CARRICK WEALTH: Phenomenal People Push Carrick Past Pandemic

After a devastating economic blow, dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa is regaining GDP and clawing back fiscal position in the toughest conditions of a lifetime. In 2020’s second quarter, GDP sat at a total of R947 billion, falling from R1.147 billion in the first quarter. But, in quarter two of 2021 the country’s GDP was back to R1.131 billion. Economists expect further improvement through 2022, but major growth is unlikely, and prior to the meltdown, the economy was already weak. For investors, those looking for real returns, and people searching for ways to nurture their wealth, being exposed to South Africa alone remains a major risk.

In November 2018, financial advisory business, Carrick Wealth, was formulating a plan to offer offshore investment opportunities as a key product to their clients. Even then, there was a nervousness about having all assets in South Africa following years of unsteady politics and economics.

CEO and Founder, Craig Featherby explained that the boutique business was growing strongly and preparing for major expansion.

But with the catastrophe that has been the pandemic, Featherby has been forced to re-strategise and re-evaluate. New ideas and new offerings have been developed, and offshoring has been formalised. Enterprise Africa asks Featherby again about the company’s prospects. With so much money wiped from the economy, you may think he would be downbeat, but this entrepreneur and his highly experienced and innovative team are buoyant and confident. “It has been a whirlwind,” he smiles.

“The relatively sudden onset of the pandemic and lockdowns came as a worrying curveball, there is no denying it. I spent a few days in my home office in March 2020 chewing over the new circumstances and deliberating on the ‘what now?’. It became clear that there were two choices available to us, and only one was an option. We could wrap ourselves up in cotton wool and hope that we were resilient enough to survive, without taking any steps to adapt. That approach was simply not viable – in South Africa, Covid has had a devastating effect on SMEs, with 38% going out of business. The other option, and the choice we took, was to ‘throw the kitchen sink at it’.”

The highly successful business, established in 2014 and home to more than 120 employees in South Africa, was forced to shift and adapt. A restructure of its model, installation of new management principles, clearing out distractions, and refocussing of the brand allowed Carrick Wealth to achieve strong results. Featherby was relieved and cites the establishment of new offerings as a major contributor to the company’s success over the past two years. 

“One is an international property investment company that assists clients in purchasing buy-to-let properties in the UK, France and Mauritius. That is Carrick Property, and it has done really well. We then launched Carrick Consult which helps clients to manage their estate planning. We understand that we are in the largest trans-generational wealth transfer in the history of mankind. There is more money than ever being transferred from parents to children and then to the next generation and we need to make sure our clients have robust structures for that. We also started our own asset management business in partnership with an existing investment manager here in South Africa –LNKD Investment Managers. That has performed exceptionally well and provided stunning returns for our clients. Lastly, we started a company called Carrick Partners which is a financial advisory network. There are various challenges advisories face including the ever-rising cost of doing business, eating into margins. Carrick Partners provides a range of financial services under the Carrick brand that assists with everything from operational support to administration, marketing and much more.”

PHENOMENAL RETURNS

As the pandemic challenged financial positions for many, a relationship with a financial advisor became more valuable than ever. Understanding risks and actively managing portfolios allowed the company to deliver results for clients. “We have generated phenomenal returns for our clients and that is what it’s all about. We must and will keep going, whatever the circumstances,” says Featherby.

Continued success has allowed Carrick to open new offices in Gqeberha and Pretoria, and this has fuelled further growth. “The business has had a staggering 40% year-on-year growth since we started in terms of revenue, profit and assets,” details Featherby.

After 2020’s worries, 2021 was altogether different. Of course, Covid remained a concern, but Carrick Wealth was driving a reinvigoration.

“In 2021, we launched what we call Carrick 2.0, or the next chapter. We felt that as a business, we had reached a certain ceiling and we needed to go to the next level,” explains Featherby. “We needed to identify how we would differentiate ourselves in the market and we realised that we can’t differentiate based on product. We chose a concept around hospitality and put that at the forefront of everything we do. The definition of hospitality in our eyes is ‘how do we make our clients feel’. In South Africa, a lot of people are under a lot of pressure and when they look to a financial advisor, they’re not necessarily only looking for solid, transparent, professional advice. They are potentially looking for a partner and a long-term relationship. We want to be financially married to our clients, providing the enduring support, commitment, and dedication one does in a cherished relationship.”

