Will AI replace financial advisers?

It's one of the biggest questions facing professional services today. As technology becomes more capable, many routine tasks are becoming faster, more efficient and increasingly automated.

But when a client works in Dubai, holds UK assets and wants to retire in Portugal, the limitations of technology quickly become clear.

What sounds like a straightforward planning exercise quickly becomes a balancing act across multiple jurisdictions, tax systems and regulatory frameworks. One misstep can have significant consequences. This is where world-class international financial advice stops being a slogan and becomes a craft.

In this episode of the Inside Titan Wealth podcast, Sophie Yabsley, Managing Director at Titan Wealth CI, is joined by Andreas Hollas, Technical Advice Director, and Rebecca Ellis, Head of Advice at Titan Wealth International.

Together, they discuss the realities of international financial planning, why experience remains one of the profession's most valuable assets, and how advisers develop the judgement needed to navigate increasingly complex client situations.

They also explore the growing role of AI in financial services, how technology can support advisers and why the ability to translate complex advice into plain English remains essential.

In this episode:

• Why financial advice can't be learned from a textbook
• The challenges of cross-border financial planning
• How AI could reshape the role of financial advisers
• Leadership, mentoring and developing the next generation of advisers
• Delivering a consistent client experience across multiple jurisdictions

Subscribe for more conversations from Inside Titan Wealth on wealth management, financial advice and the people, ideas and challenges shaping the business. 

For more information about Titan Wealth, please visit our website: www.titanwh.com

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This communication has been produced by Titan Wealth Holdings Limited. If you decide to invest, please remember that investment involves risk. Investments can go up and down in value, so you can get back less than what you put in. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and may not be repeated.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

On this episode of the Titan Wealth podcast, I talk to Andreas Hollis and Rebecca Ellis about building a world-class international advice proposition. We talk about their day-to-day roles, we talk about leading teams relocating to Dubai, and we also talk about the Next Gen Leadership Programme, which they have been some of the first participants of. And of course, we finish up by asking them what one Titan means to them.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

This communication has been produced by Titan Wealth Holdings Limited. If you decide to invest, please remember

Meet Andreas Hollas & Rebecca Ellis

SPEAKER_00 0:33

that investment involves risk. Investments can go up and down in value, so you can get back less than what you put in. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and may not be repeated.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Welcome to the Titan Wealth Podcast, guys. So I'm here today with Andreas and Rebecca. Can we start, guys, with a little intro to who you are and what your role is?

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah, so I'll start. So Andreas, um, based in Dubai, uh, been in the industry for 13 years. My my role is that of technical advice director. We can talk about what that means in a minute if you like. And then I wear two hats as well. So I've got my own personal practice and uh my own personal clients as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

Okay. I'm Rebecca Ellis, head of advice at Titan Wealth International. My role has two parts as well, similar to Andreas. I'm supporting the advisors, allowing them to go out and give technical advice to their clients, and also some operational um tasks, helping with some of the projects that are going on, um more kind of behind the scenes. So, how long have you both been based in Dubai? So I've been here for nine years.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

I'm 13. Yeah, just coming up 13 years.

SPEAKER_03 1:42

And am I right in thinking, Andreas, that you're slightly different and that you've got family out here as well?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yes, so I've met my wife and have had two children out here in those 13 years. I was very young when I came out, to be fair. So it'd be weird if I had them before.

SPEAKER_03 1:54

Was your dad out here though? If I imagined that my dad was out here, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

So the the previous couple I I joined, joined their graduate programme, had the kind of choice to go um to quite a few different places. I chose to buy because my dad was already here. So I kind of already had a bit of a footprint here, and um, he's not here anymore because he's moved back to the UK, not for anything more sinister. Um, but yeah, it was quite an easy from easier move for me from that perspective, you would say, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:18

And how long have you both been with Titan?

SPEAKER_02 2:21

So for me, coming up to two years, so yeah, nine years in Dubai and then coming up to two years with Titan.

SPEAKER_03 2:26

So you joined just as the deal was kind of going through, didn't you?

