"So many people within our industry are talking about things like how can we charge more, how can we earn more money off the people that are our clients, and there is no thought about the fact that there's millions of people over here that they could receive some money from.
"And actually the financial planning, the cash flow forecasting, has so much value in that.
"We shouldn't just be an intermediary between an investment house and a client, it's belittling to us and what we can offer."
Cash flow planning is a must at New World, it's at the heart of what the firm does. "We won't give investment advice without doing financial planning because we don't feel as though we know enough [about the client] to be able to do that," says Tate.
Besides, he sees the decoupling of his fees from his clients' investment value as a safety blanket for when markets go down.
Operating at the lower end of the market carries a good amount of risk too, however. Many robo-advisers that launched in the past decade have already shut up shop because they could not generate sufficient income.
Setting up was challenging, Tate admits, and one that might be harder for established firms. "I appreciate we're a young firm so we can be nimble."
Among other things, the firm had to invest in technology to be able to roll its services out to more people. But Tate says the trade-off will pay off.
He says: "There's a faster way of making more money, and that is to do what traditional IFAs do. However, I believe that there's a lifespan [for the traditional model] and we're not far off the end of that lifespan."
Tate says the old model might not be relevant to the next generations that are coming through, who are tech savvy and willing to invest themselves.
But, he notes, change will be slow and it will be hard for larger firms to turn their models around and potentially accept a cut in income.
His plan to boost income involves reducing the time it takes to create a financial plan to 10 hours and then to five hours – currently it takes 15 to 20 hours.
This will be done with the help of automation and artificial intelligence in the information gathering process, and by ensuring all processes are as slick as they can be, from the firm's website to its back office, and its welcome letters.
"We're making money, but we're not after shortcuts. And we want to invest in technology to have a scalable business that lasts and don't fear short-term financials over long-term success," says Tate.
