The Field guide to business success

Business acumen runs through John Field's veins. Since he started his company, Fedgroup, in 1990, his fresh approach to the normally dull and boring financial services industry has helped him and his business to stand out from the rest.

Field's stubborn commitment to independence has seen Fedgroup grow into SA's leading independent financial services provider. While other companies of this size would have listed on the stock exchange ages ago, this is not an option that Field would ever consider.

"The moment there is outside shareholding, you have the very real danger that the interests of your shareholders may not align with those of your clients," says Field. "This is not something we are willing to compromise as we are committed to putting people before profits.

"Sure, we do exist to make a profit, but it is a fair profit in exchange for excellent service; not the obscene profits in exchange for poor service that some players in the industry seem to be okay with."

And Field certainly walks his talk. In the last two years, the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Ombud has received no complaints against Fedgroup, a claim that few providers can make.

Field started Fedgroup, first known as FedBond, by acquiring an existing small participation bond business. Participation bonds are five-year investments, offering capital security and market-leading interest rates. Within a decade, Field grew FedBond from the smallest participation bond company in the country to the largest.

However, building your business on ethics and integrity does not always make for an easy ride, particularly if this threatens settled industry players. Field's resolve was tested by a number of competitive onslaughts in the early 2000s. Not only did he manage to weather these storms, but he did so with his company's all-important reputation intact.

This reputation was important, as Field next set out to attain additional financial services licences to ramp up the growth of the business.

Within the next few years, he not only substantially grew the participation bond business, but transformed Fedgroup to offer a full suite of services, including commercial property finance, a range of investment solutions, long-term insurance, specialist fund and trust administration, enterprise development and estate planning. Fedgroup is now one of the leading owners of industry licences in SA.

Despite its ever-increasing size, Fedgroup remains committed to retaining the human touch. To achieve this, the business employs the latest technology. It may seem paradoxical to many that you can use machines to be more compassionate, but not to Field.

"Most players in the industry are bogged down by slow, ancient legacy IT systems," says Field. "When we were updating our systems, we looked at all the administration systems available, and decided that none of them were good enough for the level of service that we want to provide to our clients.

"We therefore decided to build our own IT system in-house, from the ground up. Our IT system gives us a single view of our clients, which means that we can see all the products and services they have with us on one screen. The system was first brought into operation in 2014 and the improved efficiencies were immediately apparent. Because of the built-in flexibility, it adapts easily to include new products or new legislative requirements.

"Recently, someone contacted us to find out more about one of our products, and because of the single view of all client products enabled by our system, we could see that there was money due to him in an unclaimed fund. If he was with another provider, there is a good chance he would never have received his money.

"Because administration is so easy and seamless on our system, it frees up our consultants to really apply their energy to the clients' needs, building up lasting personal relationships in the process."

The strong tech backbone on which Fedgroup thrives has allowed the business to expand its offerings to create investment solutions that not only offer a more accessible way to invest, but also support agricultural concerns and create employment opportunities.

Impact Farming, launched in August 2018, allows investors to purchase income-producing assets such as blueberry bushes, beehives and solar panels on sustainable farms that pay them a regular income.

The investors support funding for these ventures, which create employment opportunities, and they are able to earn a return on the yields over the lifespan of the asset purchased. Starting from R300 per blueberry bush and ranging up to R5 000 for a solar panel, the company has created an investment product that serves both investors, the environment and business, all through the Fedgroup app.

In February 2019, the beehives and solar panels sold out, but new installations and hives are being prepared to ensure that South Africans can continue to participate in this innovative alternative investment.

"Our philosophy to retain the business and not be beholden to outside shareholders allows us as a company to invest in new ventures and retain our position as a solid and trustworthy South African business that is here to stay," says Field.

At 70 years of age, Field is showing no signs of slowing down and still retains his position as chairman of the Fedgroup board, sharing his insights with the dynamic team tasked with taking his business into the future.