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Just before, yeah, probably two months before. So we we knew it was happening, but it was still a little bit of uncertainty as to when it would actually go through.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

So that was quite a blind leap of faith then, really, because you weren't really familiar with what the business was like before, and you obviously at that point hadn't been involved in the conversations then that were leading up to the uh the purchase by Titan.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

So yeah, very interesting times. Um, I'd already worked with quite a few people that were at the business that was acquired by Titan. Andreas been one of them. We worked at a previous company together, so I knew people here, so I think that was the kind of familiarity and trust that I needed um to kind of join at that time.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

And how about you, Andreas?

The Reality of International Financial Planning

SPEAKER_01 3:12

So I joined uh five years ago, yeah. So formerly AHR um and now Titan, and it's been the best thing I've done in my career so far, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

How good is that?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

So then let's talk a little bit about drilling down into what your roles actually mean then. Um so what you know, what do you say, you know, technical director, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

So if if uh one of our advisors has a client uh advisory case, which is a bit more of the complicated size, a bit spicy, um not your kind of vanilla.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

Um What makes it complicated?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Uh cross-border.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

So, you know, meeting I had earlier today, just fresh in my mind. So we've got a South African individual who wants to retire in Portugal, um, and he spent lots of years in the UK, so he's got lots of UK assets.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

So there's like three and he lives in Dubai. So there's like four jurisdictions with regulators and potential tax authorities that we need to consider um when we're providing any advice. Uh, so that can get quite, quite funky, quite, you know, quite interesting, quite complex.

SPEAKER_03 4:20

Okay, so how do you build because that's that's almost lots of different pieces of advice working together, isn't it? How do you, you know, do we have all of that expertise within our business, or do you have to go out to third-party providers and consult with them on this as well?

SPEAKER_01 4:35

We we will regularly consult third-party advisors. So so uh more so you're kind of tax advisory advisory firms. So they they need to kind of um rubber stamp advice that we give that's really quite specific to that place. Yeah. Um, I will say though that we have a lot of expertise internally. You know, Rebecca and I um have worked on cases like this for quite a long time. That there isn't a there's no textbook or exam that you can do that covers what we do. Because you can you can do exams and become qualified in different locations, and each country kind of has its own specific quirks and things that you would do. But marrying it all up together, there isn't really anything out there. Um so a lot of it's kind of led by experience. So we've worked on a lot of cases like this over the years, and then also where we need to rubber stamping, you know, kind of bulletproofing, making sure that we're it the advice

Building Expertise Through Experience

SPEAKER_01 5:27

is truly correct and works within those different locations. But once you've done that um once or twice, and assuming those rules don't change in that country, you've kind of got it then. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

So you're building your own knowledge while you go.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:41

So how do you two, how do your roles work together then?

SPEAKER_02 5:46

So typically on paper, historically we've kind of done the same role, and maybe when I joined, there was going to be a bit more similarities, but I think we've both kind of found the parts that we enjoyed doing more. So Andreas spends a lot more time with clients, and I probably spend more time with the advisors. So Andreas is very rarely sat at his desk. I tend to be at my desk a little bit more, so I get a lot of traffic from the advisors coming through my desk, even some of the support teams, you know, to ask questions, run through cases, try and you know, I'm there to help the advisors. So I do a bit more of that compared to what Andreas does because he's usually going out and meeting the clients and spending time with them. And then also I've got more of the operational work, which Andreas

Adapting Advice for International Clients

SPEAKER_02 6:30

doesn't really get involved in. So whether that's we launched a new process last year for our annual reviews, so kind of launching, designing that process, getting the advisors to follow it, things like that I'm more involved in.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

And you've also been quite involved in development of systems, haven't you? And changes of systems as as since you've been bought by Titan Group, obviously there's a kind of harmonisation and a rollout of systems that they use at group level. So, how's that process been for you?

