You Can’t Regulate Integrity. You Have to Build It.
A reflection on why engagement matters more than optics, and what a +43 eNPS score really says about a firm’s standards.
Trusted by 6,000+ clients over 20+ years
Assets under management matter.
Revenue growth matters.
Awards matter.
But none of them tell me what I most need to know.
It’s engagement.
Our latest employee Net Promoter Score is +43.
Across most industries, scores typically sit between +10 and +20. In financial services, where scrutiny is constant and standards are high, they are often lower.
+43 is not ordinary. It’s a level associated with high-performing, values-led firms.
And it isn’t accidental.
It’s culture.
eNPS measures one simple thing:
Would you recommend this company as a place to work?
That question cuts through everything.
Politics. Press releases. Performance headlines.
If people are prepared to put their name next to the firm and say, “Yes, I believe in this,” you have built something solid.
If they wouldn’t, no process manual in the world can disguise it.
Financial services is heavily regulated.
And it should be.
But after decades in this profession, I’ve learned something important:
You cannot regulate integrity into a business.
You can mandate process.
You can enforce disclosure.
You can audit documentation.
But you cannot force people to care.
Ethical firms do not depend on enforcement to behave properly.
They build cultures where doing the right thing is normal, not forced.
Where advisers do not ask, “Can I get away with this?”
They ask, “Is this right for the client?”
That difference rarely makes headlines.
But it shapes outcomes every single day.
“You cannot regulate integrity into a business. You either build it into the culture, or you don’t.”
Clients never see an internal engagement survey.
But they feel its effects.
They feel it in:
Clear communication.
Consistency across jurisdictions.
Transparent fees.
Proactive reviews.
Advisers who stay and build long-term relationships.
High engagement does not just create a better workplace.
It produces better advice.
And better advice compounds.
When people believe in the standards of a business, they protect them.
They refine them.
They elevate them.
Consistency becomes embedded.
Excellence becomes repeatable.
And over time, that level of internal alignment becomes visible externally.
At the end of last year, Skybound Wealth was named Company of the Year and also received Excellence in Client Service at the International Investment Awards.
These awards are decided by a combination of industry peers and readers of Investment International, bringing together professional scrutiny and market endorsement.
Awards are judged from the outside.
Engagement is earned from within.
When both point in the same direction, you know the foundations are strong.
You do not receive recognition for advisory excellence while your people are disengaged.
And you do not sustain engagement if standards slip behind closed doors.
External validation confirms performance.
Internal advocacy confirms culture.
The two reinforce each other.
That alignment does not happen by accident.
It is built.
Over the past year we have strengthened licences across regions, expanded specialist divisions, invested further in technology that increases transparency, and deepened our Academy and professional development programmes.
Those are structural decisions.
But structure without belief eventually fractures.
The +43 tells me something more important.
Our people believe in what we are building.
That belief compounds, just like capital does.
It strengthens governance.
It sharpens service.
It attracts stronger talent.
It reassures clients.
And in a competitive market, sustained internal belief tends to speak for itself.
I do not see this score as a trophy.
I see it as a responsibility.
High engagement raises expectations.
Standards rise.
Accountability rises.
Performance must follow.
If our people trust the direction of this firm, it is my job to ensure that trust is earned again tomorrow, and the day after that.
Momentum can be manufactured.
Culture cannot.
It has to be maintained.
If you are trusting a firm with your retirement, your business exit, your legacy, your family’s future, you should ask a simple question:
Do the people inside this firm believe in it?
Disengaged advice is transactional.
Engaged advice is relational.
The first focuses on closing.
The second focuses on outcomes.
At Skybound, engagement is not a HR metric.
It is a signal.
A signal that integrity is not enforced here.
It is expected.
If you are already part of Skybound, this score belongs to you.
It reflects how you show up.
How you protect standards.
How you challenge one another to improve.
If you are considering where to build your career, look beyond compensation models and marketing noise.
Ask yourself:
Does this firm invest in its people?
Does it raise the bar?
Do the advisers inside it believe in the direction of travel?
A +43 engagement score does not happen in businesses that cut corners.
It happens where accountability, opportunity, and integrity sit at the centre of the model.
We are not perfect.
We are disciplined.
And discipline compounds.
In this industry, integrity is not a compliance function.
It is a competitive advantage.
If our people believe in this firm, that belief must continue to be earned, every day, through standards, transparency, and accountability.
Because in financial services, reputation is not built by marketing.
It is built by behaviour.
Mike Coady
Chief Executive Officer
Skybound Wealth Management
“In financial services, integrity is not a compliance function. It is a competitive advantage.”
Engagement does not happen by accident. It is built through accountability, opportunity, and shared standards.
If you are an adviser or professional who wants to be part of a firm where belief and performance align, we should talk.
