Phil and Sean Bell, Yorkshire Wealth Management
At Integrated Advisors Network, we have multiple family-owned firms. Firms where parents and children work together in their business — succession plans seem set. Yorkshire Wealth Management is one such firm in our network. They demonstrate the strength of choosing to work together with family. But this father and son business didn’t start out together. Phil and Sean Bell of Yorkshire Wealth Management both came to the financial services industry on different paths — paths that converged and created a successful duo with a strong succession plan.
Starting From Different Places and Ending Up Together
Believe it or not, Phil Bell started his career in fire service. After 18 years and an on-the-job injury as Fire Captain at the Vista Fire Department, Phil’s family financial planner encouraged him to consider financial planning as a new career option. Phil was intrigued. He started out working with broker dealers, college planning for families and offering family financial planning. But, ever the precisionist, Phil decided he couldn’t focus on multiple things and do them all well. So he decided to sell this business and focus solely on wealth management. And thus Yorkshire Wealth Management was born in 2016.
Meanwhile, Sean Bell, Phil’s son, attended San Diego Golf Academy and became a private golf instructor. And while working full-time giving lessons, attended college at Grand Canyon University earning his degree in Business Management. In 2016 he received a call from his dad wondering if he’d like to join his new company, Yorkshire. Newly married, and seasonally teaching golf, Sean decided that this was a great opportunity to get his foot in the door in the financial industry. And that now was the time to do it.
Never Ask Someone to Do Something You Wouldn’t Do Yourself
In working together, and setting the firm up for success in the future, both Sean and Phil strive to keep standards consistent. Expectations are higher in a succession situation, says Sean. He wants his level of client service to be the same when his dad leaves.
“I want to step in as a legacy once dad decides to transition out of the business.” ~Sean
Phil recognizes that a business cannot be run like a house. He pivots from parent to mentor daily employing tough love so that Sean doesn’t come to him with problems — he comes with solutions to the problem.
“Sean has a great relational side, which is one of the most important things in this business. In fact, Sean is better at that than I am.” ~Phil
One point that Phil drives home with Sean every day is that nobody cares how much you know unless they know how much you care. And that client-centric approach serves them well. Phil says that as a younger advisor, Sean relates to and understands the needs of their younger clients better. He gets what they want when it comes to wealth inheritance.
Sean admires his dad for being the first one in the office in the morning and the last to leave. He says that his dad is always gracious. Phil makes every effort to accommodate Sean when he is needed by his young son and has to leave work to be with his family. It’s a balance between the two of them to get the job done, uphold the standards they’ve set for themselves and exemplify professionalism.
Working Together Toward a Common Goal
A lot of sons only see their dads on holidays or weekends. Sean thinks he is extremely lucky to get to see Phil every day. Phil is not worried at all how Sean will manage the business and clients when he eventually takes over the business. Together they exhibit team cohesiveness. They make their clients feel comfortable and valued, because they take the time to understand them. For some clients, a classic face-to-face meeting works best, while for others, a Zoom meeting is the ideal solution. Working together, as father and son, turned out to be the best decision for Yorkshire Wealth Management and for Phil and Sean both.
Integrated Supports This Team Together
Phil and Sean both agree that if they didn’t have Integrated on the team for back-office support, they’d be “lost at sea without a sail.” They feel like they can ask Integrated staff anything and they’ll always help answer the question. Phil and Sean never hesitate to call Integrated because they know they can talk to the team anytime.
“They give us the same care as clients, that we provide to our clients.” ~ Phil and Sean