Having a background in financial advice helps Tatton Asset Management “champion” advisers, the firm's bosses told FT Adviser.
The firm’s chief executive Paul Hogarth started his career in 1987 as an financial adviser.
In 2013 he then set up Tatton and said deciding what to charge was the bravest decision he had made.
He explained: “After we decided to set up Tatton, it was just about deciding what the price should be.
“Basically IFAs told us it should be 15 basis points, so that is what we did.
“That was the biggest and bravest decision I have made in my life. Everyone else was 30 or 40bps at the time.
“We knew we needed £1bn within two years to break even. We got £1bn in the first 12 months and our second after 24 months.”
Hogarth also founded Paradigm Partners which provides compliance support to the UK financial service businesses.
He added: “We have championed the IFA throughout our time. I have been in financial services 43 years. We understand what they want today. All we’ve ever done is listen.”
Justine Randall, Tatton Asset Management’s chief commercial officer, also has 25 years in the industry under her belt.
She started at Allied Dunbar, now Zurich, as a 20-year-old in 1998 after dropping out of medical school.
She said she loved the work there and was encouraged to join the firm’s adviser academy to get fully qualified.
Randall said: “Having been a planner I understand the challenges. It is a very difficult job. I do not envy them, they do an incredible job meeting client needs.”
She said IFAs “love the simplicity” of using Tatton to outsource their investment propositions.
“We have businesses that started with us with very small books and now they are worth £100mn.
“Now, our proposition will continue to grow with their needs.
“We understand our role in the relationship; we are not in competition with the IFAs. They see it as a strength to partner with Tatton.”
Randall said if she had never decided to go into financial services she would not have been as fulfilled as she has been.
She added: “I saw in Tatton something I hadn’t seen in other companies. It was the best kept secret. The whole MPS was something that was built for advisers and was brand new.”
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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