Two minutes with… David Ferguson
In our third ‘two minutes with’ segment, we interview Nucleus’s inspiring CEO David Ferguson. The adviser influenced wrap platform has recently reached the £7bn assets under management milestone, and they’re not finished yet….
Nucleus has just reached the £7bn assets under management milestone. Is this where you expected to be by this stage?
We’re not quite where we’d hoped but not a million miles away. I think we’ve probably outperformed the sector in terms of expectation management!
Regulatory change seems to be the hot topic for platforms and advisers at the moment. What are the biggest issues the industry faces this year?
In my view, realising that changing technology and increasing user expectations are far greater challenges than anything the FCA might throw down is one of the biggest issue we face this year.
What is your favourite gadget?
My iPhone.
What is your current goal for Nucleus?
To keep improving our proposition and our service so that we continue to become more and more relevant. This is a long term movement to achieve something of substance – it was never going to happen overnight.
Did you always want to work in financial services?
No, the childhood version of me wanted to be a pilot. Mr Dingwall (my high school maths teacher) suggested the actuarial maths course which led me here.
Focusing on your school years, is there any advice that you would give your 16 year old self?
It’s cool to not know what you want to happen next. Focus on your own development and your career will emerge.
Do you have any pet peeves?
Mediocrity and (related to that) the kind of painful, hollow people who talk a good game then deliver nothing. Insubstantial debate. Corporate arrogance. I’ll stop before this becomes a long list…
Tell us about your life outside work. Do you have a family or any hobbies?
I live on the edge of Edinburgh city centre with my sparkling, magical wife Monique and our precious little girl, Nicole. I’m afraid I’m pretty much hobby-less although I enjoy running (too infrequently) and the odd game of tennis.
So, outside of financial services, what is the one journalist or column that you regularly read?
Seth Godin‘s and Hugh Macleod‘s blogs are unmissable for me.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
A long list, but it was my parents encouragement that started me on this journey and for that I am forever grateful.
Who makes you laugh?
Competitors who think the world owes them the same lifestyle it did ten years ago. And a load of comedians from Peter Cook to Kevin Bridges.
If you received a windfall of £2000 what would you do with it?
I’d assemble as many friends and family as possible. We’d spend half on a long lunch and give the rest to a cause that was close to our collective hearts.
