Financial advice is a great profession to get into, but it is not commonly flagged up as a career in schools or universities, even today.
I was certainly never aware of financial advice as a career until I joined Money Marketing. And I’ve spoken to a huge number of people from the advice space, and financial services more widely, who tell me they’ve fallen into their career.
Here are the top tips they would give to anyone wanting to find out more or embark on a career in financial advice or financial services.
Cathi Harrison, chief executive, Verve Group
“Find a couple of advisers online that resonate with you and speak to them about their career. Ask them why they love their job.
“Once you speak to a passionate adviser, that’s it, you’ll want in. And there are ways in. There are lots of different academies, for example. The last thing we want is for people to be interested in finance and then not be able to find their way in.
“But if you’re not yet sure, I would speak to a couple of advisers and ask them why they love their job, and then it’ll probably help you make your mind up.”
Gillian Hepburn, commercial director, Benchmark Capital
“Be open-minded about what financial services is all about. If you think about the broad spectrum of goals that are available, and you’ve got all these rules are now appearing as a result of the potential technology of banking and finance.
“Don’t be narrow-minded in terms of your understanding of what this industry can offer you as a career.
“Just get networking as quickly as possible. Look at people who can mentor and help you along the way. You will find there are people all over our industry who are more than happy to spend time with young people, helping them on their career journey and helping them to understand that it doesn’t go in a straight line.
“Take all the opportunities that are available.”
Heather Hopkins, managing director, NextWealth
“A lot of people don’t know how to approach negotiation early in their career. As somebody who’s had experience managing, what I would say is to be really clear about what you want and present evidence.
“If you want progression early on in your career, tell your manager what role you would want, and what pay you would want.
“Don’t hold them over a barrel to say: ‘I’m going to leave if I don’t get this in three months’, but make it really clear what you want and set out a path for how you’re going to get there.
“Meet with recruiters, find out what you’re worth, find out what kind of role you’d be eligible for in another company, and then talk to your manager about what you want and how you can get there. It makes it much easier for managers to figure out how to support their staff if they know what they want.
“It’s a really hard skill to do because it’s uncomfortable to talk about money. But if you can do it from a position of evidence and understanding, then it’s a more comfortable conversation.”
Alasdair Walker, managing director, Handford Aitkenhead & Walker
“Talk to as many people as you can, even if you don’t feel it’s within your comfort zone.
“When I started my career, I was the person who sat in the back of the room at a conference glued to my phone and refused to make eye contact with anybody.
“That was maybe 12 years ago. But I forced myself to get out of my comfort zone, to get used to speaking to people and asking them for their time.
“It’s amazing how willing people are to give you their time, their expertise and their wisdom if you just ask for it.
“I wouldn’t have achieved nearly as much as I have in the time that I’ve been doing this without the free time, given freely and without any sort of expectation of return.
“Of course, you do then try to pay it forward. And it’s only with that that then we grow ourselves.”
Amyr Rocha Lima, managing director, Strategic Wealth Partners
“Make sure that you are introspective about what role you think would best suit you and would fulfil your career ambitions, and contact people who are fulfilling those roles. Ask them about their qualification pathway, ask them about their ambitions and where they want to get to. Because it might spark something in your mind.
“Associate yourself with a professional body such as the CISI or the CII and see if you can add value there as well. Go to the local branch meetings, see if you can volunteer in those branch meetings, get to know the community there, and then do your best.
“Start using the resources that are available from those professional bodies to do some good in your community. Get your name out there by delivering some value, irrespective of which one of those roles is your career ambition because it’s good karma. Good stuff will come back to you.”
James Sullivan, head of partnerships, Tyndall Investment Management
“People sometimes have to embark upon their own journey and make their own mistakes until they truly recognise the correct direction of travel.
“In life, we don’t often listen to advice until we’ve made our own mistakes. But my only piece of advice, without wanting to sound too sycophantic, is always to put the client first.
“We’re very fortunate that we work in an industry where the spoils are above the national average. The salary, the bonuses and the pension schemes can all be relatively lucrative. But to focus on that, ahead of focusing on client outcomes, will be very short-sighted.
“Always put the client first, and always look after the client. And all that other stuff inevitably will follow if you do a good job for your client.
“It’s as simple as that. And that makes sure that you’re playing the long-term game rather than becoming too short-sighted and fixated on the short-term spoils.”
Nathan Waldron, co-director, Evergreen Financial Planning
“It can take four years plus, realistically, before you start to have in-depth and deep relationships with your clients, and before they start to get you referrals. That’s when you start to see your business grow.
“The first few years are tough and very slow, and nobody seems to let you know that.
“But you need to just get through that time and believe in your ability. Don’t take it personally. It’s not you as a person, it’s just how it is. It’s a road you have to take unless you’re exceptionally lucky and somebody gives you everything straight away, which doesn’t usually happen.”
Ryan Nobbs, co-director, Evergreen Financial Planning
“It’s a bit cheesy, but when I was about 20 years old and I’d become a banking adviser at Halifax, an adviser who was retiring told me: ‘You don’t sell anything, you just solve problems.’
“He said if you always do the right thing, you always make more money in the long run. And I can honestly say I’ve taken that to heart.
“Everyone works to make money and they want to be successful. But if you always do the right thing, it always seems to have benefited me as well.
“Don’t try and rush through a case to get the client on your books. If the pension or investment is great where it is, just be honest and say so.
“You’ll find that more people will come back to you for being honest.”
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