What Investment highlights those private client stockbrokers that continue to emphasise the value of a personal service.

One of the traditional virtues of the private client stockbroker was that they knew their clients and their clients knew them. Given the primacy of electronic settlement and the rapid dealing now offered via telecommunications and the internet, you would be forgiven for thinking that the regional stockbroker was in danger of going the same way as the village post office.

But, if anything, the regional broking office is making a comeback. Although most private client broking houses will have their headquarters, or at least a decent-sized office, in London, many also realise the importance of having offices in other parts of the country, to cater for clients who live in that locality and want to deal face to face with their broker or portfolio manager without having to go to ‘The City’ to do so.

A personal service
The reason why so many broking firms maintain these regional offices is simply because there is a demand for them. Investors seeking any form of investment advice appreciate dealing with a real human being, whose knowledge and expertise they respect and trust and with whom they can develop a rapport. In a world where private investors can feel that they are simply being treated as a number on a computer screen, the regional broker’s office can offer human contact with someone who, theoretically at least, knows about you and your investment objectives.

In the end, despite the efficiency of modern communications, many private investors will still value a broker who can maintain traditional standards of face-to-face contact. And the fact that a number of ‘wealth managers’ have also been expanding their regional operations in recent years is a testimony to the importance investors attach to this kind of service.

On your doorstep
The following list is a very broad one and is based on the directory published by the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS). It, therefore, includes both traditional private client brokers, who may well provide both advisory and simple dealing services, and those that concentrate on offering a portfolio management service.

Indeed, many will offer all three. The list excludes offices in London, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and the regional administration offices of the share-dealing services of the major banks and building societies.
What remains is a comprehensive listing of regional offices that demonstrates how widespread these networks are.

Of course, the major regional cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff are particularly well served, but many other regional cities and towns boast at least one local broker. Some of the more active private client firms have very extensive networks indeed. Brewin Dolphin, for example, has nearly 40 offices on the list, while Redmayne Bentley has 24 and Charles Stanley 28. At the other end of the scale, there are still a considerable number of regionally based stockbrokers with one or two offices, firms which, in many cases
have been serving their local communities for generations.

So wherever you live, there is likely to be a private client stockbroker or investment manager with an office near you. As always in these matters, it is important to find one with whom you feel comfortable, but most investors will find that the process of consultation goes much more smoothly when their broker is only a few miles away.