Using finance experience to help the local community

After spending two decades working in London’s financial markets, Ed Fisher took his future into his own hands and became a self-employed Senior Partner of the NFU Mutual Bedfordshire agency. After six months running and developing the business, we caught up with Ed to see how he’s settling in, what he enjoys about the new role, and what led him to take the plunge and grow his own insurance business.

Thanks for talking to us Ed. Can you start by telling us about your life leading up to this point?

Well, I was born and raised in a rural part of Warwickshire, eventually attending agricultural college in Wye, Kent. After graduating in the mid 1990s I looked for a career in agriculture, but with the sector struggling, I took the decision to look for opportunities in London and spent the next 20 years in financial markets. For the first decade I was a Relationship Manager at the London Stock Exchange, then I became a Product Manager for a large Investment Bank. At the same time, we moved into my wife’s family farm in Bedfordshire, eventually running the livery yard and self-catering enterprises.

When the pandemic hit, that obviously brought with it a lot of change. Working from home made me realise that I’d had enough of the commute into London – so when COVID restrictions loosened up it was a chance to reevaluate what I wanted to do next, helped by my position at the investment bank being made redundant. When I took a step back, I realised I wanted the autonomy to grow my own business but with the reliability and security of a large corporation, so when I saw the Agent opportunity advertised on LinkedIn, I knew it would fit the bill.

The way the NFU Mutual Agency Network functions, we can, as Agents, mould things to how we want to run our business. How we attract clients and how we grow, that’s all within our own sphere of influence. But we still have that support and infrastructure of NFU Mutual, around key functions such as billing, training and compliance, and product development. Not to mention, me and my wife had been insured by NFU Mutual ourselves for a long time at this point, so we knew the quality of the product. I’d also formed a great relationship with our Agent Tom, who’s now one of my partners.

How’s the role going so far?

I joined in July 2023, and from an operational perspective I’ve been settling in well. There’s still a bit of a learning curve in terms of some of the more practical aspects – licensing, going out and doing reviews, that kind of thing. But that’ll come with time, and so far, it’s all going to plan.

I was dropped into the thick of it a bit, but I knew Tom from being a client and socially from coaching rugby. With the other partners, it was just about explaining what I was bringing to the table - how my contribution would benefit them and the business. I came in with a clear idea, but they have 30 years of insurance experience between them, so it was important to take on their comments and views. Thankfully, we were able to align and mould our visions together so we’re all pulling in the same direction.

My idea coming into this role was that I wanted to spend more time in the community I’ve lived in for the past 30 years, and where I expect to spend the next 30. Working in London was great fun but a lot of the time you’re dealing with large organisations based in multiple locations, which can feel dislocated from the place you live. I wanted to get to know more people locally - not just socially, but the businesses they run that contribute to the county’s commerce - and hopefully assist them grow and expand. I felt that was a positive direction and where my previous experience would be of benefit, with the added bonus of ditching the commute and not spending all day every day working from home either.

You clearly find your new role much more fulfilling. What skills were you able to bring over from your financial market days?

Relationship management is a key one, and if you’ve managed staff before that can be useful. Depending on how you arrive at the agency, you could be airdropped into a partnership with total strangers. It’s a bit like an arranged marriage! If NFU Mutual decides you’re right for that opportunity, you need to be able to quickly form a working relationship with those partners. Obviously, this applies to clients too. A lot of clients can be dealing with stressful situations – whether it’s related to business or personal situations. You need to be able to empathise with them, and work together to find the best solution.

My role in product management has also been useful. It’s helped me approach things in terms of: “What’s my strategy? What’s my USP? How do I market this?” It’s also given me the knowledge of how to measure success, and how to get a feel for how a business is performing. Knowing what to achieve, how to explain that to the company, to the staff and to the clients, then how to execute it – those are all things I was doing back in my Product Manager role.

I obviously have a rural background, but that’s not essential. It can be learnt. I think people who have some knowledge of farming can grasp the nettle more quickly, but it’s much more about building relationships and providing a professional service.

How much support do you get from NFU Mutual?

We have our touchpoints within NFU Mutual, like our regional Sales Development Manager who we meet with monthly. We talk about things from the Mutual’s perspective, the targets that they’re trying to achieve and directions they’re looking to grow in. It helps us get an idea of how and where to pitch our products and figure out where the sweet spots are so we can effectively grow the business.

NFU Mutual also has a lot of conferences for updates and keeping on top of trends, plus an Agents Liaison Group where senior Agents and partners discuss various issues they face. There’s loads of online training, they handle all the licensing, we have regular compliance reviews – which feels comparable to working at a major financial firm. If issues happen, they’ll support you. But at the same time, they let you be independent. When I presented my proposal to NFU Mutual, they didn’t engage with it based on their own existing way of doing things - they very much want you to have your own plan and execute it.

What has been the most interesting part of the role so far, and what do you see in the future?

All the aspects around the direction and the development of the business have been great. Having a vision, creating a business plan, executing a strategy, and seeing progress. Working with the partners is also good fun. Our characters are diverse but complimentary, which is good because you don’t just want four clones. We divide our responsibilities and organise so that everything is covered according to our individual strengths – although there is always some crossover.

It's also gratifying to work with staff, helping them develop in their careers and build clear expectations for what success looks like. We have some who are straight out of university and some who are close to retirement – but everyone wants satisfaction from their role. It’s been nice working with them to get the appropriate training, rewards, and recognition. When you get that right and your people do well, it can be very rewarding.

As for the future, it’s all about achieving our growth targets. We’re planning for double digit growth over the next three years, so we’ll be looking to expand our team and welcome new people into our agency. I’d personally like to keep growing and mentoring over the next ten years and will enjoy seeing our people develop and thrive too.

One final question - what would you say to someone who’s considering following in your footsteps?

If you want control of your own destiny, and an ability to influence your own income, this is a great place to be. I remember when job security used to be a big thing if you worked for a bank or an industry. That doesn’t really exist anymore. Counter intuitively, there’s some element of security if you’re self-employed, especially with support from a company like NFU Mutual. You can combine work and pleasure. We support charities and sponsor the local rugby club, for example – which is good marketing but also genuinely enjoyable. It’s all about being part of the community, contributing to make where you live a better place. I’ve met people recently who live just a couple of fields over that I’d never met before. I can expand my sphere of contact, which didn’t happen for those 20 years I worked away. All in all, I’d say it’s a rewarding role, and it’s up to you how much success you want from it.