Hoxton Life

How To Service Your Clients The Right Way | with Simon Pitkin

• Hoxton Wealth

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At Hoxton Wealth, growth only matters if clients remain at the heart of everything we do.

In this episode of Hoxton Life, Simon Pitkin shares his 30+ years of experience in client servicing and explains how we’re building a model that blends technology with personal, human connection.

From simplifying processes to ensuring clients have direct, 24/7 access to support, Simon breaks down what truly creates trust and loyalty in financial planning.

During their discussion, Simon Pitkin and Chris Ball break down:

  • How Hoxton Wealth’s growth is built on a client-first approach, where service and relationships matter as much as financial returns.
  • How technology enhances service by simplifying processes and giving clients 24/7 access, while making sure it complements, and doesn't replace, human connection.
  • The key challenges involved in scaling a business without losing the personal touch, ensuring consistent service across regions.
  • How trust and loyalty are created through availability, transparency, and proactive support.
  • Advice for advisers, and how success comes from prioritising client needs, clear communication, and seamless experiences.

For financial advisers and professionals, watch the full episode for insights into how to scale your business while still putting clients first - now on YouTube and Spotify.

👉 What’s the best client service experience you’ve ever had - inside or outside financial planning?

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Hoxton Wealth is looking for ambitious individuals ready to take their careers to the next level. Whether you're interested in international financial planning, compliance, client servicing, or marketing roles within the financial sector, we offer unparalleled opportunities for growth and success.

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SPEAKER_01:

The bigger we grow, the more important client servicing becomes. That's why we've made every effort possible to go and hire one of the most experienced people in client servicing in our industry. Simon. Simon Pitkin. We want to grow, we want to scale, but we don't want to lose the personal touch ever. Yeah. It's that age-old saying, isn't it? Clients buy service, they don't necessarily buy returns.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean that's that's one of the most frustrating things using certain banking apps, I won't name them. But when you use them and they're great, but when something goes wrong, you cannot talk to somebody. Impossible. What does an amazing client experience look like for you? When something's come in that's maybe not so positive, I've just picked the phone up to that person, they're a then, and they were shocked that someone actually called them.

SPEAKER_01:

As as I said at the as I said at the start, our most the most important thing to me is to make sure that we have happy clients. We've done things right from the start, and we're just actually adding to that now. Definitely, and that's where we kind of blend this, what we call tradition uh traditional technology. It's tech plus people. Putting our clients first and ensuring they have a great experience with Hoxton is the most important thing to us as a business. The bigger we grow, the more important client servicing becomes. Our company would not be able to become anywhere near as big as we are or as we hope to become without the amazing clients that we have. That's why we've made every effort possible to go and hire one of the most experienced people in client servicing in our industry, uh, Simon. Simon Pitkin. So Simon built and scoured a huge client service team for a business we all know very well uh and that that I used to work at. And with over 30 years of providing uh excellence to clients, he is an amazing hire for us as a business as he brings a wealth of experience and has been through a lot of the challenges that we're gonna face uh over the coming years. Our sole aim is to make clients happy and provide a great experience. And Simon is gonna build this out and develop a team of highly qualified and skilled advisors, obviously, uh, to provide an amazing client experience to the most important people in our business, our clients. Thanks for joining us as a business, Simon, and thanks for joining us today. Thank you. Thank you for the welcome. Good mate. Um, so let's kick off with what does an amazing client experience look like for you?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh it's really about being visible for the client and being there when we need to. Obviously, tech for us is super important. We want clients to have good tech, good visibility, but the main thing is we're there when we need it. Obviously, at the moment we're seeing a lot going on in the market, so it's super important. We're reactive and proactive when clients need us and we're available whenever they want us 24 hours a day.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. It's it's that age-old saying, isn't it? Clients buy service, they don't necessarily buy returns. Correct. Yeah, they want you to focus on having a great level of service.