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Yeah, it's been really good to see how it's been done in the UK and then try and adapt that to what we do here. So as much as possible, we will follow processes that are used in the UK, but they don't always fit for our clients. And just one example of that is around this CRM that we use. The typical CRMs that financial advisors use in the UK don't have all the currency flexibility that we want to see. So a lot of our clients are connected to the UK and will typically think in pounds, but we have a lot of clients, the one that Andrea's just mentioned, South African, they don't want to see a valuation that's denominated in sterling. So those kind of international nuances we've just had to, you know, work and be a bit more flexible around to get things that work for our clients.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

And then presumably your clients that live and work here are being paid in dollars.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Paid in dirhums.

SPEAKER_03 7:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

And the dirhum is pegged to the dollar. Yeah, okay. So yeah, dollars is typically clients that are investing here typically will invest in dollars.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

Okay. So what does your typical client look like?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Well, that's the thing. There isn't a typical client. But they they they you know, where where Rebecca and I would be asked to kind of bang heads together and come up with a proposal or something that made sense for um the more complex client. Um by nature they're quite different, hence why it's complicated. Um, but there's some common themes for sure. So these are typically wealthy individuals, hence they need advice. Um there's typically more than one tax authority or regulator involved uh in that process, and they've all generally got uh capital that will outlive them. So some common themes there want to build robust structures to make them efficient and uh protected against third-party attacks, such as you know, taxation within the realms of what's legal, clearly. Um, but then also they've got capital that's going to outlive them. So really putting in robust succession plans in place. So they're so they're common from that perspective in terms of what their objectives are, you would say, but it's the what differs greatly is is how we get there.

unknown 8:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:58

And how do you, I mean, do you spend a lot of time then sitting with clients and really trying to drill down into their situation?

SPEAKER_01 9:05

I I certainly do, yeah. Yeah. Um Rebecca less so certainly face to face, but um you'll regularly

Leadership, Team Development & Career Growth

SPEAKER_01 9:12

see Rebecca and I either on the phone or in person geeking out on what's what's the sort of suitable type of planning that we need to do.

SPEAKER_03 9:22

And both of you now are managing teams as well. So you've kind of got a third job in there. How do you um you know how what has that taught you in terms of leadership? How is that uh, you know, adding another string to your bow? And what do you enjoy and find challenging about that process?

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Yes, I've really enjoyed um growing a team and you know working with other people and allowing them to start their career in this industry. So small team that I I'm running, and we've got you know people that are fresh into the industry starting to learn a bit more, and it's been really you know exciting to work with them, understand what you know they want to do in their future and help them learn some of the things that I've learned. And I often get asked, where can I learn all the information that you have? Is there a textbook? And no, absolutely not. You've just got to be in this industry and and learn it because that you certainly can't get to this point overnight. Andreas and I have spent quite a few years learning all the weird and wonderful things that happen internationally, and then trying to you know relay that that back into the the solutions for our clients.

SPEAKER_03 10:25

How about you in terms of the leadership question?

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Um, I mean, I've so before I was kind of technical advice director, I was an advisor. So I've always had a team that I managed, whether it was um an individual business development person. So I've I've always kind of done a bit of that, but that's obviously expanded quite a lot now. So we've kind of the hierarchy that we've put in place with the company is we've got team directors, so they have their team of advisors, and then I kind of sit, you know, perhaps above that and I help with the team directors managing their advisors. Um so yeah, I mean it's it's um without I don't mean it's come across in the wrong way, but it kind of feels quite natural and and something I've kind of always done. It's just it's with more people.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

You feel like it plays to your strengths. You're right to say that.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Yeah, they might say something wildly different to me. They might not like what my style, but um, yeah, that's how I feel about it.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Well, when I spoke to one of your colleagues, Matt Samuels, earlier today, um, he had a really interesting take on this, and that he said that actually the being a financial advisor can be quite a selfish role in that you're primarily, you know, trying to build your own client base and and service that um and your your remuneration is is based on that largely. And he said that actually that leadership piece had kind of spun that into a much more selfless role for him. So I think that's a really nice way of looking at it, actually. And I think that's kind of reflected

Making Complex Financial Advice Understandable

SPEAKER_03 11:51

in what you guys have said. Yeah, so you've you've mentioned the word complex a couple of times in terms of the clients that you're dealing with in the situations. How do you take that uh that complex advice and that deep expertise and then translate that into something that's easy to digest for a client? Because, of course, most people are coming to you because they're not financial experts and they come from other industries. So, how does Titan work as a business to communicate that clearly and eloquently?

