Breaking the mould - becoming a portfolio FD

Paul Turner took the choice to join the Numitas team as a portfolio FD to make room in his life for things he truly enjoys. This is his story...

After two decades of working with large and high-profile businesses where I dealt with a variety of financial and commercial challenges, I wanted to make a change to my professional life. I wished to be able to choose when and how I work. I had no intention of climbing onto the next rung of the corporate ladder of a multi-million pound plc. So, working on a consultancy and part-time basis seemed a good solution.

Cycling is my passion and I wanted to work on a more flexible basis that would allow me to devote some of my time to things I really enjoy. I have a wife, two children and a mortgage so I still have significant financial responsibilities. I was looking for a solution that would allow me to cover living costs and give me a day or two a week to do what I enjoy.

The UK mindset is: you work hard until 65 and then you stop (or you drop). I have seen people who worked hard and very long hours until the age of 65 and then suddenly stopped. Such change affected them badly since it is as if you have been driving at 100 miles an hour for decades and then suddenly you come to a halt. They had problems adjusting to this change; they felt lost and began planning holidays and other leisure activities just to fill their time. Their situation also affected the way they perceived themselves: switching suddenly from a role that was highly valued by society to a place where no one needed them anymore.

I would rather earn less between the ages of forty and sixty and utilise that time to do everything I want like cycling or walking whilst I am still fit and healthy.

Our culture conditions us to follow the traditional pattern. Your status in society is determined by what you do professionally, how you do it and how much you are paid for doing it. This pattern is interrupted by an age barrier at 65, beyond which life looks like a precipice without any future. By that time, you’re more likely to have some health issues which would prevent you from doing a lot of things. However, if you follow your passions and dreams much earlier, there is a good chance that you will have something beneficial to enjoy in your later years.

I cycle, road race and do time-trials. There are time-trials for the over 50s, 60s, 70s and for the over 80s, and I hope that I will be able to join them when I reach that age. If I train now there is a much greater chance of me getting there.

Apart from the choice, flexibility and lifestyle benefits, the role of a part-time FD gives me an opportunity to move to something new when my job is done at a particular company. It is good be able to sit at the company’s partners meeting and say to them that I was able to help them until we reached the stage when my job is complete. They don’t have to feel bad about telling me that there is no need for my services any longer and that now, I can hand over my role to the financial controller. This is a clear and satisfying end to a job well done (although in many cases they ask me to continue to advise on a ‘non-executive’ basis and to keep a ‘watching brief’).

For the first four years of my part-time portfolio FD career, I spent time setting myself as a finance professional in this role. I found that it was difficult to control the amount of time I was working, as some of the companies had a greater need for my services than I originally anticipated. The rest of the time I devoted to looking for another professional opportunity and this compromised my lifestyle plans.

When I approached Numitas, I told them I would like someone to take care of this side of my work. I am now happy to share a percentage of my earnings in exchange for the services of the company.