SPEAKER_00:

It's actually not it's not performance, it's actually getting things right, and then clients who know that things go up and down, but we're there to support when things do get a bit bumpy and help them through the journey really. So, how practically do you do that? What kind of things are you looking to bring into the business? So the the main thing is getting the tech absolutely perfect. So it's there, it's ready for the clients, they know how to use it, they know what's available, but also having the ability for clients to pick the phone up, send us a WhatsApp, send us an email, and someone responds. So we're not going to call centres or anything like that. They ring us, someone else has the phone. So it's direct contact with that, it's making sure that we have the right products, and then that's supported by the institutions. Sometimes we get let down by people out of our control, but it's about having the ability that we can react and we can do anything with not being relying on somebody else all the time. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

And I think you, like you said, those multiple methods of communicating are really important because, yeah, some people actually really like the tech piece and they use it all the time, and that has to be spot on. But then other times people just want to pick up the telephone and have and have a chat to their advisors.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean that's that's one of the most frustrating things using certain banking apps. I won't name them, but when you use them and they're great, but when something goes wrong, you cannot talk to somebody. Impossible. Um, and it drives me insane. So it's becoming bigger. We want to grow on a scale, but we don't want to lose the personal touch ever.

SPEAKER_01:

No, definitely. And that's where we kind of blend this, what we call tradition, uh traditional technology.

SPEAKER_00:

It's tech plus people. Yeah. We're we're not gonna go to be robots, we're never gonna get away from people, um, but we need tech to help us, but be there when they need us. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

So I'm gonna put you on the spot a little bit. Um, what areas since you've come into the business over the past couple of months and you looking to improve on?

SPEAKER_00:

So I think it's streamlining processes um to make things a little bit easier internally, um, maybe take out some barriers to entry for clients, but also making sure that we don't have overcomplicated processes. Um, for example, not having too many email accounts, not having too many numbers, not having too many communication issues when clients try to reach us. That's one of the main things I think is just making it simple for the client. They can onboard with us quickly, we're there where we need to, and everything's available from a touch of a button.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so full servicing on our platforms, everything for the client and easy for the advisor. Yeah, definitely. Fantastic. And what what things are we putting in place to improve the client experience at Hoxton?

SPEAKER_00:

So, what things are you working on at so it's about engaging all the departments. I I think because the business has grown very quickly, then I think some people don't know who to go to for things. Yeah, so the main thing is knowing which departments people need to talk to. I had to learn who who did what first of all, but then actually how that all joins together. So some people see or advisors sometimes see client services as a I don't know, maybe a hindrance or a problem that they're there to take clients, and that's not what they're for, that there is another tier to support the advisors to be able to do the best job for their clients. Yeah. And for the clients, and for the clients is really just being there when they need us. Yeah. Um, obviously, we've had very challenging times in the last couple of weeks, thanks to Mr. Trump. Um, but that actually creates great opportunity for us. It's a way to communicate with clients. It's to go, we'll hold your hand, we're here with you. If you want to sell, we'll advise you why not to sell and why to hold. We've done it many times before. We've been through Trump before, we've been through the financial crisis, we've been through all those challenges, and we've been there with the client all the way. So COVID was probably the biggest test for us and actually proven why that works. No one had been through COVID. We were there all the way through it with clients, we weren't letting clients panic sell, and on the back of it, clients had record valuations because of it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, really interesting. And obviously, you know, the as as much as as much as I'm sure you'd like uh to be able to advise absolutely everyone, obviously you can't. So I know you're looking to build uh a great team around you. Um, and I know you're looking to you know bring in advisors who are UK qualified, correct, who are US qualified, who are Australian qualified, who are European qualified, qualified to give advice to the Middle East. So across all the different areas that we operate in, they can they can provide advice. And what do you look for in an advisor that's you know focusing on services?

