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Dollars and Sense: Andrew McKie Profile
5th July, 2014:  Nett Magazine

For Brisbane-based Andrew McKie, weathering the GFC storm turned out to be one of the most lucrative periods in his career.

What’s the name of your company, and what do you do?

Elston is a privately owned financial services firm providing wealth management and insurance advice to individuals, and wholesale asset management services to other professionals.

How long have you been in business?

The Elston business name was officially launched in 2008, but the company traces its origins back to 1999 when it first operated under another name.

What were you doing before you started this business?

I was working in a family business within the automotive industry. I wanted to step out to do my own thing outside of the family and had always been interested in investment markets ever since I completed my university studies in Economics.

How did the idea for your business come about?

I was excited by the long-term growth prospects for the financial services industry on the back of compulsory superannuation legislation and an ageing population. I aspired to hopefully build a business in this industry and not merely work as an individual adviser within it. I have been lucky enough to achieve this.

What was the most difficult challenge you’ve had to overcome?

The GFC was obviously difficult for the industry. The high levels of uncertainty and lack of confidence in investment markets meant demand for our services reduced considerably. Having said that, the downturn provided tremendous opportunities for Elston. We, perhaps a little ironically, experienced tremendous growth at the time and over the period since.

What has been the most effective form of advertising for your business?

A significant part of our business comes from personal referrals, so we focus our promotional efforts on direct marketing to accountants and lawyers. We have found this to be the most effective method for generating organic growth. A key component of this is understanding our audience and ensuring the services we provide are suitable to them. We have also found media relations have been successful in increasing awareness of our brand and reinforcing our key messages to our target audiences.

How important is social media to your business?

Social media isn’t a huge driver in our business because our clientele are from a more senior demographic, so aren’t as active on these forums. However, we are very active on LinkedIn and encourage our staff to be.

What do you think the Federal or State Government could do to help make it easier for small businesses?

In relation to the financial services sector, I think the Government’s recent Future of Financial Advice (FOA) reforms would have been more effective if they focused on requiring financial services professionals to be highly educated with minimum industry qualifications. This would be a much more sustainable model to build consumer confidence in the industry over the long term, rather than trying to regulate individual or corporate behavior.

What are your plans to expand the business?

We would like to expand the private wealth management business into the Sydney and Melbourne markets as well as continuing to expand the Brisbane office through acquisitions and natural growth.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Something that has been integral to our business growth has been not just to attract excellent staff, but to retain them. We have developed active retention tools to create stability for the business overall and, in particular, continuity for our clients. We ensure all employees have long term financial security and reward people for their commitment to the business by offering deferred bonus pools and making sure we invest in their professional development.

Andrew McKie is the Investment Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Elston Partners.