The Silent Partners

Derek Stewart

Derek Stewart Derek lives outside Glasgow with his wife and three children.

He started in the financial services industry working for a large provider but since 1981 he has worked in the IFA sector. Before setting up The Silent Partner in February 1998, Derek was the Regional Director of Sedgwick Noble Lowndes responsible for Individual Financial Advice and Corporate Benefit Services in Scotland & Northern Ireland.

Derek is also Managing Director of Strategic Asset Managers Ltd, a regional based IFA in Glasgow. Their clients are mainly high net worth individuals who are all introduced through accountants, lawyers, private client fund managers and private banks. He divides his time between the two businesses and he is Dip PFS qualified.

Derek is invited to speak at many conferences including PIMS, Personal Finance Society, Institute of Financial Planners and New Model Adviser.

Tom Williams

Tom Williams Tom is married with three children and resides in Bristol.

He joined the financial services industry in 1978. Since then he has served on the boards of Noble Lowndes and Sedgwick Noble Lowndes, having been UK Consultancy Director for Noble Lowndes & Partners, Assistant Managing Director of Sedgwick Financial Services and also of Sedgwick Noble Lowndes (Central Division). Tom made the transition from financial services to employee benefits in the mid-1990s, was involved in the merger of Noble Lowndes and Sedgwick and in the late 1990’s became a European Partner with WM Mercer.

Tom holds an Advanced Professional Diploma in Strategic Management. He has jointly run The Silent Partner since January 2000, and also holds Non Executive Director positions with other organisations.

Mik Cons

Mik lives near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire with his wife and three children.

Mik started in financial services in 1984 working for an investment IFA in Kingston, Surrey. Here he learnt about both financial services and IT as he developed the IFA’s administration system. Three years later Mik joined LSD Software to develop their Life and Pensions System which became the market leading DOS based IFA back office system.

After free-lancing for a couple of years with Focus and AT&T working on the GA Life POS project which later became NU’s RIO system, Mik co-founded 1st Software in 1996 with Rory Curran and Jon Buxton, initially developing the system and helping market, sell, support and maintain the UK’s most successful IFA Client management application yet produced.

Mik became MD in 2004 during which time 1st grew by over 250% to 130 people with revenues of £15m and EBIT £5.2m in 2007. 1st clients’ ranged from small to large IFAs, Employee Benefit Consultancies, Private Banks, Providers and Platforms. In Mik’s last year 1st had 52 of the Top 100 Adviser firms as clients, 40% of the overall UK market with over 13,500 concurrent users across 1,400 firms.

1st became a Microsoft Gold Partner with ISO 9001, Tickit, Investors in People, IITT Gold, FAST Gold company winning Professional Adviser’s Best Technology Software Provider 2005, 2006 and 2008, the Deloitte and Touch Fast 50 award, Virgin Atlantic Fast Track alongside this Mik and Rory were both finalists in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year awards for six successive years from 2000 to 2005 inclusive.

Having sold the company to Vertex Data Sciences Limited part of United Utilities plc and ensured its smooth transition into new ownership during a 2-year earn-out period, Mik brings to The Silent Partner a unique combination of Adviser, IT and Business skills.

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