Up-front advice

With 40 years’ service and innovation in the financial sector, CTT Group Director Bob Massey is a leading figure for both colleagues and the industry.

Leading by example

Bob’s personal approach to delivering professional advice is one he inspires by example in colleagues. “As an advisor, your strength is to be a listener first,” he reveals. “A client often doesn’t know what the problem is or what they need. We help clients identify that, then offer strategies to help them achieve balance.”

Alongside his passion for resolving clients’ finances, Bob applies the same instinctive approach in his trainees. “It’s a prize every time you watch someone you’ve brought on board succeed and seeing what they become,” he smiles. “You see people with hidden strengths who lack confidence; as a team leader, you give them that confidence.”

Not only does Bob inspire others during work hours, he also sets an example when off the clock. Later this year, Bob is taking on the mammoth task of cycling from London to Paris to raise money for charity.

Lessons learned

If you found yourself marooned in the middle of the ocean, financial advice is probably the last thing you’d be looking for. So, it must be his leadership qualities that make Bob Massey the number one choice for colleagues to be stranded alongside on a desert island. The same qualities which have seen him play a key role in changing the face of financial services over the last 40 years.

A director of CTT Group since 2003, Bob specialises in the field of taxation and trusts. With 40 years’ experience as an IFA and Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) (for which he recently received a Chamber of Commerce special recognition award), he’s perfectly placed at the helm of CTT’s Private Client, advising the group’s high-net-worth clients.

Early success

Bob’s natural leadership qualities first came to the fore on the school rugby pitch. “Rugby was important to me early on,” he recalls. “Captaining senior rugby from age 17, I was used to helping, guiding, and managing people who were older than me. I found my relationship with older clients, and providing them with financial advice, came easy,” he says.

Within seven years of launching his career as an FA, Bob became the youngest ever branch manager of

Legal and General, aged 29. But despite his early career success, Bob was keen to forge his own path. “The best decision was leaving Legal and General and setting up on my own,” he asserts. “I enjoyed teaching people, but I always wanted direct contact with clients. That’s what I enjoy and find most rewarding.”

Launching CTT group

It was his desire to work more closely with clients that led Bob to set up CTT Group alongside fellow director and rugby pal Clive Ponder in 2003.

Their shared goal was to establish a holistic, private practice that smooths the way to better financial and estate planning support for clients. Twenty years on, CTT is a nationally recognised centre of excellence providing support to both private clients and the professional advisor community. “For professionals who don’t have internal expertise in the area, we provide that expertise,” Bob explains. “We go in and become a multidisciplinary partner.”

An extension of CTT’s professional service offering is the group’s innovative Legacy software – a pioneering business solution for those in the will-writing and estate-planning sector. “The driving force behind CTT is improvement. There's always another step ahead that improves your services, whether that's B2B or B2C,” says Bob.

A 40-year career doesn’t come without its challenges, but Bob welcomes these as opportunities for development. “We have a duty to clients – they expect a level of service – and we exceed that where we can. The biggest frustration is finding you’re not meeting client expectations,” he reveals.

“It’s easy to get pushed in a different direction – personally and for the business, but if you see that happening you bring it back to what you intended – providing great service for clients and a great environment for the people you work with,” he says.

“I’ve learnt to make any decision in any circumstance for the right reason. You’re here for a good time, not long time,” he laughs, “So make decisions that are going to benefit your family, friends, and clients. Decide what journey you’re on and be consistent in what you do, then you’ll be happy.”

Quick fire questions:

• Which leader, past or present, has most inspired you? Sean Fitzpatrick

• What is the one piece of business advice you have most valued? Plan to succeed and then execute the plan.

• What one word would describe your leadership style? Encouraging

• What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess? First, be a good listener before you make assumptions and decisions.

• What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today? There’s so much time spent doing and little time to reflect.