SPEAKER_02 12:20

So, we've got lots of different resources available for clients. Typically, our clients will have seen something online, whether it's one of our um articles, they might have seen a video, whatever it might be. They've we've got different ways that clients can access that information. And ultimately, our job is to try and break that down into simple, understandable information that clients can understand. So, this is something actually when I look back at my career. I remember the first time I ever did a client meeting, this must have been say eight years ago, and it was around a pension, and we had the statement, and there was all sorts of complicated terminology. And I remembered rattling it off to the client. And then after the meeting, the advisor said to me, You probably need to think carefully about how you've passed that information on to the client because they're never going to understand what you've said. And that was always a kind of turning moment for me because I thought, actually, I was quite naive to do that. Um so it's been yeah, important for us to take that information, translate it into something that's much more simple for clients to understand, and then educate them. So we're not going to speak to clients on day one with super complicated information. We've just got to break it down into small manageable chunks. And we try and position the advice that we give to clients in that manner as well. So we've got clients who've got multi-jurisdictional planning that we're doing. We're often moving assets between jurisdictions. So again, we'll break that down into smaller pieces to try and you know make the kind of journey easier for clients to follow.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

It's striking that balance, isn't it, between demonstrating obviously that you understand exactly what you're talking about, but without bozling them and using all the jargon that the industry throws out?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

Um I think it's really

What Does World-Class Advice Look Like?

SPEAKER_03 14:02

important to everybody in our business, right, that we build a world class um offering for the clients that we're servicing in terms of the advice and whatnot. How do you feel like your roles play into that? What part do you think you can play in that?

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Well, kind of what we're doing already. So being being world class, I don't think there's we don't, I think to the level of detail that we do our job and the expertise we've got in-house, I don't really think there's anyone that competes with us. Um, I would say. So that you know, we've got top quality advisors here. We're quite an elitist firm, I would say, in that we we typically only have or onboard advisors that they're already established, they've already been doing the job for a while. Um creating that world-class kind of um, you know, experience for a client. Ultimately, if we're talking about financial advice, you need world-class advisors um and you need world-class expertise. Sorry, I'm not describing myself as world-class because that would sound wrong, but um, you know, we we we know what we're doing and we've got a lot of experience between us on the floor. And to the level of detail that we we go through things, I think that um I don't really I think it'd clients would find it quite challenging actually to find that level of service from from other companies.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

And I think it's got to be a key um aim process as a business to make sure that that service is upheld wherever you go, right, in whatever jurisdiction, so that when we're all passing clients around to each other, if they if those clients move, that they're looked after in a similar way.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Exactly. Yeah, and you know, having having individuals in the in wherever they end up going that are capable of fulfilling the the financial planning, you know, the structuring that we we put in place rather than the opposite of that is that you know they they get really quite specialized advice, they go somewhere else. Another advisor that isn't aware of the type of planning that we can do, or just frankly you know is is a little bit disjointed to us, it could undo the planning that we did and what we put in place for that client. So fortunately for us now, being the size that we are and the global presence we've got, it's it's not a problem.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

So both of you have been part of the Titan Next Generation Leadership Programme.

Titan's Next Generation Leadership Programme

SPEAKER_03 16:10

What has that involved?

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Yes, so we have been meeting as a cohort over about the last year as um next-gen leaders. So how many of you are there? There are 10 of us. And are they from all around the place? All around the place. So there's three of us from Dubai, and then the rest from various offices in the UK and Channel Islands. So we have been learning some leadership skills, getting a lot more insight into what actually goes on within this group of companies, which has been really interesting. And then we've had a project um to build out a high net worth proposition for the group.

SPEAKER_03 16:45

Okay. And what has been the best thing about that process?

