time to do my own thing.

My wife was expecting our third child at the time and it was an interesting conversation. “I’m going to give up my stable job and start my own business,” I told my wife, who just asked me if it would work. “I’ll make sure it works!” The company is strengthening after 21 years. And yes, Fiona is still here after 31 years.

What have been the main challenges in growing the business over the years?

Not much comes to mind and that may be due to the way we deal with challenges or bumps in the road when they appear. The culture is great, let’s go ahead and deal with it quickly and move on and that’s been very helpful to us over the years.

And what about the current challenges around Covid-19? Is it still possible to think about growth or is it just about survival?

Yes, growth is still possible. Since March, we have hired two experienced financial advisors to help us with the workloads and new demands we receive. The priority is, of course, the well-being of our staff as well as our customers, as well as providing the ongoing advice and assurance that customers expect from our staff.

Prior to containment, within days we moved all of our staff, their IT equipment, desk phones and half of the stationery cabinet to their homes. This has gone a long way in ensuring that we are available to both existing customers and new customers as well.

We have a great team, which rose to the challenge; this is one of the reasons we are proud of our Platinum Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, because it shows that we have worked very hard to create a great work environment that we have done our best to reflect even with working from home. It’s fair to say that we were well prepared for most eventualities, even though we didn’t think it would be a pandemic.

You have been heavily involved in sponsorship, how important is this for the future?

Sponsorship has long been an important part of the marketing mix for the company and has proven to be particularly effective for brand awareness and customer engagement. All of our sponsorships started at a very local level with an emphasis on supporting local and community sports clubs that matched our own scale and size at the time.

Take, for example, our sponsorship of the Glasgow Warriors, which started more years ago than I can remember when they played in front of a handful of people at Hillhead. They are today one of the real success stories of sport in Glasgow. It is fair to say that we have both grown considerably over the years and we believe that the ethics and ambition of both parties reflect well.

We are also committed to providing continued support to our local and community clubs, including West of Scotland Cricket and Hillhead Jordanhill Rugby, as well as Warriors, as we look ahead. Like everyone else, we will need to work closely with all of our partnerships to ensure that they remain mutually beneficial.

Do people take their financial futures seriously enough?

I think the vast majority of people take their financial affairs seriously, but for me one of the biggest issues is that when people hear the words financial advisor or financial planner, they don’t really understand what we can do about it. help them.

At McCreas, we believe that everyone is unique with their finances. Our starting point is to turn the pieces of their financial puzzle around and then discuss how this image fits into the person’s plans now and in the future as well. Sometimes the image / puzzle only needs TLC; It is only very occasionally that open heart surgery may be necessary.

Once we adjust the puzzle for the client, then the trick is to review it regularly to ensure that it continues to be relevant to the client and their future planning. When all of this is explained clearly, it helps people see their finances as something really important, especially when they can now see what they have in a clearer picture with our help.

Where do you see the business in ten years and where do you see yourself in ten years?

Over the past five years, we have doubled in size both in terms of sales and number of employees. When we look at this growth as well as the number of new inquiries we receive each year (normally over 200), I would expect the company to be larger in many ways.

The important point is that this can only be done if the current standards and levels of advice are maintained. We pride ourselves on the friendly professional service we provide to new and existing customers and it is paramount that the high standards we have set are at least maintained if not improved.

As a company, we are continually looking for ways to improve what we do, and the staff have truly embraced the culture of improvement in the company. As a business owner, there is real satisfaction in reading the testimonials we receive on our website. These very rarely mention products or numbers – they are very much about services and people, which to me is what a good business should always be.

For me, in ten years, I am not getting any younger and the plan until then will be to lead a life a little (or a lot) less hectic by enjoying our beautiful country and, hopefully, keeping the hand with some associations. charities and sports.

A message from the editor:

Thanks for reading this story on our site. While I have your attention, I also have an important request for you.

The dramatic events of 2020 have a major impact on many of our advertisers – and therefore on the revenue we collect. We depend more than ever on your digital subscription to support our journalism.

By supporting us we are able to help you provide reliable and verified content for this website.