Altorfer has now been serving its clients for more than thirty years. The company’s founder and now Non-Executive Chairman, Roger Taylor, started out in 1990 on the corner of a borrowed desk in a Waltham Cross accountant’s office. After more than three decades of steady growth and development, the company now manages and advises on client assets in the region of £263.5m (as at 31st December 2023). This equates to growth of over £153,000 per week, every single week, for thirty three years.
Over the years the company has seen many changes. In 1991 we moved into our own premises at 5 Regent Gate, Waltham Cross. In late 2020, when more space was needed for our growing number of employees, the company bought the freehold of 9 Regent Gate. This trebled our available space and should see the company through its next thirty years.
Altorfer has always grown carefully and organically. We have never advertised, bought client banks or established arrangements with other professionals such as solicitors or accountants. Our new clients come to us almost exclusively on the recommendation of existing clients. This allows us to manage our client base with the greatest care and attention. In many cases we are advising three generations of the same family.
We now have a staff of 13 employees. All are highly qualified for their respective roles and undergo constant training. The current executive directors of the company have all progressed to their roles from within the company. For example, Daniel Wackett, our current Managing Director, started with us as an investment adviser in 1996. The current Board of four directors has combined experience of about 85 years within Altorfer alone.
Altorfer is now more than 50% owned by its employees, Roger Taylor having passed over shares via an Enterprise Management Incentive scheme. One of the many advantages of this is that, as part-owners as well as employees, our staff are much more motivated to provide the best long-term service to clients. It also means that staff turnover is extremely low.
The way the company is structured and managed leads, we believe, to a high level of stability and continuity, which in turn develops client trust. The importance of this cannot be overstressed. The financial future of many hundreds of families lies largely in our hands. This is a responsibility we take with the utmost seriousness.