How could we have known that those first two weeks of lockdown in March 2020 would become more than a year of confinement? Home-based office work, online meetings, endless telephone calls, faces masked and elbow-tapping greetings have become the norm.

While we held our first meeting about the impact of the virus in late January, discussing the potential impact on our clients’ investments and the potential for a Wuhan style lockdown, we had absolutely no sense of the fundamental global change it would bring about. As the crisis impacted, we spent many long hours analysing the global economic output, simultaneously analysing our funds, reaching out to our fund managers to understand their thinking and the decisions they were making. Thanks to my colleague Graham, whose analysis was excellent, we made the right decisions and gave the right recommendations.

The question rapidly turned to “how would business continue, under these new and unfamiliar conditions?”. All through the years we have enjoyed the personal contact with our clients and as a team, it was important to us that we continue to stay close to them and provide them with the best solutions in order to grow and protect their financial futures. While we were a little uncertain about the value of Zoom and Docusign when we introduced them, both have enabled us to do just that. They have also helped our efficiency and smooth operation. Of course, sharing screens and fluctuating WiFi signals did prove to be challenging at times, but we got there. Thanks to the excellent work of my colleagues Anne-Kirsten and Donal our administration processes are streamlined. We have done a great deal of work to enhance our compliance processes and to minimise costs (paper, fuel, time). The word “envelope” no longer represents a rectangular piece of paper, rather, now, it conjures up an image of sequences of numbers and letters that confirm the right document reached the correct recipient electronically and was returned safely to the sender!!

As the vaccine programme continues, we are beginning to see more clients in 3D again. Technology may have enhanced the speed with which we work, but it will not replace the warm contact shared with another, so we look forward to the re-introduction of our physical seminars, in tandem with digital webinars.

Covid-19 has affected everyone and continues to leave its mark on society. Like the rest of us, TierOne will continue to meet its challenges, to deliver the best we can provide to our clients and we will continue to adapt to the inevitable unpredictability of our time.