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 Career Progression
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The purpose of this section is to explain how you can plan your future career within Financial Services and what you should put in place to progress yourself further.
This industry has gone through many changes and with the FSA trying to set standards even higher it is important you keep pace with the changes that are taking place. |
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In the past we have noticed the following changes that have affected the way we have work, such as:
• Sandler Report
• Stake holder products
• Pensions simplification
• New Mortgage legislations
• Fee based v Commissions
• The new proposed Retail Distribution Review
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There is no doubt that the industry has become far more professional in the way it advises clients and distributes products and services. The big emphasis is on ‘knowing your client’ and offering a more holistic approach to financial planning.
With the new Retail Distribution Review being proposed by the FSA, there is no doubt that we will be required to reconsider our levels of professional qualifications and seriously consider what areas we will be able to advise our clients on. But we doubt that it is time to have a panic about this.
Within Financial Services, you join the industry totally new to the game having achieved your basic qualifications either FPC, CEFA exams or the new CF exams etc.
To get the most out of your career in this industry, you need to plan on what your ultimate goal is. If you do it right, plan for the future, the rewards can be so substantial for you. You have two options:
Do the same thing year in year out and get the same results
OR
Plan your future career and reap the rewards of increased earnings and well being.
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Planning your Future |
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Start off with :
• Where am I now?
• Where do I want to be?
• How do I get there?
You need to make your goals clear. Write down a plan for your future. Put it on paper. Research at Harvard University has demonstrated that simply by writing down goals you are 25% more likely to achieve them. Goals are not a wish list, they need to be SMART
• SPECIFIC
• MEASURABLE
• ACHIEVABLE
• RELEVANT
• TIMEBOUND
Think about your goals over three time scales and ensure that they are appropriate to the position being applied for. For example, you might want to be a self-employed IFA in five years time, so you need to look at what you need to do now to achieve that objective. The time scale term should be as follows:
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Remember – Failing to plan, is planning to fail.
There are too many Advisers who tend to drift in their career and do the same thing every day, month, year and expect different results. It is easy just to coast along and hope you earn sufficient amount to cover the mortgage and other bills and just try and exist by keeping your head above water. This industry offers tremendous earnings potential to each person or the opportunity to work in a very job satisfying environment. Believe it or not, this job can be very enjoyable and provide an amazing amount of job satisfaction.
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Mediocrity or Excellence |
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Basically the choice is yours. Going from one to the other does not require to much effort. It is all in the mind and if you want it enough, you can achieve it. If you think you can or if you think you cannot – you are right! If you look at a Financial Adviser working at a Bank as a retail Adviser, with a basic salary of £22,000 plus bonuses, probably earning total £28,000 pa. Then you look at a self employed well established IFA, who has built up a client base of say 250 high net worth very loyal clients over say a 10 year period. His income, including trail commission, fees etc £250,000 pa. The difference is simple. The IFA is totally focused and has planned to be where he is. It is also no surprise that technically, the IFA is well qualified and an expert in his field. In other words, he knows what he is talking about. So the key is Technical Competence. Embark on a self-study programme and improve your knowledge.
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Succession Planning |
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Many Banccassurers offer an opportunity to most of their Advisers which is called Succession Planning. For those who want to take advantage of this can find themselves in very senior roles in a relatively short period of time for example:
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Day 1 – Financial Planning Adviser |
OTE £28,000
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Year 2 – Senior Financial Adviser – High Nett Worth Clients |
OTE £35,000
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| Year 4 – Private Client Advisers – Wealthy Clients |
OTE £45,000
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| Commercial Financial Planning Adviser |
OTE £50,000
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| Business Financial Planning Manager |
OTE £65,000
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| Commercial Independent Financial Planning Manager |
OTE £85,000
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| Private Client Independent Financial Planning Adviser |
OTE £80,000
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| Corporate Financial Planning Manager |
OTE £125,000
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| Senior Wealth Premier Manager Private Banking |
OTE £100,000
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Exercise
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So, you want to improve your current career, then you need to do the following – and do it now! |
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1. Write down your plan. Put it on paper, in your computer and treat it as a working document. |
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2. Do a brief self-anlaysis on yourself |
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• Where am I now? |
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• Where do I want to be? |
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• How do I get there? |
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What are you earning now – and what do you want to earn. If you are earning £30,000 now – it is |
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amazing how much better the quality of your life becomes when you earn £60,000 tomorrow. |
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3. Set out your goals Start of with Short – Medium – Long Term objectives and put dates along side each |
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section. |
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4. Discuss your plan with others. Make it clear to everyone what you want to achieve. Get them involved |
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including your partner / wife / husband etc. Get them to see the big picture. |
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5. Visit your plan daily. Make a note of what you have done to get closer to your objectives. Monitor your |
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progress. |
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6. Put in place a plan to improve your technical expertise. What is your personal development programme? |
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Be an expert in your particular field. |
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And finally, you can always contact us and ask for our advice. It is free!
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We are the experts. This is what we are hear for. |
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The Chartered Insurance Institute www.cii.co.uk – will illustrate the range of courses and technical modules you should seriously consider.
The Personal Finance Society
42-48 High Road,
South Woodford,
London
E18 2JP. tel: +44 (0)20 8530 0852
fax: +44 (0)20 8530 3052
website: www.thepfs.org
The Association of Independent Financial Advisers
AIFA,
Austin Friars House,
2-6 Austin Friars,
London, EC2N 2HD.
tel: +44 (0)20 7628 1287
website: www.aifa.net
Institute of Financial Planning
Whitefriars Centre
Lewins Mead
Bristol
BS1 2NT tel: +44 (0)117 945 2470
tel: +44 (0)117 929 2214
website: www.financialplanning.org.uk
email:
enquiries@financialplanning.org.uk
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