SPEAKER_01 16:51

I I would say it's actually meeting the other the other individuals. I mean, it's we one of the central risks, right, with with the model that we are as Titan group, um, is that we're a lot of disjointed businesses. That's the risk, isn't it? Um, and by getting the hopefully future next leaders of those various elements of the business getting us together um and becoming friends as well, as cheesy as that sounds. But we do, I mean, as part of our trips to London, there's lots of going out and drinking and things after we've done lots of hard work during the day. And I actually think that's quite important because you get to know people in a slightly different light. Um, and I think that's powerful. I'd say that's the biggest thing that I think moving forward, as well as all the training, leadership training, etc., that we've done, those are really valuable relationships that have been established there.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

Tom Grogan said the same thing actually when I spoke to him, and he said that um, you know, he felt that really meaningful relationships have been built, and that if anybody from that next gen leadership program was to call him and ask him to help them with something to do with work or otherwise, that you know, he would drop everything and do that. He felt like it was a really powerful tool for that.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

Yeah, it's made it a lot easier when because I didn't really know many of the other people on the course before we started. Whereas even going about my day-to-day work now, if something comes up and Tom's name's on it, I think, oh that's great, I can just reach out to him, you know, in a much quicker and easier way to communicate than someone who I don't know where I'd probably have to start off with a polite email, whereas with Tom straight in on WhatsApp, just be really straight off the bat. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, much easier.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

So, you guys, whilst it is of course an incredible opportunity, the leadership programme is embryonic and you were effectively the guinea pigs because you know Titan is a fairly young business, and the whole the whole process of that didn't didn't exist until you guys were the first batch. So, you know, what do you think that if you were setting up for the next batch of next gen leaders, what do you think you would like to potentially add to it or expand?

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Yeah, one thing that I actually thought was there was less of this than what I expected was the actual leadership training. But we did a two-day course um a couple of months ago with an external presenter to go through the some leadership skills. And it's actually really interesting because a few of us thought we perhaps should have had a bit more of that earlier on into the course. But we found that in the interactive sessions during that course, because we all know each other and we spent a lot of time with each other, we're a lot more honest with each other, it was actually really valuable that we could be quite um candid. Yeah, with each other.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

It wouldn't it wouldn't have worked the same at the start, would it? No, we were everyone's you know, don't quite know who these people are and sort of you don't want to give too much away and you know um you know things that you say might be held against you type thing. But then we've all become quite very pally, yeah. And yeah, those kind of leadership courses and sort of agony aren't type things that we've done have been been really, really good.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

That's interesting. So actually, you needed the team building before you did the kind of um the learning part of it.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Yeah, that was either intentional or or a well-fortuned mistake doing it that would have it worked out well.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

Either way, we'll take that.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 19:57

So when we talk about leadership and progression of roles, then um, you know, you're you're obviously both moving into fairly senior positions

Career Ambitions & The Future of Titan Wealth International

SPEAKER_03 20:05

in the group. What does like what does the the next stage in that journey look like for both of you? If you were to just kind of dream up your next role, what what would that look like for you? Rebecca, do you want to start?

SPEAKER_02 20:15

For me, I think the future is just getting more involved in the day-to-day what's going on with Titan Wealth International. So working really closely with the advisors, getting more involved with the financials. We've got some exciting acquisitions coming up in the international part of the business. So looking forward to visiting some of those companies that we'll we will buy, go in, see what they've got, and kind of integrate the good parts that they have into our systems and processes and help the business move forward and expand so we can be, you know, have more solutions and more expertise for our clients.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

What about you?

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Well, as the um the sort of directors or former directors of AHR move up the scale as well, they've got their own career progressions. Then um I would like to run Titan Wealth International, to be honest. Um is the answer to the question.

SPEAKER_03 21:04

Um put your dreams out there or they never come true.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Otherwise, it'll come true. Um yeah, but I I must admit, I I am really thoroughly enjoying what I'm doing at the minute in in you know, in in sort of you know, the assistance of other individuals. And as part of the the next gen um programme, we've been working on this high net worth proposition, etc. So, where is the business we start to move um up up market for a better way of putting it, in terms of the types of clientele that we can attract? If I can use my expertise, apply really the same logic and advice that we we provide now, um, but kind of to even more high net worth or ultra high net worth individuals, the more that we grow as a business and expand organically and through acquisition, um I think there'll be a lot of opportunity for like that, for that to come. So that's kind of more of a truly a global role.

