The Accelerate Adviser Solutions team scooped three of the 2024 Paraplanner Awards, taking Outsourced Paraplanner of the Year, New Paraplanner of the Year and Administrator of the Year.
Since then, says Managing Director Matt Baird, “business has been booming”.
“We’re a relatively young outsourced paraplanning and administration firm and winning the awards has really helped raise our profile and make it easier to bring new clients on board. It’s a testament to what we do. And it’s also given us confidence as a business.
“Advisers will do their due diligence on three or four outsourced firms and having the awards on the website shows that we take what we do seriously and we deliver to a high quality, which has been recognised by us winning the awards. It’s like we have the awards backing us up. It’s always a point of discussion when we are talking to potential clients.
“And as we grow we are getting referrals too. We now have a waiting list of advice firms wanting to work with us.”
From the original three founders of the company, Matt, Head Paraplanner Stephanie Tennant and Administration Manager Deb Watts, the team will have grown to six by the end of April.
“We’re ambitious and we’re looking to grow Accelerate but it will always be at the right pace. We will never compromise on the quality of what we can deliver for advisers.”
In the year since the 2024 Awards, Stephanie Tennant has achieve Chartered status – “she smashed the exams” Matt says – and financial administrator Emily Miles is well on the way to diploma status.
“We’re always looking at how we can improve both from a professional and business perspective,” Matt says. “And we’re in the position now where we can train up people to be part of the team.”
In addition to winning in the Professional Paraplanner Awards, Rutland-based Accelerate was shortlisted for the East Midlands Small Business Awards. “We didn’t win but for a young business like ours to be shortlisted was an achievement in itself,” Matt says.
