B4 met with Ria Shepheard and Simon Scott-White of Charles Stanley to find out more about their roles and the work that Charles Stanley does

They also provide extensive services in administering clients’ investments and cash, managing ISAs and SIPPs and many ancillary activities. They work closely with many financial advisers and their clients in the region as well as solicitors and accountancy firms.

Meet Ria Shepheard (Office Manager) and Simon Scott-White (Branch Manager)…

What are your areas of expertise?

Ria: I run the admin team, providing oversight for the office making sure staff are doing what they are supposed to, organising events/seminars and generally organising everyone. I also do business development, staff development and training, marketing and PR.

Simon: I’m an investment manager as well as branch manager. I aim to grow the funds under management for the office to £1 billion within 3 years – 4 years ago we were at £120m and now at £540m (May 2019). We want to be one of the leading wealth managers in the UK in the next few years.

What do you enjoy about your work?

Ria: Managing people and having the freedom to be able to come up with new ideas for our clients and professional contacts.

Simon: Autonomy – being able to develop a business as if it is our own. If I went to one of our competitors I wouldn’t get that – I love the entrepreneurial spirit and approach…You get a much better outcome if staff are driven by internal goals rather than those set by head office.

I am a big believer in bottom up ideas rather than top down. We have parameters from head office but an awful lot of flexibility. We are investment managers and not traditional stockbrokers – we have a lot more of a holistic view of looking after clients. We work with solicitors, accountants and IFAs hand in hand to ensure our clients have a team of experts around them.

Do you have a favourite sports team?

Ria: Arsenal, Oxford United, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Simon: Never supported a team in my life!

What are your hobbies or interests?

Ria: Baking – I can bake anything! Also clay pigeon shooting and sports in general.

Simon: Being outdoors, trout fishing with my son Nicholas. I live in Cirencester with my daughter Chloe, wife Sam and five dogs, one rabbit and two chickens. Sam is a property search agent, running her own business ‘Cotswold Buying Agent’.