SPEAKER_03 21:50

And when you talk about um you know organic growth, do you as a business get a lot of um word of mouth recommendations? Are your clients happy to recommend you to other people? That they know.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

I mean, very much so, yeah. Yeah. I think the the um um it's probably better for me to speak to that just because I'm doing a bit more face-to-face, but that the a lot of referrals, particularly for the more complex cases, because lo and behold, those individuals that have got quite seemingly unique circumstances, they've got two other mates that have got the same unique circumstances, so it's not as unique as you thought it was. Um, but seemingly these people seem to um group together. So though, yeah, you get referrals through that because you've really shown them something that that is hopefully very effective for what it is they need to do. And quite often, as well, I think you get referrals through um for a better way of putting it, a lot of what I do is come up with solutions or answers to questions or problems that the client didn't even know that they have. So I want to go and retire in Portugal as an example. Well, the rules have changed enormously in Portugal, and some of these, some of the things that they just planned on doing would not have led to the end result that they thought it would. And then it's a case of goodness me, I've got two other friends that are in the same boat as me. So that happens quite organically. And our marketing um uh, you know, uh sort of online guides and things that we do, our marketing is is phenomenal as well. So

Scaling International Advice & The Role of AI

SPEAKER_01 23:17

I'd say that that is very effective.

SPEAKER_03 23:19

Because for me, that's a true test. If a client is happy to recommend you to somebody that they know and care about, then that you know that's everything, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:28

So as we start to service um an increasingly global client base, what challenges does that throw up in terms of how we keep that experience seamless for clients, how we address changing regulations and um varying regulations in different jurisdictions? How do, you know, what does that, what does that, what challenges does that throw up in your day-to-day role?

SPEAKER_02 23:52

So for me, and with more acquisitions coming, there's going to be more advisors kind of falling under my remit that I perhaps haven't got as good a relationships with or as kind of um aware of their background and their expertise. So I think it's important um for myself to ensure that there's other people around me that can support with more of the training, the expertise, because we need to ensure that we are giving, carry on giving very high-quality advice that's squeaky clean in terms of how it's been documented and the pros and cons of every aspect of it. So yeah, I think going forward it's with these acquisitions and as growing further. We need to have more people on the ground here and you know to ensure that that kind of service continues.

SPEAKER_03 24:36

And do you think we will end up with more people on the ground here that have specialist knowledge rather than being kind of general advisors focusing on you know UK expats here in the Middle East? Do you think there'll be there's a uh sort of opening, if you like, for advisors that specialise in a particular geography or a particular client type?

SPEAKER_02 24:57

I think so. And with everything where we've got big plans with AI coming within the coming months, years, maybe that will allow advisors to spend less time in the office run paperwork and be able to go and see more clients. So I think there'll be certain aspects of the job for the financial advisors that can be taken away and done by AI. So it will give clients, so the advisors will then have you know be more of the technical expertise. So I think over the coming years there will be more need for advisors to get up to that next technical level.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

It's also, I mean, it's also possible that you know, we've got a very effective global wealth department, so that's effectively um, you know, it's a it's a group of advisors, you know, salary, predominantly salary-based advisors that are very good at general account management. Because it's also true to say that when you put things in place for a client, unless, you know, I'm talking about structuring products, etc., unless that client circumstances change, rules and regulations and you know, legislation doesn't change, quite often it's just it's just an account with money in it and it's investments, and we know that the way that that works and benefits to the client. But it's not obvious that that person who's got that technical expertise would need to be doing the annual reviews for that client andor just the general regular contact. So you've got a well, you know, a well sort of resourced global wealth department where they've got access to experts in the various fields or whatever specific niche that they've got. And that's a much more scalable business, I would say.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

And then when you're working with third parties, be it on um, you know, accountants or tax specialists, how do you ensure that consistency of service for clients? How do you find the best of the best to ensure that we are continuing to give our clients the best offering?