By fostering these deep relationships and going above and beyond in terms of returns, the company managed to eclipse even its own high expectations for growth figures.  

“We did exceptionally well in 2021 and by the end of October we were 145% up on 2020. We have had incredible growth since our founding, and we are above all current rates so that is great. We are hoping to realise a finish to 2021 of 150-155% up on 2020,” Featherby celebrates.

AFRICAN OPERATION

With successful operations developed to diversify client wealth in terms of geographic location, Featherby is quick to remind that this remains a very African operation and will always call the continent home.

“In terms of the future, we see ourselves remaining in Africa – we are an African business. We are owned by Africans and the majority of our clients are Africans. We have operations in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and we have international operations in the UK and Mauritius.”

A route-to-market has been developed in 17 other African countries, and license applications are being secured in Zambia and Kenya. In East Africa (likely Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia), Carrick will aim for offices to create operations that replicate the success of the South African business.

“We see further opportunities in Africa with an African family office based in Jersey, Channel Islands. Concentrating on ultra-high net worth individuals who have between US$10 and US$30 million investable assets but who don’t necessarily qualify for the traditional family office offerings out of Switzerland or other European countries. They are rarely regarded as an institutional customer, and we think there are massive opportunities in Africa for that.

“We have created lots of opportunities to grow outside of Africa, but we stick to our knitting. We know who and what we are, and we know the model in Africa. We believe Africa is what the Far East was 25 years ago and we feel there is enormous opportunity here. We have an underlying goal over the next five years to change the lives of 100,000 African families by offering superior financial advice.”

In order to serve African clients that have moved away from the continent, Carrick Wealth now has a fully-fledged office in Fulham, London. Designed to service clients onboarded in Africa but active in the UK, this office brings a full suite of services to those that have emigrated or may be spending extended periods in a new financial environment. 

TROPHY HAUL  

Developing brand-Carrick is a continuous process. A truly never-ending task for any business, nurturing the brand is something that the Carrick exec team is hot on. In 2020, the company was voted by a large international advisory board – International Advisor – as the top financial advisory firm in South Africa. In 2021, Carrick celebrated again after being awarded Excellence in Advisory Best Practice in Africa by International Investment. This streak of success has helped instil further equity in the brand and Featherby puts it down to the team.

“We have achieved success and won some fantastic awards and that comes down to the people we have in the business. We have a brilliant group of around 221 people within the organisation, many of whom have been here since day one. There is a remarkable executive team who do the majority of the heavy lifting, but we have amazing people throughout the company who collectively make this the great business that it is.”

This people focus continues externally through Carrick|Impact, a new philanthropic division designed around supporting charitable, uplifting, enriching causes but with clear measurement of influence.   

In 2013, Featherby and business partner Mike Fannin started a charity which was very successful and eventually became formalised within the Carrick business. But the pair were keen for clear information on how donations were utilised.

“A lot of the time, there is no measurement within charities and people’s investment can go unnoticed. Carrick|Impact provides a quarterly impact report that clearly reflects how your investment into a chosen charity has performed and how much of an impact you are making on society. The goal is to continue with philanthropic endeavours in all of the countries we operate in, and we would like to roll this out across third-party companies and go to them with advice on all CSR initiatives.”

Internally, displaying its commitment to people, Carrick Wealth retained all personnel throughout the pandemic. No one took a pay cut, no one was retrenched, and no one was asked to change their package or the hours that they worked. The measurement of this investment? A positive future outlook.

“We are proud of that,” says Featherby. “We have managed to stick to our core fundamental values as a business and we have managed to look after our team throughout the pandemic and the associated lockdowns.

“Things are exciting, and we are aware that we are fortunate. We must think about technology and how we can incorporate that into the business, but it is key that we strike the right balance between technology and people. We also have to remain patient and remain humble, that is of major importance.”

This patience and humbleness has helped Carrick to come through where others have fallen away. Not only has the company survived, it has thrived, picking up awards and delivering returns, but most importantly, retaining a culture of excellence and a team of industry leaders. For Featherby, the importance of quality financial advice is now more important than ever.

“Financial advice is such a fundamentally important aspect of someone’s life. We help clients make some critically important decisions. The reality is that if we get things wrong, it can ruin people’s livelihoods. We must get things right all of the time, not just 95% of the time. That is why the calibre of one’s team is vital,” he concludes.