Leading planners draw Melvin towards passive investment

Paisley-based financial planner Carl Melvin is looking to switch his investment style to a passive approach after the influence of some of the country’s top financial planners made him question his belief in active fund management.

Melvin (pictured), managing director of Affluent Financial Planning, said the example of planners like Jason Butler at Bloomsbury Financial Planning and Barry Horner at Paradigm Norton made him think more seriously about adopting a passive approach.

‘The top people in our profession have been looking at this or adopting this,’ he said.

Another catalyst for the potential move, which Melvin said he is likely to make within the next year, was Melvin’s studies at Napier University, where he is taking the Financial Planning Pathway degree.

‘People have a sense maybe some fund managers can’t deliver,’ he said.

‘I’m not sure it’s value for money, and academic studies prove that most of them get it wrong.’

Melvin said he had still not committed himself to the decision but that he thought it was likely he would make the switch soon.

‘I need to really sit back and think, am I convinced now that I am going to do this.’

Part of the rationale for the change would be to improve the nature of client relationships, he said.

‘The relationship I have with clients should be based on something I can control,’ he said. ‘I want to get away from the notion that I add value by picking funds.’