NACFB welcomes new patrons

10th March 2011

Clifton Asset Management plc, the developers of Optimise™, have become patrons of the NACFB.

The company became patrons of the association at the start of the year, and are delighted to be able to utilize the union to continue their work with SMEs.

Adam Tavener, Chairman of Clifton Asset Management plc, said: “We’re extremely pleased to be become patrons of the NACFB. With the exceptional work that the NACFB do in the commercial finance arena, it ties in extremely well with our ambitions to provide an alternative finance option for UK SMEs.”

Who are Clifton Asset Management plc?

With over 20 years of specialised work in the field of pension-led business funding, Clifton has become the fastest growing company promoting the use of pension strategies to organise and re-organise company finance in the UK. With a practical approach to recognising value in businesses, long ignored by traditional lenders, Clifton’s approach has unlocked a supply of dormant finance often overlooked.

Where does this finance come from?

Business owners have, in many cases, amassed funds in various types of pension arrangements. These could be held in the final salary or group arrangements of a previous employer, they might also have been transferred into another arrangement, whatever the source of these funds they are often neglected. More importantly business owners are almost universally frustrated at the lack of performance of these funds and their inability to use them productively.
A pension, or pension benefit, belongs to the individual, and many business owners are still unaware that these pension funds can be moved into significantly more advantageous arrangements.

How can a client access these funds and how can they be used?

That’s where Optimise comes in. For more than 20 years, Clifton Asset Management plc has worked in this area, developing and refining pension-led strategies to suit business owners and their unique concerns. As a natural result of this development we have learnt that these busy people want, indeed insist on, two things; simplicity and execution.

And that is exactly what Optimise provides; a simple answer to a complex series of events. We can make a client’s pension work harder for them and as a result, their business. When they choose to ‘Optimise’, they choose to arrange their funding requirements in a wholly different way, centered on their needs and their circumstances.

By building an arrangement where their pension becomes a silent partner with the business, they build a platform for future funding requirements, while also meeting the needs of the moment.

Once the funds are introduced into the business the client can use them in any appropriate way, whether to invest in new machinery or software, recruitment, or working capital, the choice is that of the client. This flexibility comes with additional and dramatic benefits. Optimise does not require regular management accounts. Business owners told us that this was a particularly onerous requirement. Nor are personal guarantees required, lifting another intrusive form of security now demanded by many high street lenders.
Instead, Optimise looks to realise value from overlooked assets such as intellectual property rights, where, in the past, stored value has been particularly difficult to release.

Who manages Optimise™ ?

Developed by Clifton Asset Management plc, Optimise is both a strategy and a process. The Clifton consultant team work one-to-one with business owners in developing an appropriate solution to their funding requirements. This strategy is then administered by a highly trained technical team boasting in house capabilities in trustee services, pensions management, intellectual property registration and valuation, tax planning and much more. This ‘all round’ capability allows Clifton to work with clients across many areas, something that will be quite new to many business owners!

However, at all times Clifton retains a one-client view, allowing for the best outcome to be achieved given all of the competing elements.

Important note for Introducers: Referral remuneration is managed by the finance team on an agreed basis, and this remuneration is in part a one off fee and in part a regular income for as long as the assets are managed by us.

So when is Optimise™ most useful?

Optimise is limited to the level of pension funds available, so financing large projects will be more unusual. However, as an enabler, it is unbeatable. Where large capital purchases are being made, it is very often the lack of a deposit that will stall the deal. Optimise is tailor-made for this. Our experience tells us that a large number of business owners have pensions valued at between £50,000 and £500,000 and although Optimise works for larger pensions, this represents the optimal range for effectiveness.

Of course, there are a million and one reasons that a business needs to raise funds and where there is a pension available, Optimise should always be one of the options considered.

How long will a client take to receive the funding?

Depending on the source of the pension funds, it can take anywhere from four to eight weeks from the start for the client to receive the funds into their account. There will always be a comprehensive client fact find and advisor meeting, but with a motivated client, deals are commonly completed in under a month.

Service and responsibility

Each client can expect to be assigned an individual consultant. This consultant will help develop the strategy and assist in the set up of the Optimise account. The account will then have a dedicated support individual and a team assigned from the professional trustees. This team collaborates daily on each account and executes to high service levels. A weekly status report is also available. Important note: In utilising Optimise, Clifton Asset Management plc undertakes all regulatory responsibilities.

For more information please contact Adam Tavener on Tel: 01275 813700 or e-mail: adam.tavener@cliftonasset.co.uk

Clifton Asset Management plc is an appointed representative of Chancery Asset Management Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.