New Wealth Management Service on offer from Anderson Anderson & Brown

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), Aberdeen’s largest independent accountancy firm, is delighted to announce the addition of Wealth Management to the firm’s existing extensive range of services.

A²+B Wealth (Chartered Financial Planners) has opened its doors for business at AAB’s Queen’s Road offices.

Mike Brown, one of the accountancy firm’s founding partners, and Managing Partner of AAB, said “Expansion of our services into wealth management is a natural progression. There is a clear link between our existing services and the areas of advanced financial planning and investment consulting. We wanted to offer a highly professional and comprehensive proposition in this area, on a fee-for-service basis; free from any bias, and quite properly regarding any commission arising from all and any financial products as belonging to the client.”

Financial planning and investment advice will be delivered by a dedicated team, jointly headed up by Directors Paul Lothian and Jonathan Gibson, who are both Chartered Financial Planners as well as being holders of the Institute of Financial Planning’s CFP licence. Fewer than 5% of all UK financial advisers are as well qualified. Wendy Fleming and Vikki Venerus, both formerly of local financial planning firm Fleming McDonald, complete the team, which is expected to grow rapidly in response to client demand for its services.

Mike Brown added “We are delighted to have secured the services of Paul and Jonathan to help us further serve the needs of our customers by establishing and developing this new strand of our business. Our aim is that A²+B Wealth will become the wealth management service of choice for our firm’s existing clients as well as new contacts.”

Paul Lothian commented “Jonathan and I are looking forward to serving AAB’s clients as well as the wider population of Aberdeen City and Shire. This is a time of great opportunity for quality financial planning, and AAB is a well respected and highly successful firm in the area.”

Commenting on the wider picture of growth at AAB, Mike Brown indicated that “Since our inception, we have now trebled the existing four traditional services namely; Audit, Personal Tax, Corporate Tax and Accounting Services. Over the years we have added; Corporate Finance & Strategy, Employer & Expatriate Tax, Accounting Outsourcing and Management Information Solutions. Then in 2010, we introduced a further three complementary service areas viz Payroll Services, a specialist VAT team that rivals in size and expertise anything in Scotland and a Fraud Investigation, Asset Recovery and Whistle Blowing service.”

“The last 5 years has seen turnover almost doubled; staff numbers increased to 162 – an increase of almost 30%; and client numbers increased by 25%.”

“Comparing this against our three year strategy (from 2008), we are on plan with staff numbers and growth in the client base, the target of delivering fee income in excess of £10m has been surpassed and our move to purpose-built landmark premises in the West End of Aberdeen has been achieved and has been a huge success.”

“2011 promises further exciting challenges with this new wealth management service demonstrating that we are not prepared to sit back and be content with what has been achieved since our formation in 1990.”