It’s probably worth kicking this post off by saying Holborn doesn’t necessarily employ financial advisers, but more salesmen who sell financial products and portray the image of Financial Advisers with shiny cufflinks and expensive watches.
Holborn claims that all of their advisers are “fully qualified”, but in reality very very few within the company have qualifications worth more than the paper they’re written on.
For example, the CISI qualification from The Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments, may sound fancy, but truth be told, it’s a multiple choice exam with a 1 in 4 chance that you can just guess the correct answer. Don’t let the email signature of your adviser fool you either full of their acronyms, it’s mostly made up as nobody polices the shit written in there! It’s all designed to deceive!
As I mentioned previously, 99% of the staff at Holborn Assets, managing clients affairs and life savings are ex used car salesmen. Case and point, Peter Wesley, who is the managing director of Holborn Property is an ex joiner and conservatory salesman for Everest windows and doors. And for those who haven’t had the misfortune of meeting him, yes, he does live up to the stereotypical, dishonest, sleazy window salesman image. But Holborn wouldn’t have it any other way!
Anyway, lets delve deeper into the corporate culture within this virus of an organisation and see what it really means for clients behind the scenes.
During my career, I have worked for a number of companies where KPI’s determine competency scored in sales and customer service. Holborn Assets is not one of them.
Holborn Assets targets, incentivises and measures 1 area only. Commission – The art of extracting as much money from the clients investment as possible.
League Tables are distributed companywide on a weekly basis as a way of measuring an “advisers” performance. Holborn does not measure any competencies based on managing a clients portfolio, client satisfaction, investment returns, compliance or product suitability. They have absolutely ZERO regard for the client and what is right or wrong.
The client is important for 1 purpose and 1 purpose only, to be sold to and earn commission from.
Here is an example of the email sent like clockwork every Friday;
As you can see from the distribution list, this is sent to every single person within the company. And if you’re wondering what these “League tables” are, its the value of commission that these sharks have made offloading financial products onto unsuspecting clients. You’ve seen Wolf of Wall Street, right?
Well you can download the attached document below and see for yourself.
Now, this isn’t the only emphasis on ramming sales down clients throats. Each month, Bob writes an article called, The Exchange, rallying the troops like he’s some sort of knock off Churchill, exclaiming that Holborn cannot be shaken by pandemics, regulation, governments or rival firms and other bollocks. An unrivalled arrogance and display of obnoxiousness with his verbal diarrhoea.
As you can see below, it’s not just Bob, but a culture engrained within Holborn Assets that consists of lies and exploiting clients for as much commission as possible. As I said earlier in my post, there is no mention whatsoever of doing right by the clients. The client really does not matter!
Now lets look at what some of the managers and directors have to say and the message they’re relaying.
An Exchange message from Andrew Menzies in Vietnam…
An Exchange message from Greg Miller in Hong Kong….
A message from Mark MacAllister in Cape Town….
A message from Andrew Carter in Cyprus….
A message from Romeo Stefanutti in Durban
A message from Jason Swann in Spain….
I could be screenshotting these “corporate messages” for days. These are just a few examples from various editions of the exchange across a 12 month period.
The point of this?? Well, as you will see, it doesn’t matter who the manager is, what continent they’re on or what country they’re based, there’s only one underlying message. Commissions.
The whole Holborn business model is centred around moving as much money from a clients pocket, into their own. A culture of greed, drilled into their staff from the top down.
Unfortunately it’s the unsuspecting clients who are the victims with target on their backs. Caught in the crosshairs of these commission hungry vultures.
As Bob probably said, Holborn cannot be shaken so fuck the clients!
Until the next one ✌️
The Truth About Holborn Assets & Holborn Property Investments 
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