Quartet sets up new wealth management firm to ‘break free from corporate agenda’
Four friends, who have over 60 years of industry experience, have launched their own financial planning and investment business in Leicestershire called Wattam Kirby Mee (WKM Wealth)
Neil Wattam – who has worked for BDO and Tesco, Tim Kirby – who has had spells at Mattioli Woods and Michael Ambrose and Ben Wattam and Adrian Mee – who between them spent 34 years years with Mattioli Woods, have set up the new firm in effort to “break free of the corporate agenda”.
Co-founder Neil Wattam told TheBusinessDesk.com: “We wanted to create a business to be proud of and one that clients wanted to be a part of. Our business is all about people – we want to work with interesting and successful clients to help them achieve their goals and aspirations in life.”
Clockwise, from top left: Adrian Mee, Ben Wattam, Tim Kirby and Neil Wattam
The quartet set the business up during the Covid-19 lockdown, but, according to Wattam, this hasn’t affected the launch of WKM Wealth.
He added: “As a new business, we had always planned to utilise technology wherever possible to help deliver our client experience. The inability to physically visit our clients and prospective clients is far from ideal, but our use of technology has meant we can interact in a professional and modern manner.”
WKM Wealth says its proposition is all about putting the client at the centre of its planning and helping them achieve their lifetime objectives.
Wattam said: “We are also completely independent from outside pressures and offer our own in house discretionary investment management service.”
The firm is gearing up to take office space in Leicestershire in the near future and Wattam hasn’t ruled out creating jobs.
He added: “It is just the four of us at present, but we expect to recruit in 2020 as our business grows. We need to ensure our high standards of service are maintained at all times, which will require additional professional and committed individuals to work with us.”