SPEAKER_00:

So you you need someone that can be, I guess, a bit multi-jurisdiction focused. Um, we want to be at a point where we're a global uh advisory, and we need people that have the highest level of qualifications. That's really kind of picking people that are UK qualified, US qualified, but actually are hybrids as well. So they can just go, I'm not stuck in this box, I can do other things for you. Um, there aren't many companies that I know of that can do that level of service. They're focused on maybe a key area, maybe they're focused on the Middle East only, maybe they're focused on Europe only. Because we are going across those jurisdictions, we have all the compliance structures to mirror that as well. So the right type of advice for someone is someone that can actually talk to a client. They're not a let's say a robot, they can they have a personality, yeah, um, but they know what they're doing. So they are qualified in that as well. Um, and they can provide the support and the right advice to the client. And if they move jurisdictions, we keep the advice consistent across the board.

SPEAKER_01:

And what when a client comes uh into client services and they might have typically initially joined Hoxton for a specific reason, are you looking to advise them holistically across different assets or will you just simply focus on No, of course it's across the board.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, an advisor sometimes is focused on one area because that's their expertise. When they come into client services, we'll have a team that go across that. So it may be the client interacts with different advisors within client services, but they're going to get the best of everything. Typically, the clients that we've onboarded move. So one jurisdiction today, maybe another one next week. And because obviously what's happening in the world, people are becoming more transient than they were before. Maybe they're in the Middle East, gone back to the UK, UK government's changed things, they're leaving again. So we need to be able to keep up with that and those moves with clients. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

And technology, so we touched on that at the start, and we talked about getting the technology right. So obviously, we have the Hoxton client, um, the Hoxton Wealth app that is our client-facing application. How can clients reach you through their, you know, what what do they where where should they go?

SPEAKER_00:

How what is the best so very simply on the app we have a section called My Hoxton. Yeah, you go through to that and that gives you the advisor details and client services details. So we're another tier of support. So they always have an advisor, okay, but they always have us as well. So let's say the advisor holiday, they can't be behold of them, they've got us. If for whatever reason they don't have an advisor, then client services is always there as well. So we want to make it super easy. We're doing that through a one contact solution we have, one number, one WhatsApp, one email, worldwide. Um, so if the client moves, we never change. So the details don't change, they never need to try remembering new details. They just have one set of contact details to contact us whenever they need. Great. So it then comes into your yep, into the TD. And then you would put put them with the regulated advisor. Correct, with the specialist in that area. So let's say a client from Australia calls, one of the Australian qualified advisors would pick that up.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And then let's say they need some advice because they've moved to the UK, then one of the other advisor will, but all through the same team.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, so no issues that they need to then contact someone in Australia. We'll do it with one of our regulated advisors. Which is really key.

SPEAKER_01:

And obviously, centrally, you're managing that and keeping on top of it and ensuring that everything gets done.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct. The test that we have, our back office, our CRM systems is all integrated. So it enables us to see what's happening with the clients all all the time. We're getting the feeds for our uh the valuations, we have everything there at touch of a button. So whoever they call and whoever answers the phone will be able to assist them if they need a valuation, if they need an update. That's instantly available no matter what jurisdiction they're in. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And and in terms of you know, in terms of the people that you that you will bring on, we've also we've obviously mentioned advice, but there are other services that we offer as well. So we offer legal, tax, and and you'll be working with those teachers. Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I mean the whole client experience across the business. Yeah, so we want to look at what the client's overall objective is. It's not just about retirement saving or um future planning, it's other things they need, what other asset classes they need help with. We're trying to make sure we link that all internally. And then again, we will do a lot of that internally, or we'll partner with um specialists or affiliate companies to do that, but then we're the front end of everything. Yeah. So we're the go-to for that if we've recommended a product to a client, and then again, we'll manage the relationships uh internally and externally for that. And it's important, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

