About
The business was founded by brothers Simon and Martin Andrews in 2006. Simon a systems and data analyst and Martin, founder of a directly regulated IFA & Wealth Management practice.
Simon Andrews is the person responsible for the day-to-day operational side of the business, looking at updates and improvements and liaising with staff over queries. Simon’s background in logistics provides a solid understanding of margins and what is necessary to make a business tick. In his freetime Simon likes to walk around a golf course carrying a set of clubs and sometimes even plays golf!
Martin Andrews has been an IFA since the mid 80’s, establishing his own business in 1996. His firm is medium sized with assets under management exceeding £100m. He has two business partners and 5 staff. Martin is an active member of Chislehurst Golf Club and can actually play golf to a reasonable standard!
The primary aim was to develop a back-office database system for Martin’s business that would firstly allow him to clearly identify profitability down to client level and secondly to dispense with some of the onerous data capture required by some of the existing systems on the market.
Freedom was launched in June 2007 and has been enhanced with regular updates ever since. Unique elements are:
- It has been designed and built by a successful IFA currently in practise.
- It is aimed at smaller firms of up to 15 advisers although very competitively priced for much smaller firms.
- It is licenced on a flat fee per firm rather than per user.
- Simple RMAR reporting.
- Access to the systems engineer himself (Simon).
Over 20 firms have now used our system.
Although we have focussed on providing a packaged product for IFA businesses, we have been involved in a number of other projects and can provide bespoke solutions for other businesses.
Get your business where you want it to be..
Focused on providing a packaged product for IFA businesses, we have been involved in a number of other projects and can provide bespoke solutions for other businesses.
REVIEWS
When I launched West Riding in 2004 I knew from the outset that I would need a proper database / client management system. Like most IFAs registering a new firm I was targeted by the sales departments of all the large and long-established purveyors of such systems. Most were web based. All did a lot of things I didn’t want whilst not doing some key things I did want … » more «
After just a few months with Freedom, I can now instantly access all client files and data and my old Word and Excel files, thus producing fingertip valuations for my clients. This has improved both the service I can offer to them and cut down on the donkey work. It also allows me to keep track of funds under management and thus the underlying value of my business … » more «
After being an IFA for 16 years running my own business I came across ‘Switch On Solutions’. Up until then I had not come across a system that I felt suited me as a sole trader. I did not want to spend an excessive amount on a complicated system which had high set up and maintenance fees. This system appealed to me since it was set up by an existing IFA working with his brother, who was an IT Specialist … » more
We had spent ages looking for the most suitable back-office system for our firm. We were 5 advisers and about the same in support so wanted something that would function well across a network. We wanted something that was easy to use, did all the usual stuff for us and – crucially – interacted with our procedure of scanning all documents … » more «
When we started looking for a client and business management system, we found that most of the obvious offers were over complicated and expensive to set up and use both in terms of capital expenditure and staff time. Having relied on slow and inefficient paper files, we choose Freedom because … » more «
You may recall that we migrated all our data from Freedom to the TP system which we were told was all singing and dancing with real time valuations. Well, not surprisingly, it’s rubbish. I would like to restore all the data and return to the Freedom software you provided previously … » more «