Neil Blankstone, Director and Business Developer at Blankstone Sington, sat down with IFA Magazine to discuss why clients have been coming to his firm for over 40 years and why he’s so keen to support the needs of IFAs and Financial Planners
Blankstone Sington is an investment manager and stock brokerage firm based in Liverpool, with heritage dating back to 1976.
The business has evolved from a traditional stock brokerage firm into an investment management company that now provides bespoke investment solutions, a model portfolio service and an inheritance tax portfolio, all while continuing its stockbroking services.
As Blankstone begins, “we have a somewhat unique offering in the sense that we are the masters of our own destiny, having dealings, settlements, and custody so that we can actually power people’s propositions.”
Blankstone Sington is firmly rooted in its local history with the firm’s offices sitting in Exchange Flags, near the original location of the Liverpool Stock Exchange. Blankstone explained, “I think a lot of people like to use a company of our size as against some of the extremely large players. It’s a horses for courses exercise.”
Blankstone Sington offers plenty of scope, with a bespoke and private client focussed service, all delivered through a highly qualified team. Blankstone admitted, “It’s a bit more traditional in some ways.”
The firm’s clients clearly find this personal touch appealing. In fact, one of the results of the pandemic was that the business found that client enquiries increased significantly as people wanted to talk to people, rather than doing things robotically.
Like it was for many, the COVID-19 pandemic required the firm to adapt and respond to the circumstances. Blankstone commented, “It’s a people’s business, and obviously in a pandemic that’s harder. We’re nothing without our clients and our connections.”
On the appeal of the business for intermediaries and IFAs, Blankstone stressed the message which they’ve always tried to get out to intermediaries and IFAs they work with is to see the firm as an extension of their own business. He added, “If I can put it so crudely, in lots of ways we’re there to be used and abused.”
Amongst offering different services and products, Blankstone Sington can offer investment management capabilities if an adviser can’t, they can offer handholding on both the advisory and investment committee side, or simply execute investment.
Making investment simple
One of the firm’s tag-lines is Blankstone Sington stands for making investment simple and their director certainly echoes this sentiment. Blankstone commented, “We want to open investment out to the widest audience possible. We have a ‘can do’ attitude and we like to get on with it.”
Blankstone continued, “Perhaps more importantly, we also think we’re honest enough to say if we can’t do it, we’ll know somebody who can. We’re quite happy to make referrals – it’s simply about helping the wheels go round.”
The direct services within Blankstone Sington as discretionary fund managers are split two ways; the bespoke portfolio service and the model portfolio service.
Blankstone prefers to call the model portfolio service bespoke light as although it is designed for the smaller client, as it is templated and doesn’t have CGT constraints, its asset allocation and population tap the client into Blankstone Sington’s in-house research team.
Perhaps Blankstone Sington’s most interesting offering is its award winning inheritance tax portfolio. The portfolio invests purely in AIM stocks and is led by Neil Blankstone himself.
Although designed to benefit from business relief for inheritance tax purposes, MJ Hudson Allenbridge labelled it, “a portfolio worthy of consideration in its own right.” As Blankstone puts it, “It’s my baby.”
On the stockbroking side, Blankstone Sington gives intermediaries and advisers access to markets, funds, and investment trusts either on an advisory or execution basis. Blankstone commented, “All of that can then be used because we can power other people’s propositions.”
From Blankstone’s perspective many IFAs are reticent to get involved in the investment trust market. Blankstone pointed to the recent success of the Scottish Mortgage Trust and their sizeable stake in Tesla. Commenting on this Blankstone said, “What inevitably happens when these things come into the news is the herd follows and it’s almost too late. What we’d like to do is encourage people to come and talk about it.”
IHT and AIM stocks
Blankstone drew a comparison to the aforementioned IHT proposition, saying “It’s amazing how many people wait to the back end of their lives to look at things like IHT planning.” Blankstone wants to encourage advisers and their clients to invest earlier, and suggests that many are discouraged due to regulation.
AIM is high risk, and deemed so, but as Blankstone says AIM stocks are listed equities and highly transparent. Blankstone argues investors should be encouraged, seeing it as an opportunity, rather than be discouraged from a highrisk point of view.
Blankstone said, “People are looking at it too late, if you start to invest in an AIM portfolio early in your planning cycle then you would reap the rewards ultimately.”
Blankstone Sington is always open to speak to advisers, you can get in touch through their website by clicking here.
