‘We are with you every step of the way’.
This isn’t a line crafted for marketing purposes. It’s much more than a fleeting idea or a nice concept.
It’s the Ulton partnership promise – the commitment we make to our clients and to each other.
This promise is about being there for the whole journey. It means having your best interests at heart, and someone you can trust to back you up in your time of need. Equally, be the one to deliver those hard truths you may not want to hear, but need to.
The story of partnership lives in our individual relationships and its this approach to partnership that has been built into our DNA since the very beginning.
It’s why so many of our clients have been with us for decades.
The relationship our Ulton team has with long-time Ulton client, Dr. Denis Ingham & Mrs Diana Ingham, is a testament to this.
For almost 30 years, Dr. Ingham has been an Ulton client. For 20 of these years, he’s had Cris Kajewski by his side as his accountant. And for 18 years, he’s had the wise guidance of Wealth Management Partner, Kylie Wright.
A successful dentist, when Ulton first met Dr. Ingham, he was running a large dental practice in Bundaberg and originally engaged us for bookkeeping and accounting services.
Over the years, Dr. Ingham’s journey evolved tremendously.
And Ulton has, quite literally, been there for every step of the way.
We have been there for all the major milestones, the big conversations, the life-changing decisions.
We were there to advise him in 2007, when he sold his practice to a publicly listed entity.
Kylie and Cris were there to celebrate his retirement alongside his friends and family in 2012.
And when the now-retired Dr. Ingham & Mrs Ingham started looking for the next adventure, we were there to give counsel on the purchase of two smash repairs businesses.
Of course, this is just a glimpse of the decades-long partnership.
While Kylie and Cris have been his closest advisors for the past 20 years, they haven’t been his only advisors. In his time with us, Dr. Ingham has also worked with various other teams within Ulton.
He’s worked closely with the business insights team, the HR team, the bookkeeping team, the audit team, the tax advisory team (particularly with Partner Daryl Corpe), and the superannuation administration team.
“Dr. Ingham recognises the value of getting advice from people who are specialists in their areas… which perfectly aligns with the way Ulton does things,” said Kylie.
Kylie has personally been involved with retirement, legacy planning; building up a large self-managed super fund; investment advisory; and much more.
“From the very beginning, Cris and I have been genuinely invested in Dr. Ingham, in the success of his and Mrs Ingham’s businesses, in the success of their wealth building, in the success of their retirement. We’ve been fully invested from the very start and along for the journey with Dr and Mrs Ingham,” said Kylie.
It goes without saying, that trust is the cornerstone of every enduring partnership – trust from all sides.
There’s perhaps no greater testament to client-advisor trust than Kylie’s stories of dental appointments with Dr. Ingham.
“Daryl Corpe and I have both been dental patients of Dr. Ingham. We’ve both had the experience of trying to answer really technical questions while we’re in the chair with all sorts of dental implements in our mouths,” said Kylie with a laugh.
“It’s not easy trying to discuss complex financial topics when you’ve got a pair of hands, a sucker, and who knows what other dental contraptions in your mouth,” she laughs.
The strength of partnerships like these are much more than a two-way street.
Building lasting client partnerships requires strong internal ones.
“The other important partnership to talk about is the partnership between Cris and I,” said Kylie.
“Over the years, I’ve really enjoyed all the joint meetings that Cris and I have had with Dr. Ingham. It’s very powerful to sit in front of a client and freely share our opinions. Maybe Cris has a certain perspective on something, I have a different perspective – and we sit together with the client, discussing our points of view, and then come to a cooperative combined outcome.”
“That’s probably the true definition of partnership at Ulton. It’s not just what we have with the client, it’s what we have with each other.”