Make sure you don’t get left behind, warns David Hesketh, group M&A manager at Perspective Financial Group Ltd

Watching the ongoing Rugby World Cup one can’t help but be impressed by the performances put in by the so-called Tier Two and Three teams. They may have started to feel the physical effects at the end of the Group stage however this has been a tournament where the former minnows of world rugby have stepped up to the try line and in many cases forced their way over it.

With the exception of perhaps the All Blacks-Japan game, and any match involving Namibia, we have not seen the ‘cricket-scores’ of the tournament’s previous history. That said, Japan have themselves improved noticeably and we have yet to see the 100 point margins of victory which were almost guaranteed at previous tournaments.

So, why have we seen such noticeable improvement? Why do teams such as Georgia appear to be mixing it so well with the big boys? What has stopped others like USA and Canada making such a sizeable contribution on rugby’s biggest stage before? The answer is quite simple – it is a case of time, resources and investment. And these lower-ranked teams have benefited from an improvement in all three over the past five to 10 years.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) is often a sounding board for criticism but in this aspect it has improved. It recognised that rugby needed (and needs) far more competitive nations if the game is to have greater appeal and it set about ‘putting its hand into its pocket’ and ensuring that the nations mentioned above, and others like the Pacific Islands’ teams, Romania, etc were all able to benefit. The results are just starting to show themselves.

This focus on resource and investment is just as true in aspects of business. It is no surprise that businesses and individuals who are looked after, nurtured and offered all the resources they require, are the ones best placed to excel. In the advisory space this is easier said than done, particularly when we have such a proliferation of smaller firms who may not be in a position to lavish as much investment within the business as they would wish.

However, in today’s market environment the need for such investment has perhaps never been so great. It’s a sad fact that, like those rugby teams mentioned above in former years, those businesses that are not able to invest and improve personnel, training, systems, etc, will suffer and ultimately be left behind. As time moves on the gap is only likely to get bigger given that those at the top of the game never stand still.

This is why we believe many firms who are looking to secure their future acknowledge they may not be in a position to do this on their own – they might not have the financial, technical or personnel resource to push the firm all the way. In the current market, particularly as we motor towards RDR, the need to partner with a business that can deliver all of the above and more, can seem even more compelling. Joining a national Group, such as ourselves, does not always have to be with the motive of, for example, retiring from the business as soon as possible or cashing in on the value of the firm right now it can also be about partnering with an organisation that cannot just secure its future but drive it forward.

I speak to many IFA practice owners who feel their business is on the verge of much bigger things, however for one reason or another they recognise that they require assistance to achieve their goals. Often, as mentioned, it is a question of resource and investment and, as long as the business is profitable, as long as it is the right type of practice in the first place, it has a strong management team and the same ambitions as ourselves, then this is where we can make a sizeable difference.

The next market leaders in the advisory sector are being forged right now, ahead of when RDR kicks in. Driving your business forward does take time and it certainly requires investment however firms can benefit from Groups like ourselves who have the expertise, the know-how and back-up in order to not just push the firm closer to the try-line, but ultimately over the whitewash and under the posts.