What is a Portfolio FD

In short a Portfolio FD is a part time Finance Director /FD who has more than one part time job. so someone who works full time but for multiple companies at the same time.   It is becoming increasingly popular as companies like FD Capital spring up offering a pool of suitable candidates for SME’s and PE Backed companies to choose from.

A typical Portfolio FD will work 4 days per week, for 2 or 3 clients, with a day free for extra tasks, work comes from networks such as FD Capital, PE Houses, Banks, Audit firms and occassional recruitment agencies.

The advantages are manifold, SME companies who would not otherwise be able to afford the services of an FD let alone a very experiences one, can employ an FD for a few days per month or days per week, gaining their knowledge and experience but at a far lower costs.  PE Houses who need the comfort that only an experienced professional can bring find this arrangement ideal, as it means they can often have someone they trust working in a number of the investments at the same time.  Of course as with any fractional ownership arrangement the costs are lower as the time spent with each client is lower than with an equivalent full time role.  Most of our candidates are ICAEW qualified accountants.

The FD themselves gets to spend time in varied businesses often making fuller use of his or her skills and focusing on the bigger issues, as time is limited more focus is on the value added tasks such as key decision making.   It is a great way to build up your experience.

This type of work particularly matches to entrepreneurial Finance Directors or those with a need for a particular work life balance, should as a parent returning to work, but needing to work flexible or part-time hours.

This particular niche is growing rapidly at the moment, around 10 years ago it was hardly a feature of the Finance recruitment landscape but now it has become a very valuable aspect of it indeed, we get regular calls from businesses actively considering recruiting a part-time FD / Portfolio FD.

Here at FD Capital we offer a range of specialist Part-Time / Portfolio FD’s here are some of the main disciplines currently on offer:-

• Part Time FD’s – This is our main focus covering the London and West Midlands areas and Shropshire and Chesire
• Portfolio FD’s – Part Time FD’s who work for multiple businesses.
• Private Equity FD’s – Finance Directors with experience of working with Private Equity Houses and Venture Capitalists.
• Interim FD’s – Finance Directors needed for short periods, typical assigments last 4 months but sometimes these can run longer up to 9 or 10 months.
• Turnaround FD’s – Finance Directors with particular experience of distressed situations and turnarounds.
• E-Commerce FD – Finance Directors with expertise with E-Commerce website and Search marketing.
• Non-Executive FD – Non Executives or NED’s with finance expertise for boards.

We also offer an executive recruitment service so if you are looking to recruit an FD or Recruit a CFO then reach out to us today.

We get regular requests from the PE Houses for Portfolio FD’s and a reasonable number from the distressed lending teams of banks for Turnaround specialists.  A recent project was for a Seed stage startup who needed a pitch deck, financial model and SEIS clearance from HMRC obtaining, working with entrepreneurs at the pre-Revenue stage can be really interesting work, particularly if you then invited along to present to PE houses, it can be real dragons den stuff.

There is growing demand for this type of role both within companies looking to get the best skills possible but at a reasonable price and with the Senior Finance Community who are looking for a challenging and varied role which is a little different from the typical Finance Director’s job description.

Portfolio FD

Portfolio FD work tends to be somewhat Feast and Famine like, for this reason its important to devote part of your week or month at least to marketing, so you have a pipeline of opportunities to covert into work, often with Portfolio FD work roles come along at once, you get fully busy and ease back or stop your own marketing, then the opportunities come to an end and you suddenly need to pick back up with your networking.  For this reason its best to aim to work 4 days per week, leaving a day per week free for networking and marketing, that way you always keep a pipeline of opportunities developing.  This is another benefit of working with a network such as FD Capital, not only do you have a group of people you can turn to for help and advice but there is a way to subcontract out work you can’t undertake yourself.

Here at FD Capital we specialise in this area, so if you need a Part-Time FD for your business, then reach out to us today and we can find the perfect candidate to match to your business needs and requirements.  We now also offer FD’s and CFO’s with specialist niche knowledge, so if you need turnaround skills, E-commerce skills or Private Equity expertise then reach out to us today as we have experienced professionals with lots of experience in this disciplines.  It is surprising how many businesses are missing our on their Digital opportuinities and don’t have this skill set amongst their senior team or C-Suite Executives.

We don’t just offer Portfolio or Part-Time FD’s we also can recruit a full-time FD or CFO for your business, as we now experienced recruiters on our team who can find the perfect professional to match to your business requirements, so whatever your business size SME or plc reach out to us today.

FD Capital operates in the London and West Midlands areas so if you are a business or entrepreneur looking for a Finance Director in those areas, then we would be delighted to hear from you, call us today on 020 3287 9501 for an inital chat.   We offer a recruitment service so if you need a full time FD or CFO then we can also help to find you the perfect candidate.

Call us today for a no obligation initial discussion

CALL 020 3287 9501

Adrian Lawrence

Adrian Lawrence FCA with over 25 years of experience as a finance leader and a Chartered Accountant,  BSc graduate from Queen Mary College, University of London.

I help my clients achieve their growth and success goals by delivering value and results in areas such as Financial Modelling, Finance Raising, M&A, Due Diligence, cash flow management, and reporting. I am passionate about supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs with reliable and professional Chief Financial Officer or Finance Director services.