How can you advise the clergy?

In the second part of a series on advisers who specialise in different professions, Joanna Faith talks to Melanie Wray about advising the clergy.

Financial adviser Anne Wray is married to a retired Methodist minister. Her first hand experience of the church makes her the ideal candidate to advise her client base - members of the clergy.

Anne’s self-titled firm is a real family business. Based in Chorley, Lancashire, it is run by Anne herself, with the help of daughter Melanie, a financial adviser who joined the firm four years ago, and son Tom, who looks after IT and website support. The Wrays also have a self-employed paraplanner who is not a family member.

Anne started her career as a tied agent with Methodist Insurance, an insurer for the Methodist Church in the UK and Ireland, which offers “policies to meet the unique and diverse challenges that the Christian community demand”. She left Methodist Insurance to become an independent in 1994, taking her client base with her. Her daughter Melanie talks about life advising the clergy.

What specialist financial advice do members of the clergy require?

Melanie Wray: We advise mostly on pensions and investments. The clergy get good pensions from the church so we help them decide where to invest. We also advise on the mortgage side, especially on homes on retirement.

The clergy live in manses or vicarages during service and there is a scheme in place providing them with a house on retirement. The problem is this scheme is struggling. Apparently there are 28 properties for retiring Methodist ministers in the UK but 60-70 retire each year. So we tend to advise on second properties or buy-to-let opportunities.

What are the advantages of advising the clergy?

MW: They are a loyal client base. My mum is very well-known in the community and we understand what it is like to live under the church and be involved with the church. We understand it is not a nine-to-five job. It is more 24/7.

So you understand what advice they need and when they need it?

MW: Yes exactly. As well as being financial advisers, my mum and I are also life coaches.

We took a course at Lancashire College in May 2008 and we now carry out lifestyle questionnaires for all our clients.

Are these questionnaires more than a typical fact-find?

MW: Yes. We look at the bigger picture, not just client’s attitude to risk. We think to advise clients appropriately, you need to be able to understand their lifestyles, dreams and hopes for the future.

Are there any downsides to advising a specific profession?

MW: Clients talk. If you don’t provide a good service to one, you’ll be sure to know. This can be a downside if you don’t maintain service standards. This is especially important for us as we are built on referrals.

How are you and your mum preparing for the RDR implementation?

MW: We are both taking the IFS route, starting in April. It is a nine month course so we will be at diploma status by December. For us, exams are part and parcel of the job. As a member of Sesame we are used to annual assessments anyway. We are not overjoyed by the prospect of taking exams but it is a way of cementing what advisers should already know. I think RDR is important for the financial services industry. Standards need to be raised to boost consumer confidence.