Because I mean ultimately that's what clients you that's why people. Yeah, so having to have one app over here and then a different app if they move over there and a different set of, you know, it's that joined up approach where people actually inside the business talk with each other to get things done for the benefit of the client, which is clearly in the client's best interest.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely. I mean, I think the best thing that we're doing at the moment is linking all the external products to the app. Okay, I looked at my own phone, I've got 20 financial apps. I've now plugged them into our app, and although those products aren't with us, I get full visibility of that. Clients that have fully taken that on board now have been shocked by their actual net worth. Yeah, and that's where we can help them positively or negatively get to their their goals.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, with with the lights of wealth flow as well, which is which is fantastic. I love the one point one contact as well. I think again, you know, again, as we've been growing as a business, we've had to have different email accounts in different things. It's just keeping it simple. Yeah, it's it's streamlining it, but knowing that it's getting rooted to the regulated advisor in in the in the country that that you you operate. Now, obviously, at times, you know, uh no one is perfect, no company is um you know 100% there. It's no one can provide no no one would no one will make every client 100%. Obviously, not no, it's not a chance. So, you know, number one, we want to hear from those clients. Definitely, definitely. So if a client has an issue um and maybe it might be with their advisor that that they're working with, and you know, they don't necessarily want to go to that advisor, what what should they do?

SPEAKER_00:

So the first point of contact is obviously through the email. So we've got client.services at hoxtonwealth.com.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That's the simplest way for anyone, or we've got the WhatsApp or the or the number as well. So that's the kind of main point of contact that has full visibility for me. So it's not just a team of people dealing with emails.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I have full visibility of that. And at times when something's come in that's maybe not so positive, I've just picked the phone up to that person, they're and then, and they were shocked that someone actually called them. Yeah. And I think that's that's where we can be very reactive. Um, because sometimes things do go wrong. Yeah, yeah. And we'll do everything we can to try and fix that. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's the thing is we want to know if you're not happy with things. Tell us. Yeah, tell us, because then we can do something about it. Yeah. If we don't know what's wrong, then we can't do anything about it. Be that returns, be that service, whatever we have we do want to know.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think service is the is the key thing, and that's how we end up with happier clients and grow. There's a lot of companies that want your feedback. If you do negative feedback, they will do nothing about it. It goes into a void, it's kind of pointless doing it. And there's certain companies that will send you an email after every time you talk to them, how was our service? And no matter what answer you put, they're never going to respond to that. That's not where we want to be. We want to be that if you have got some maybe criticism, concerns, some feedback, we want it. Yeah. And I will act on it. Um, and I might call you.

SPEAKER_01:

So be wet. But I mean, ultimately, as a business, and and for me, that's the only way that we can get better as well. Correct, yeah. Like you don't want to hide behind things and you don't want a false sense of economy if things aren't as great. You do genuinely want to hear from people and you don't want to eat in away at them either. No, definitely not. As I said at the as I said at the start, our most the most important thing to me is to make sure that we have happy clients. Definitely. Uh and I know that's true for everyone in the business because ultimately we will never get to where we want to if we have a load of unhappy clients.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And clients have helped us, you know, clients are the reason why we're absolutely so it's the main reason.

SPEAKER_00:

And we can be very proud of the brand, we can be very proud of where we're going. We've done things right from the start, and we're just actually adding to that now. Yeah. Um, and actually, clients will see that massively. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, look, first off, this was just, you know, more of an introduction to the client services team and and how we're looking to build it out. I'm really looking forward to to working with obviously with you on an ongoing basis. And for anyone that does have any queries or questions or wants to get in touch with Simon, remember it's that email address, it's the easiest one, client.services at hoxtalwealth.com. We'll also put the telephone numbers and the WhatsApps in the article that'll accompany uh this video as well. I hope you found it useful. We really value you as a client, and we really value people that are looking to become clients as well. We want you to know that. Any questions or queries, please let us know. Uh, we'd love to hear your feedback. Thank you very much for taking the time to watch this.