Ep.125 – Taking the Risk to Lead: Andy Hounsell on Multiplying Talent and Scaling Purposefully
What does it look like to build a financial planning firm that is designed to outlast its founder?
In Episode 125, Andy Hounsell, Managing Director of Beyond Finance, shares how he is structuring his firm around stewardship, long-term ownership and leadership capacity rather than valuation and exit.
For financial advisers thinking about succession planning, employee ownership and sustainable business growth, this episode offers a serious alternative to the dominant consolidation narrative.
Stewardship Over Exit in Financial Planning
The UK financial advice market continues to see high levels of consolidation, driven by private equity capital and succession pressures. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, succession and operational resilience remain core regulatory themes shaping the profession.
Against that backdrop, Andy has chosen a different path.
Beyond Finance is structured with the intention of transcending its founder. Rather than preparing the firm for sale, Andy is building an ownership model designed for continuity across generations.
This includes:
- A meaningful proportion of annual profits committed to a charitable trust
- An employee share structure that enables team participation in dividends
- Legal planning to ensure shares do not default into personal estates
For advisers exploring structured succession routes, models such as the UK’s Employee Ownership Trust framework provide increasing relevance in long-term firm design.
The key principle is clear. Ownership is temporary. Stewardship is ongoing.
Leadership Transformation and Multiplying Talent
The episode is not only about structure. It is about leadership.
Andy describes the shift from operating as a capable manager to becoming a leader who multiplies the capability of others. Influenced by leadership thinking such as Liz Wiseman’s work on Multipliers, he focused on creating space for his team to contribute strategically rather than executing instructions.
This shift unlocked growth.
Many advice firms plateau not because of market conditions, but because leadership capacity becomes the limiting factor. Moving from control to capacity requires risk, vulnerability and external challenge.
Andy credits business coaching and structured client research as catalysts for change, including in-depth conversations with core clients about what they truly value.
The answer was not technical sophistication alone. It was continuity, clarity and the assurance that their families would be supported long term.
Sustainable Growth in Wealth Management
Beyond Finance currently manages approximately £230 to £250 million in assets under management, serving around 500 core client families.
Growth targets sit at 2 to 5 per cent annually. That reflects a commitment to sustainability rather than aggressive expansion.
In a profession often focused on valuation multiples and recurring revenue metrics, this approach reframes growth as a function of responsibility.
Key strategic priorities include:
- Developing younger advisers internally
- Engaging the next generation of client families
- Embedding ownership pathways for the team
- Strengthening long-term client relationships
Succession Planning Starts Now
One of the most striking elements of the conversation is timing.
Andy is in his early forties and actively designing succession infrastructure today. Many advisers delay these conversations until their late fifties or early sixties.
Early planning enables:
- Controlled ownership transitions
- Internal talent development
- Tax-efficient share structuring
- Cultural continuity
In an environment where regulatory expectations around governance and continuity planning continue to evolve, proactive succession is becoming a strategic advantage rather than a retirement exercise.
Building a Financial Planning Firm That Endures
The central theme of this episode is simple.
Design your firm intentionally.
Whether that means exploring employee ownership, strengthening leadership capability, or rethinking long-term exit assumptions, the decisions made today shape whether a firm is built to monetise or built to endure.
For financial advisers, wealth managers and firm owners who are serious about multi-generational planning, this conversation offers a framework grounded in conviction and practical structure.
Listen to Episode 125 to explore what stewardship over ownership looks like in practice.
