Financial advisers have had some bad press over the years, with the historical propensity of some to steer clients into unsuitable investments in order to earn a commission tarring the lot with the same brush.
Broadly speaking the view is unfair, not least because legislation such as the Bribery Act and regulations like the Retail Distribution Review have put paid to the worst of the profession’s excesses.
Yet some stereotypes persist, such as that of an ageing gentleman advising other ageing gentlemen on how to save their riches for retirement.
It is no wonder that Adrian Murphy of Glasgow advisory business Murphy Wealth feels the sector is ripe for disruption.
While the use of technology, which Murphy Wealth has been investing in since moving from Ayr to Glasgow four years ago, is somewhat revolutionary in a sector that continues to be tinged with traditionalism, it is in the way it is building its client base that Murphy Wealth is setting itself apart.
Rather than targeting those that have already built up some amount of wealth, the business is focusing on younger entrepreneurial clients that it can “go on a journey with”.
As Scotland is a hotbed of entrepreneurialism, particularly in the technology sector, it is a journey that could well prove fruitful. After all, with Edinburgh’s Skyscanner selling to Chinese travel agency C-trip for £1.4 billion last year, you do not have to look far to see that today’s penniless entrepreneur could be tomorrow’s multi-millionaire.
When that happens, all but the bravest will need someone to turn to help them manage their newfound wealth.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here