With an adviser academy and an eye on acquisitions, Newcastle Financial Advisers has, like many firms in the industry, set its sights on growth.
But what sets it apart from its peers is the fact that it is the advice arm and wholly owned subsidiary of Newcastle Building Society.
While one legacy of the Retail Distribution Review was a decline in the number of advisers employed by banks and building societies that were traditionally more likely to serve mass market customers, Newcastle Building Society is bucking the trend.
“Having had our 20th anniversary, we've clearly found a model that has been able to buck the trend by being able to provide financial advice, where we can, to everybody – because we don't have a minimum investment value,” says Iain Lightfoot, managing director of Newcastle Financial Advisers.
“So we're not deliberately trying to focus within the high-net-worth market, as a lot of the financial advice market has moved to. That's not to say we don't have the knowledge and skills and capability within the business to deliver advice to HNW individuals, because we do.
“But equally, a lot of the advice that we provide is around providing support to customers who are members of the building society. And so that gives us the ability to provide advice regardless of investment value.
“We have operated in a space for many years that a lot of the other banks and some of the building societies have vacated. And actually it's served us very well, and we believe it's served our customers and members very well as well.”
An appointed representative of The Openwork Partnership, Newcastle Financial Advisers was established in 2003. The building society’s annual report and accounts at the time said: “This is a major new venture for the society and, importantly, it means that the consultants providing financial advice are employees of the Newcastle Building Society Group, trained to our exacting standards.
“Having our own financial advisers available in our branch network and head office is an exciting development for the society.”
Fast forward two decades to its annual report and accounts for 2023, the building society’s chief executive Andrew Haigh said: “Demand for accessible, in-person financial advice remained strong in 2023 across the communities we serve, with more than 9,000 appointments undertaken by our qualified team of advice experts from our wholly owned subsidiary, Newcastle Financial Advisers.”
The core proposition is a financial adviser in each Newcastle Building Society branch, bar small branches where an adviser is twinned between two. The current branch network spans the North East, Cumbria and North Yorkshire, alongside a standalone financial advice centre in the town of Pickering.
In July, the building society opened a branch within a YMCA building in North Tyneside (pictured) where, besides a YMCA gym and cafe, there is a financial adviser, in keeping with society’s core proposition.