SPEAKER_01 26:48

Uh sometimes it's trial and error. It's reality. You know, we can't control the uncontrollable. So um, you know, anyone that will engage will be, you know, on paper the best of the best. I. They'll give good advice, you know, they'll give regulated, you know, they'll be a chartered tax advisor, for example. Um, but sometimes they're not as nimble and proactive as what we are. We're very proactive business, I think, for very virtually all of our staff. Um, but we've over the years, there's a hand there's only so many countries around the world, and often they pop up more than once. So UK repatriation, Portugal, South Africa. Um, you know, we've got well-established

Culture, Collaboration & Working in Dubai

SPEAKER_01 27:24

relationships with local on-the-ground experts, tax advisors for those places that we're happy with.

SPEAKER_03 27:32

Um tell me what your favourite thing about each job is.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

I think I'd say just coming into the office, being around such a good group of people. Um we were saying we work with all of our friends in the office. So yeah, I enjoy coming into work. You never know what's gonna get thrown across your desk that day, but it's a great group of people to be around, so yeah, it makes every day fun.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Uh yeah, that I mean it's a lot of so we're quite lucky in that we've got a great culture here. So I'm sure every officer's got a great culture, but I can certainly speak to ours and outside of work where most of us are amaze, you know, and we'll go and socialise outside of work. And I've got to experience now not just being friends with them, but kind of doing business together, working on client cases, doing deals with those people. Um, and that's been so much fun, really, really good fun. And in fact, I get more um gratification from helping and providing a successful client outcome when I'm doing it with one of your mates than when you're just doing it on your own. Um, because I've been doing that for many years, but now to kind of do it with people that you would hang out with outside of work anyway, has just been frankly really fun. So I'm enjoying that.

SPEAKER_03 28:43

Well, I think what it strikes me as being quite unique about this jurisdiction is that a lot of people have moved here away from their families and their homes, and actually then the people here that you work with become your your your quasi family, your chosen family, if you like. So I think those relationships become even more important, don't they? Um, and actually, you spoke, you you nodded to it on the the next gen leadership when you said actually the work you get done is more productive when the relationship is already in place. So actually, that's a big thing for the culture here, right? You all are really, really close as a team, and that again feeds into better outcomes for the client, better outcomes for the business. So I think it's really important that we try and um protect that for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

You're you're more likely to go in above and beyond and proactively try and help someone that you like than someone that you don't like, I guess naturally.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

Absolutely. So I think more fun and more parties across all Titan then.

What One Titan Means

SPEAKER_01 29:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

So when we talk about one Titan, which is a phrase that is being banded around quite a lot at the moment as we integrate all these different businesses, what does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_02 29:45

So for me, it's about bringing together the expertise from across the business. And we're all within Titan, but we've all got different areas that we work on, whether it's the investment side, whether it's the financial advice side, pulling together all that expertise and for us to learn from each other, but ultimately it's about getting the best outcomes for the clients. So yeah, that's it for me.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

I use I was asked this question um from another podcast. And uh the the thing that sprung to mind, and it wasn't a very well thought-out thing, but it was maybe just the feeling of it's it's it's a familiarity from a client perspective of a level of quality. Um, for example, you know, I travel quite a lot, business and and personal, and that feeling that when I go, I always fly Emirates, it's not a plug for Emirates, but that's who I fly with. Um, and that feeling of you you're in a maybe an unfamiliar place and the airport looks a bit different, streets look a bit different. But you get to the airport and you check in and it's the Emirates brand, and you kind of know, I know what I'm getting now. Yeah, I know what the seat's gonna look like, I know everything, these sort of little touchy-feely bits. So I'd say it's that from a client perspective, same quality advice wherever you go, a level of professionalism that you can expect. Um, and anything that differs from that would be unusual. So it's to be expected, and that would be the norm.

SPEAKER_03 31:02

That's a lovely analogy. Um, thanks so much for your time, guys. It's been great chatting to you.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Thank you.