IWP UK | Independent Wealth Planners UK

What we do

We’re here to build Britain’s best national IFA business. But we don’t intend to start from scratch; we think there’s no need because there are already many excellent IFA firms up and down the country.

What we do is invest in those firms, acquiring either all the equity or a major stake, and we grow them, by providing infrastructure and support services, achieving organic growth and also growing them through further acquisition.

We merge local firms together to create regional scale, and in doing that we work on the assumption that the staff and offices we acquire are all valuable. We don’t have any predetermined objective of reducing costs, because our strategy is simply to invest in growth in a market which we believe is growing. Of course, there will be operational change, and there may well be a rationalisation, to ensure that we serve clients as efficiently and effectively as possible, but any such change is driven by a desire to improve the way we work, not simply to save cost.

We make a substantial investment in operating systems, to ensure that our businesses can give the best possible service to clients. We provide centralised services such as compliance, marketing, financial support, HR administration and recruitment.

Unlike a traditional “consolidator”, we don’t control the businesses we buy: We maintain them as local businesses and we think that local management is the best people to run local firms. For this reason, each IWP member firm is run by its local board of directors and our principal businesses remain directly authorised firms. We support them closely in implementing their business plans and meeting their regulatory obligations, but we are very much a shareholder and provider of services, not a “head office”.

Are you an IFA looking to secure your firm’s future?

You may be thinking of selling your business. But you don’t want to sell out; having put years of your life into building client relationships, nurturing a team and growing a successful business, the last thing you want to do is cash in to someone who won’t understand or respect the good things that make your business special.

Find Out More

HOW WE HELP

Compliance

The compliance support provided by IWP is one of the things that our member firms appreciate most. T...

Business Support

We’re here to take care of routine business administration matters so that you can focus on the th...

IT & Operations

We usually say that when you join IWP, “nothing changes on day 1”; we prefer to take time to get...

Investment Research

IWP firms provide independent advice; we think that’s important for clients. We ensure that profes...

Recruitment

IWP was founded on the idea that people are an IFA firm’s most important resource. While all of ou...

Training and Development

Investing in people is key to the success of your business; it makes for better client advice and se...

Marketing

For many leading advisors, marketing can be one of the hardest – and most disliked – parts of th...

Our Firms

Click on the logos below to find out more about the firms which make up IWP

Meet The Team

Tony Bullock

Tony has a wealth of experience having worked with some of the largest Networks and National IFAs in the UK over the last 27 years. Tony has a detailed knowledge of FCA requirements, risk management and compliance operations which he uses to advise the IWP Executive and firms to get the best outcomes for our... View Article

Jason Betteridge

Experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry.

Andrew Buchanan

Andrew is the Managing Director of Buchanan & Associates Financial Planning Ltd and joined the financial services industry in 2000. After completing his training with AXA Sun life he then formed a firm in 2002 which then became known as Mackay, Buchanan & Associates Financial Planning Ltd.

Rob Allen

Rob has extensive leadership experience building regulated financial services businesses, predominantly with leading UK and international banks. He has a track record of managing and motivating large scale customer facing teams with a national footprint to deliver outstanding financial results whilst simultaneously achieving exceptional outcomes for clients and colleagues. In the process he has become... View Article

Helen Thornton

Helen has 25 years’ experience working across the transport, financial services and education sectors in both publicly listed and privately-owned organisations with the last 16 years spent at Exco level (principally in HR Director/CPO roles), Helen has extensive experience in facilitating organisational growth, change and development.

Dominic Easton

Dom is a highly commercial CFO with 25 years experience working in Financial Services and Fintech. Having played a key role in several high growth businesses he has extensive knowledge of acquiring, financing and integrating corporate deals and in driving underlying organic growth.

Stephen Roberts

Stephen joined IWP in January 2022 as legal counsel and group company secretary. As a corporate partner at national law firm Gateley Legal, Stephen advised IWP on the group’s acquisitions. As well as advising IWP, Stephen acted for a number of other businesses in the wealth management and financial services sector. Stephen’s experience includes acting... View Article

Janet Comrie

Janet has been advising clients as an independent financial adviser for over 30 years, the early years with large financial advisory practices, and then running her own practice with her daughter.

Brenda Santimano

Brenda is also a Director at HFL and has been an IFA for 13 years and has run a partnership office with Patricia for over 6 years.

Les Cantlay

Les is a compliance and risk adviser to boards, with many years’ experience of governance, regulation and risk matters. He brings a leading perspective and valuable in-depth experience.

Alex Hambro

Alex is a leading investor and chair of listed businesses in various sectors. He has expertise in corporate strategy, governance and investor relations.

Tony Spain

Tony was an IFA for 12 years at the start of his career. For the last 20 years he’s led operations projects for leading wealth firms, including platform, operational and product strategy.

Les Sharpe

Leslie, previously Head of Financial Services for a Legal 500 law firm and a Director of SIFA, co-founded Clairville York in 2001.

Neil Padget

Having worked in financial services for over 30 years has given Neil a wealth of experience in pension and investment management. Neil is a Chartered Planner who specialises in retirement and investment planning options.

Jonathan Howard

Jonathan is a Chartered Financial Planner and has worked with in Financial Services for over 30 years. His close work with individual clients and business owners over the years, has meant he has been appointed as Trustee or Executor to a number of clients. As a member of both the Chartered Insurance Institute and Institute... View Article

Craig Gibson

As the founder and Managing Director of AGL Wealth Management, Craig relies on his corporate strategy and compliance expertise to deliver holistic financial solutions. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and the Association of Member Nominated Trustees.

Jon Booth

Jon brings his experience in wealth management and strategy to his role as CEO, supporting clients with long-term financial decisions, goals and planning.

Chris Birch

Chris is a Chartered Financial Planner with a background in retirement and investment strategy and planning. Chris also chairs Murdoch's investment committee, along with managing the company as CEO.

David Barton

As the Managing Director of Prosper Wealth Management, David has a long history in the financial services industry. He is skilled in project management, business development and wealth management, and holds Chartership qualifications in banking as well as financial services.