After a decade working around the globe Jonathan Hives set up First Sentinel Wealth with partners Tobias Band and Ben Barratt. He speaks to FT Adviser about why it was the best decision.
First Sentinel Wealth Management focuses on global high net worth clients and currently has 150 on its books.
Hives said he wished he had made the plunge to becoming a business owner sooner.
He sat down with FT Adviser’s fortnightly Coffee Corner to chat about life since becoming a business owner in 2022.
What made you want to set up on your own?
Hives said: “I'm from a self-employed family, so it's always been in my blood, in my genes.
“I got to the stage where with my two business partners Ben and Toby, our stars aligned and we just said, let's take control of our own destiny here.
“If you're not 100 per cent happy working for someone else, why not take that that leap forward.”
He believes being able to advise clients, and also owning the business, is an important pull for attracting new customers.
He said: “It's really powerful when you can say to the client, we are the principal owners of the business and you will be advised by one of the owners of the business.
“If you don't want to just be a number at a bigger firm, and want a very personal relationship with an adviser, we’re absolutely the firm for you.
“We take on some good high net worth clients because of that option."
How has the first two years of being a business owner been?
Hives said running First Sentinel Wealth has meant learning all parts of the business.
“It's amazing,” he said “You go from working with a firm where you have your role set out very clearly in your job title.
“Then when you're a business owner, and all of a sudden you're not only advising your clients.
“You're running the business, you're doing payroll, you're doing marketing.
“So you're spinning many plates, but you have to embrace that we absolutely love it. I just wish I'd have done it 10 years ago.”
Hive said though in some ways he wished he had started his own firm earlier the reason he didn’t was because he was happy in his previous work.
He added: “My career was going well, I was living in a few different countries so at the time I had no reason to look further afield.
“And at some point, you've got to make a decision just to say well, you know, maybe want to do this my own way and yeah, so far so good.
What makes First Sentinel unique?
Hives said 10 of his 17 years of experience in advice were outside of the UK, and now the firm focuses on international clients and expats returning to the UK.
He has spent time living and working in Dubai, New York, Barcelona, Malta and Frankfurt.
“After having 10 years of my career working abroad it gives up a bias to working with international clients,” said Hives.
“We're very comfortable in advising international clients here in the UK and also returning expats - people who work in these international jurisdictions can build up international pensions, international investments.
