Interview for Glasgow Herald Magazine
Published on Friday 19 August 2016

Ask Alan Steel what’s been his influences in running his IFA business from a one man band in 1975 when he started, to today’s 42 staff and over One Billion Pounds of client funds under management and you’re in for surprises.

As he says “in the middle of nowhere”, or more precisely Linlithgow is not the obvious choice to base what’s become an multi award winning wealth management business.

So why there and what were the influences ?

It starts with his childhood.  Brought up in the late 1940s /early 50s in a working class family in Bo’ness then Linlithgow Alan says community spirit and extended families were the norm. His grannies instilled the values that lie deep inside Alan Steel Asset Management to this day… “treat others as you’d want to be treated, learn something new every day, be honest, work hard, keep smiling and never forget where you came from”.

From that to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s recipe for success….” preparation, hard work, and learning from your failures”, on to Warren Buffett’s advice to read widely and challenge your thinking every day. You get the picture.

And Linlithgow ? Two things … “I developed an aversion to commuting attending Edinburgh Uni for 4 years, then training it in to St Andrew Square as a trainee actuary was enough for me. Work here and my kids could enjoy the childhood I had”

An actuary? “Well I failed on medical grounds when they realised I had a personality” he jokes.

Linlithgow has turned out to be a great move says Alan. “Technology means we can access the best independent financial research in the world, including that of Ned Davis Research in the US and more easily take a contrarian stance being far from the madding crowd.”

“Our DNA is 5 words, Knowledge, Integrity, Innovation, Fairness and Fun”.  Apply these values to an integrated approach to no nonsense Investment, Pensions and Tax Planning and it’s not difficult to see why so many remain clients of the company for as long as 40 years and recommend friends and family.

“Our approach of identifying the best fund managers is the final icing on the cake for clients” he says.

Article published by Glasgow Herald
Friday 19 August 2016