Case Study:
Greenarch
Copia’s Custom Solution Supports Greenarch’s Strategic Development
“They’re flexible, open and collaborative”
Greenarch Wealth Management is an advisory firm based in Newcastle owned by Ian Nagel and Alister Gaines that was originally founded by Ian in 2005. In 2022 the two directors decided to merge their existing businesses, and together they manage around £110 million for a market mainly in the North East. They have a broad client base but Ian Nagel says, “our sweet spot is clients with assets between £500,000 and £1 million and that’s where our growth is focussed”. The firm has seven staff including advisers, paraplanners, and an admin /
compliance manager.
After the merger of the two firms, the two directors agreed that they wanted to run discretionary portfolios but without the need to hold discretionary permissions themselves. They were also keen to streamline operations by unifying processes across their centralised investment proposition. After researching the market, they narrowed it down to a shortlist of five DFMs, including Copia Capital.
In the final analysis, Copia was selected for their strong performance, risk management tools, their ability to operate on a ‘Agent of Client’ basis, their value for money, and the strength of their Custom Portfolios white labelling offer, which allows Greenarch to present the portfolios under their own brand.
But above all, it was about the people and relationships; Ian Nagel says,
“We liked and trusted the people we met, and I’ve known Copia’s business development manager Craig Berry for a while and that gave us confidence in the proposition”.
Ian Nagel is so far very happy with the relationship with Copia. He appreciates the “small company feel” and personal service from the investment team at Copia, and says the conversations between Copia and Greenarch are flexible, open, and collaborative. He adds,
“there is a sense that Copia genuinely wants input on how to tailor things for Greenarch and views the portfolios as belonging to us rather than to themselves; you don’t get that feeling from a large DFM”.
Greenarch has regular communication with Copia via monthly portfolio updates, joint investment committee meetings, and Copia provides market commentary that the advisers can share with their clients.
Ian Nagel says that he and Alister Gaines are ‘eternal evolvers’, and they are always looking for better ways to do things. Outsourcing to Copia has also freed up more time for the directors, allowing them to focus more on their business strategy, developing new propositions to meet market demand and responding to regulatory change.
Partly influenced by the Consumer Duty requirements to evaluate target markets and value for money, they’ve recently introduced a new “Wealth Builder” service proposition for clients with assets of around £50,000 to £100,000. They are also considering how they evolve their decumulation strategy and have been exploring whether Copia’s recently-launched Retirement Income Plus portfolio, which offers a secure lifetime income, could play a part in their decumulation offer.
While Greenarch evaluate the performance of their Copia Custom portfolios on a regular basis, as well as evaluating the relationship as a whole annually, on the basis of the current relationship Ian Nagel is confident that Copia will remain a core plank of Greenarch’s investment strategy for the foreseeable future.
This information is intended for professional financial advisers only. Copia does not provide financial advice. This information is not intended as financial advice and should not be interpreted as such. Model investment portfolios may not be suitable for everyone. The value of funds can increase and decrease, past performance and historical data cannot guarantee future success. Investors may get back less than they originally invested.
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