28 Oct An Interesting Decade
Robert Louis Stevenson once said “don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” It is hard to believe that the seeds of CDC were planted back in Autumn 2006 and as we have now reached our tenth anniversary, it is worth reflecting on the journey we have taken over the past decade.
As with all small businesses, the moment of creation was founded upon a vision. That vision was to dispense with the “sausage machine” mentality of large wealth managers and to focus our attentions on creating a company where a small group of customers were truly put at the heart of our business, a service whereby each customer receives the appropriate amount of attention and information, along with a level of overall service that we would aspire to receive ourselves. You will see these aims reflected in the stated company values on our website and it is something that we hold very dear and will not deviate from.
So as the company grows, from just two founders to our now thirteen strong team, we have remained focussed on instilling these values and trust that this is reflected in positive feedback we receive.
The past ten years have provided some real challenges. At outset, and with a small degree of foresight, we may well have questioned whether the beginning of the greatest financial crisis we have experienced in our working lives, was in fact an opportune time to start a fledgling wealth management firm. Indeed, in autumn 2008 when we appeared to be on the brink of a full systemic breakdown, there were times when we might have thought the world was trying to quash our ambitions, however, we remained committed to our initial aims and felt that for the most part, those very testing times presented an opportunity to prove our worth.
The tough times continued as the protracted fallout of that financial crisis and the contagion it created meant we had to be extra vigilant on behalf of our customers. However, customer numbers continued to grow throughout that difficult period, we hope, attracted by the quality of advice and the adherence to those high service standards.
Onwards through the Greek financial crisis and other European issues and to today, where despite the uncertainty created by the Brexit vote the FTSE 100 has recently breached the 7000 mark, for only the second time in the past ten years and almost 17 years since it previously flirted with that level, the business continues to expand and improve.
During that time we are proud to have achieved Chartered firm status from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), which is a reflection of the hard work we have done to create a proposition that is customer focussed and adheres to the highest standards of financial planning and the CII code of ethics. Additionally, we continue to expand our Discretionary Management Proposition, which is the gold standard of investment management and sets us apart from many advice firms, in that we have the capabilities and expertise to be able to manage money on that basis.
We believe that we have built a team that is second to none, spanning financial planning, investment management and pension planning. We have some of the best relationship managers out there and an administration team that is not only extremely knowledgeable but also hugely diligent in the work that they do and a joy to have on our journey with us.
Finally, but certainly not least, we have a great group of clients, many of whom have been with us from the early stages of the business and not only have they been very supportive in rewarding us with their own business but also in referring to us their friends, family and colleagues. For that we will always be grateful.
So here is to the next ten years!………