Wealth manager has new offices and new name

This week, No Monkey Business, the financial planning and wealth management firm, has changed its name to Fowler Drew Limited and moved to new larger offices.

The new name, referencing the two originators of the concept, reflects the company's progression from an innovator, with challenging ideas about investment technique, business format and charging methods, to a recognised leader, competing successfully with the best in mainstream wealth management and advice, it said.

Marking a new phase in the firm's development, Fowler Drew has appointed its first dedicated business development director, former senior banker and client of the firm, Jonathan Brown, and also moved to larger offices.

The company was originally named after the book, No Monkey Business: what Investors need to know and why, written by the firm's founder and director of investment, Stuart Fowler.
 
He explains: "When I wrote the book in 2002, its title captured very well the need to rid the retail investment industry of sharp selling and charging practices, poor technical skills and bad product design. When I started the firm two years later, putting into practice my own blueprint for a modern, goal based wealth management firm, it seemed obvious to name it after the book.
 
‘This was still several years before the FSA's initiatives of Treating Customers Fairly and the Retail Distribution Review, both of which have finally started dealing more effectively with the monkey business lurking in the financial jungle. Today, we are no longer a voice in the wilderness, we do not feel like mavericks and the clients coming to us do not feel like early adopters.

‘We recently carried out extensive third-party research across our client base and two things emerged with great clarity. The first was that our clients value the differences we make to their lives; the words ‘integrity' and ‘peace of mind' cropped up again and again. The second was that most clients, whilst attracted by the values that No Monkey Business stands for, felt that the name did not reflect the seriousness of our offering. It was not too difficult to see we needed to change the name but not the brand,’ he added.

The new name also honours Chris Drew, a consultant to the firm and Stuart's long standing partner in developing the proprietary investment technology which is critical to providing the robust and fully-customised investment solutions that set Fowler Drew apart from its competitors.
 
The name change will not mark the end of the firm's no-nonsense commentary on the retail investment scene with which ‘No Monkey Business' has been so strongly associated. It will continue on the firm's blog, aimed at a much broader audience than Fowler Drew's high end client base, prioritising fairness and transparency for consumers across the board.

Coinciding with this change, Fowler Drew has appointed Jonathan Brown as Business Development Director. Jonathan, who has been a client of the firm since 2009, has over 20 years of experience as a UK corporate financier with JP Morgan and Salomon Brothers.

Commenting on this appointment Stuart Fowler says: "Our client base and assets under management have grown strongly and consistently since I founded the firm in 2004 and we now need a dedicated business developer to allow us to continue our high growth whilst maintaining our high service standards. As a client of our firm, Jonathan has a very good appreciation of what we are trying to achieve as a business and what makes us special and will bring a strong customer perspective to our marketing effort.

"The senior team at Fowler Drew is also very pleased to have a colleague at board level with immense business experience as a corporate financier as well as specific experience of regulated financial firms."